Spell Jars are great for gathering the energy from meaningful elements around you to bring intention and energy into a manifestation you want within your life.
I am going to introduce to you the Money Spell.
I am putting this spell on my husband. In August he lost his dream job and ever since he has had a hard time finding the next best fit.
You can use this practice to create any spell for you or someone else. I will be teaching a workshop on February 16th at Seagoat Farms where our main focus will be on Longevity, Friendship, and Love spells. Feel free to join me in person to practice this process.
Spells are not step-by-step operations but placing your words, actions, and intentions into your manifestation. Here is how I went about it.
Get a jar with a lid. For my spell I got these really cute 3.4oz glass corked jars on Amazon. Gather your supplies. Here is my supply list (Affiliate links are used in this post.)
First take your paper and pen. Cut out a strip and write down the name for whom the spell will be for. Fold this paper in half and put aside.
Second place in a natural element that grounds your idea. For the Money Spell Jar I used Mugwort, Cinnamon, and Cloves. Mugwort symbolizes divination and protection. My husband’s industry is pretty cutthroat, so I took this herb and used it as a projection into the future and a safe journey to his dream job. I mixed in a little bit of cinnamon for wealth. I layered clove next to manifest prosperity, money, along with fulfillment.
I placed the piece of paper with my husband’s name on it after this first layer and then everything else I placed carefully on top of it.
I began placing the heavier elements in with tongs to have more control of where they are placed. A large, dried brush flower was used to combine the elements as a carrier. I added a piece of ginger. The ginger symbolizes personal power, spiritual protection, prosperity and healing.
A piece of amethyst which fosters connections to higher energies and enhances cognitive perception. Then I also included dried flowers from our wedding day. My husband plays a large part in providing for our family. Without him in a working position the family wouldn’t be the same, so I put the rose petals in too symbolize love and my support as his wife.
Now is when I start chanting the spell.
“May the trees fill my husband’s cup until he finds comfort and worth. Stir the clouds to rain down So he can use his mind and hands to harvest a feast, offer blessings, and build a home. Guarded by love and devotion. I believe. So, mote it be.”
I place the cork on the top and begin working on the hemp string. On this string I put the runic symbol for prosperity. And on the back, I wrote down a runic spell. I got this spell from Green Witchcraft by Ariana _. This is where I source a lot of my inspiration from. On this string I also tied a charm. You can purchase these charms on amazon. This one symbolizes paganism and the tripple goddess.
I begin melting the wax. I purchased this wax seal kit from amazon and this stamp from Michaels. I melt 5-10 wax pellets depending on how frugal I want to be with the wax. I choose a white wax so I can change the color using mica powder (also purchased on amazon.) I mixed a bright green and malachite green to achieve this color. When I pour on the wax I envision my husband in his new job, enjoying going to work, and being appreciated for the work he does. After the wax is poured, I stamp it, leaving the stamp on for a minute before removing it.
There is the beautiful spell jar creation. Now what do I do with it? I let it soak up the January full moon. On 1/25/24 was the Wolf Moon. This moon amplifies the jar by empowering self-work, self-realization, and community mentality. By putting this jar out in the Wolf Moon, I am putting into it the intention that he is supported within his industry and “wolf pack” mentality that he deserves from his new industry and that he doesn’t fall into the same cycle of going in and out of jobs but does the self-work that it takes to find a career path that is long term.
Next, I keep this jar where it’s close to him. This can be in a bathroom, an office, or car but in my case by our bed.
When the spell has been completed, I will open the jar. The jar will expel the smell of its contents and release its aroma to the spirit world. An appreciation for the spirits guidance in directing our intentions and allowing us blessings.
EDIT: My husband landed a dream job at a local dispensary. I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes him. Maybe a follow up spell is necessary. Haha.
December has come, and rain has poured, which, to us enthusiasts, means the mushrooms are popping! We have done some local exploring over the past two weeks, and I have some pictures from Redwood Fields to share with you. We did not forage these mushrooms (#takepictures, #leavefootprints) but spent time locating and identifying them with our two-year-old helper, Malakai!Â
They say kids are better at finding mushrooms because their eye level is closer to the ground! All the reason to take your young ones out mushroom hunting!
When entering Redwood Fields, we turn right to the back of the parking lot where the trailhead begins. When hiking this trail, it’s easy to get lost in time and space, so note where you’re going. This trail is less maintained than others and has a roughness that I appreciate. Many fallen trees aid in the production of fungus and flora. Here is what we found.
All of these fungi are inedible to my knowledge.
Hypholoma fasciculare, also known as Sulphus Tuft, grows from wood, stumps, or roots and is a beautiful reminder to check tree growth for clusters.
Above is another photo we got of the Sulphus Tuft.
Clavulinopsis Laeticolor has a solid yellow ochre color and has a wiggly alien look growing in tall, thin towers coming out of the hardwood undergrowth.
Hygrocybe Punicea are related to agaric, meaning they are gilled and part of the Hygrophoraceae family. They are locally known as scarlet waxy caps. They are beautiful in color and shape.
Here is a scarlet waxy cap whose gills are upward; this is to release all of its spores at the end of its life cycle before decomposing back into the earth and reiterating the ground around it for the new generation of mushrooms to sprout.
This is also a Hygrocybe Punicea!
This slimy, narly orange mushroom pouring out of the ground (to the left) is the starter of a Hygrocybe flavescens, also called a golden waxy cap. As you can see, this mushroom pushes up from the ground to disperse spores in its fruiting body; this part of the cycle is called the primordial formation. To the Right is the Hygrocybe flavescens in its midlife progression.
We came across a little patch of Infundibulicybe gibba al, a common funnel. This mushroom may resemble a Clitopulus Prunulus (the Sweetbread mushroom), but you can tell, unlike the Sweetbread mushroom which has a thicker lip, the Common funnel reaches its name by concaving inward with a thin lip.
I could not correctly identify this mushroom (#10). I believe it is a Lepiota. As you can see in this photo, it is an older mushroom. Not all mushrooms curl up at the end of their life cycle, or they could have died before it was ready to dispense their spores. Mushrooms are more identifiable when a picture of their gills, stems, and overside is captured.
I couldn’t even get close to identifying Mushroom 11.
The Alice in Wonderland mushroom, scientifically known as Amanita muscaria, has a minor toxin and can be dangerous. I don’t recommend processing it without extensive knowledge. It is known that North American medicine healers would gather the urine of reindeer that took on the hallucinogenic properties of the Amanitas and drink the substance to create a spiritual journey.
I’ve identified this mushroom as the Russula Xerampelina, or the Shellfish-scented Russula. Many types of Russulas can easily be identified by their deep rose color that varies in shades and thick white gills.
The mushroom above (Mushroom 15) remains unidentified but feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!
The tall, thin fungus on the left side is the Tremellodendron pallidum or Ttremellodendron Schweinitzii; its street name is the Jellied False Coral. It is not actually in the coral family but in the Jelly because of the microscopic structure of its spore-producing basidia. The centered mushroom in its late stage is not remarkable anymore, but looking at the next photo, I assume they are the same fungus species.
This beautiful white mushroom is the Cuphophyllus virgineus, also known as the Snowy waxcap. This cap is rounded until it ages and flattens as it is exposed upward. In this photo, it resembles a blossoming flower.
Interestingly enough, this mushroom is devastating the forest. It’s called Heterobasidion annosum and causes root rot commonly in pine trees. It is responsible for one billion US dollars annually, according to Wikipedia. This virus usually is infected with fresh cuts in the tree and spreads through the roots to neighboring trees and by insects. It causes large cavities in the roots and lower stems, and when the tree dies, it creates gaps in the canopy, affecting the area’s moisture and the sunlight, impacting the lives of the forest critters. After the tree dies, the fungus lives in the stump and spreads. ScienceDirect.com says this fungus originates from Laurasia. This fungus is hard and dark brown, which can turn black with white polypores on the underside.
Tyromyces chioneus, whose common name is White cheese polypore, is the cause of white rot in birch trees and most hardwood trees. It is also necessary as a deadwood decomposer. A polypore is a shelf-like fungus (instead of a mushroom’s stem) that’s spore-producing cells line pores. This white shelf fungus can be found individually or in clusters of 2-3.
Thank you for reading and I hope this information is accurate and helpful while you explore Humboldt County forest!
When my husband was working, I remember telling him that I missed going to work and getting time away from the house. Now that the cards have turned, I would give anything to quit my jobs, drive my kids to their events, and be at the teacher-parent conferences. In a snap, all the responsibilities I had taken for granted now are my husband’s.
As a nonworking parent, it’s easy to say, “I work full time too, as a parent,” which is apprehensible. Yet, the working parent doesn’t get noticed for the long hours away from the kids, creating new working relationships with coworkers and clients that aren’t nearly as meaningful as a relationship with their children.
What does doubles look like? That’s what my girlfriend texted me today, trying to squeeze in some connecting time. Doubles to me looks like getting ready for work at 6 am. 5 days a week, I put my dreads up into a bun. I take the kids to school at 7:45 am and begin work at the schools by 8:15 am. As a substitute teacher, I’m on call, but as the winter months have come, the need for a substitute is so great that they can book me weeks in advance. Lately, I’ll have the month booked prior to the first.
So, I go teach at a school with new-to-me office personnel and principals, with new students and teacher’s aids. I do my best, which is usually appreciated, and then jump into my car at 3 pm. Lately, I’ve been working in high schools, with developmentally challenged children, and my usual K-8th. I enjoy all my jobs. I like impacting my community, even if it’s a different community every day.
Then at 3 pm I jump into my car and drive home. In between shifts, my husband can find my doubles frustrating. He might not always support me in the way that I would want him to. For example, sometimes, he wants attention instead of just giving me time with the kids. This, in turn, frustrates me and can create problems.
So I get home and spend 30-45 minutes watching TV with the kids, reading Malakai a book, and asking Halaya how school was. At 4 pm, I start getting ready to go to work. After I shower, change my clothing, and do some makeup, I put my hair back into a bun and put a net on it. I’ve noticed some intense neck pain with the dreads and having them pilled up on the top of my head, all day, but they are symbolic to me, a marking of when I became pregnant and had Malakai, similar to how my partner’s dreads mark Halaya’s conception. I leave fifteen minutes before my shift every day. I either walk and calm my mind during this time or spend ten minutes in my car in front of the restaurant playing Lily’s Garden on my phone.
So far, I’ve always been on time for work, besides once when I thought I started work at 5 and not 4 (that’s on Sundays only.) When I go to work, I begin a set routine. I always fill the chocolates that go with the receipts before I clock in. Then I walk toward the kitchen, pounding fists with the server I’m relieving and saying “Hola” to the staff in the kitchen. I clock in and begin with the bar, taking the same steps every day unless the other server gets to work before me; in that case, he will start with the bar. I get to choose the light color that lights up the liquor. The other server said he never put the light on in the past, so I got the privilege. I choose the color that matches my mood for the day, not that anyone notices. Something about this rhythm of doing things in the exact order helps me balance my full day’s worth of work. If I perform these steps, everything will be okay, and nothing will be forgotten.
When it comes to customers at Chapala’s, everyone is nice. The staff is friendly, and the customers are lovely. I am fortunate with this job. I don’t make the tips I would in San Diego, but I make enough to pay my bills and take my daughter to do something fun on the weekends. While I’m waitressing, somebody might take offense if I try to crack a joke or say anything that’s not in line with what I say to almost every table. It’s the world we live in today. Dry or dark humor is not often appreciated, so I just kind of do this step-by-step process.
Chapala always gives me a shift meal. This is my first time working at a restaurant that gives a waitperson a shift meal. I appreciate this because not being hangry is essential to me. So I always accept this meal. I feel healthy in general, eating Mexican food almost every night. I mostly get salads, but rice and beans, meat, and some sauce are better for you than people may make it out to be. So when I close Chapala, it’s never the worst day of my life, well besides when my friend died, but I asked to go home early that day, and they understood. This place is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever worked in.
So I get some days off, right? Well, I’m trying to run this small business. I need to make products and content and create a community with the business you’re reading this blog from right now. So, a lot of times, I come home, and I can’t even be present. I go down to Scotia on Fridays (I’m off from the restaurant Fridays and Saturdays) and read Tarot cards. I love reading Tarot cards. I love connecting with my community and guiding them through the cards. I’m very blessed to have this opportunity. Every other Friday, I go from my Tarot readings to the Explore Your Shadow acrylic expression class I teach at the Children’s Cottage. Most Saturdays and Sundays, I vend. I vend all over Humboldt County, and Little Lost Forest is growing in its presence in the community. But to answer the question I do get holidays off, off from the restauarant and from the schools. These days are not meant for cooking.
So when is enough, enough? Well, the more people I talk to, the more I hear, “I worked doubles and triples in my thirties.” I guess, this is the grind yet here I am having dreams where I’m screaming “I quit!” I envision myself leaving the restaurant in January. This will be a hard pull because restaurant money is quick money, and umbrellas the funding for my small business and pays the bills. I foresee Orion and I traveling to Renaissance Festivals next year to do the wand workshop and sell witchcraft goods. I envision myself attending grad school for writing, influenced by history and art. I would love to get a remote job where I work from home as a personal assistant. I can take substitute teaching jobs as I wish. Orion and I also make baked goods, which I sell at the Children’s Cottage. I dream of marketing this better online.
Next year, I foresee myself going to Germany to see my grandfather’s grave. A loss that I took hard over the summer. And most of all, I see myself spending more time with my kids next year. Without the restaurant job, I will get afternoons with my kids. Teaching occasionally instead of five days a week will allow me to grow my business. The new year is right around the corner. I’m going to keep my head down and grind it out, knowing that nothing is forever.
Today we will discuss perspective, perspective in art, and cosmic perspective.
Tarot Card: Choose a card and tell me how the card relates to you today.
Quick warm-up; neckrolls, touch toes, etc.
Breath in 12345, Hold 12345, Slowly Release 12345
Breath in 12345, Hold 12345, Slowly Release 12345
Breath in 12345, Hold 12345, Slowly Release 12345
Breath in 12345, Hold 12345, Slowly Release 12345
Breath in 12345, Hold 12345, Slowly Release 12345
Thank the elementals of the North, in your mind’s eye picture elements of the earth.
Thank the elementals of the East; in your mind’s eyes picture elements of air.
Thank the elementals of the South; in your mind’s eye picture elements of fire.
Thank you elementals of the West; in your mind’s eye picture elements of water.
Thank Pachamama, the earth and ground we sit on,
Thank the cosmos above,
Thank yourself for showing up here today. Sit with the bright light that fuels your soul, the same bright light that fires the sun.
Thank the sun,
thank yourself,
acknowledge your light.
Imagine you are in a dark cosmic space,
In a rush, like a rapid river, you come into the earth, as if out of a womb, to the light.
Where are you?
Notice your surroundings, rather it be inside or outside,
picture the town you are in,
the state that town resides in,
the continent that holds that state.
Now imagine the planet that, that continent calls home.
And the galaxy on the planet lives.
Bring your mind’s eye higher to the Universe that the galaxy is a part of.
Take a deep breath and look around you.
You are never alone.
Say it out loud; I am never alone.
Okay, thank you for allowing me to guide you to this place. Sit here for a second, look around you. What do you see?
This is inside you, and every one of us.
Acknowledge the vastness, that exists within you and within me.
The complexity of that cycle is infinite and continues to exist, exist in you and in me.
Now lift yourself into a flying position, and travel back to your planet, where you came out of the darkness and into space. This is your safe space. Do you remember it?
What is around you? Are there people?
Are you in a city? Are you on a mountain? Near a Lake?
Are you around people? What are the people doing?
Are you around animals? What are the animals doing?
We’re going to paint this space, so sit with you for as long as you are comfortable. Explore the details of this space.
Now while you are in this safe space, take a mirror, and look into the mirror. In the mirror is a problem. A problem that has been bothering you for a very long time.
How do you respond in your day-to-day life to this problem?
Do you scream at it?
Throw objects because of it?
Do you experience hate for others because of this problem?
Self-hate because of this problem?
Self-doubt?
Do you feel unrest because of this problem?
Has it kept you up at night?
Today we’re going to accept this problem for what it is. You can’t hate a problem you accept. You can only move forward once you’ve accepted a problem.
After you have chosen to accept this problem, we are going to explore ourselves by using this problem.
Looking at this problem in this mirror, talk to the problem. Have a conversation with this problem. Ask it questions, express your thoughts, and listen to the answers.
We are going to sit in silence for approximately five minutes.
When you feel satisfied with the conversation, we have had with the problem take a pair of scissors and cut any strings that attach you to this problem This problem is no longer serving you are you are ready to move on. After you have cut the cords, say goodbye to the problem and wish it a safe travel into the light.
Place down the mirror and look at the space you are in. Is anything different?
Do you notice more in the space?
What details stand out to you?
Please hold onto this imagery as you open your eyes.
When we experience uncontrollable rage, we view it from the perspective of the self rather than the global consciousness. This doesn’t devalue your rage. Your rage may or may not be valued. But even great leaders have not solved their problems by running into battle, but rather by placing their pieces deliberately and playing their cards strategically.
Now let’s get into perspective in art:
To understand perspective in art we start with the viewer,
The viewer sees infinitely far away, this is the horizon line. On the horizon line is a vanishing point. A single vanishing point is called one one-point perspective.
Now let’s add a second vanishing point, in most cases the vanishing points are slightly off the frame.
Now lower the horizon line, now the viewer is looking up. Add a third vanishing point above off frame. This is called a three-point perspective. We can also take the horizon line and move it up, now we are looking down.
Now take an object and put it far in the distance, the object will become smaller. Bring that object closer and it will be larger.
Take note that there is a relationship between size/ distance and eye level.
Now imagine a river or a car going from angle to another, you see the slope?
Now put that same river, or that same angle into the distance, the line is going to look horizontal. Distance forces horizontal lines.
Distance forces horizontal
Now quickly let’s talk about light and shadow. We discussed this in detail in our last class.
We have the foreground which is closest to the viewer, then the midground, and the background. In the foreground, we can see the shadow of the sun easily. As well progress into the background the shadow will be less. In the foreground, there is a variety of color and values in the shadow. In the midground, the depth of colors are brought to the cyan-blue colors. In the background, there are simple changes in colors. The sky does not go from yellow to blue but rather the yellow influences the blue and the blue fades into yellow. Color happens due to light, so the light family reserves its colors more than the shadow family. Yellows get filtered out because of the atmosphere.
Take your notebook and start sketching your scene. Remember we are focusing on perspective. This will not be a portrait but rather a landscape.
Where are you looking toward the horizon line? Up, down?
Place your horizon line onto the paper.
Are you looking toward the left? the right? the center? Plot your vanishing point. If the vanishing point is a three-point perspective than plot your vanishing points off the frame. Now draw your chart lines.
Where do the buildings, trees, and objects fall on the horizon line?
What objects overlap? Buildings overlapping other buildings? People overlapping the ground? Boats overlapping walls of trees? Not overlapping shapes take away from your scene. Populate your painting. Put basics down, this is a tree, this is a person, etc., and fill the space. We will audit later. Tweak the lines to lead to the vanishing point.
Natascha: Hello. You’ve made it to the Little Lost Forest blog. Today I’m going to be interviewing Jonathan, a Kambo practitioner. After doing my third session of Kambo. Hi, Jonathan. Thank you so much for our session.
Jonathan: Thanks, Natasha. I really appreciate you having me on here today.
Natascha: How are you feeling?
Jonathan: I’m feeling great. I’m feeling good. Nice and grounded.
Natascha: I’m just going to ask you a few quick questions. What inspired you to offer Kambo ceremonies?
Jonathan: Yeah. Beautiful. So. I’ve been an advocate and a body worker and a coach for transformational practices for ten, fifteen plus years. And so, in my experience, when I when I come across a modality or a transformational practice, something that really transforms and causes a huge shift in my energy and in my life, it’s made me really inspired to go study those modalities and then offer them as sacred service to the world as my passion and as my service, my sacred service. So in terms of the Kambo, it’s a heart medicine and it really recalibrates the heart, much like Kundalini yoga and breathwork and those types of things. The Kambo, after the first time I did it, I could really feel the medicine working, you know, physically, emotionally, spiritually, working on many, many different levels to cut cords, cut energetic hooks and cords of things that were not really serving my highest consciousness and my highest evolution. And what really inspired me about this medicine is it’s a fire medicine, and I’m a fiery being and use fire as my element. So that was really inspiring and also as well a non-psychedelic. So psychedelics are great and I’ve really enjoyed using them in my life, yet they’re not the end all, be all. And ideally psychedelics in a way they take us out of our body. And so where I’m at in my life now, I want to be in my body. I want to be quick and strong and fast and embodied in my body. The Kambo [makes shooo sound] drops us directly into an embodied state of self, of groundedness, strength in a really practical and applicable way. So. So that’s really what that’s really what what drew me in to the Kambo was just firsthand experience of a complete shift. A catalyst may have you in my own spiritual growth.
Natascha: Thank you so much for your service. What led you on your spiritual path?
Jonathan: What has led me, just in general?
Natascha: What was the beginning that began seeking out?
Jonathan: The beginning of my spiritual path. Yeah. The beginning of my spiritual path was was nature. So excuse me. I draw a lot of inspiration and power and vitality and reflection and meaning. Just from nature, just from the beauty, the reflection, the immersing my my soul and spirit in nature. And so growing up, I didn’t I wasn’t like an iPhone generation baby, thank God. And, you know, AOL was just like dial up internet and all the things. So anyway, I wasn’t a tech kid. And my parents. Did a lot of camping with me and my brother and sailing and fishing. And so I grew up in a nature based reality. Thankfully, my parents shared the same values and they bestowed those, those values onto me.
Natascha: What unique insights has this path given you?
Jonathan: The path of nature?
Natascha: The path of spiritual awareness.
Jonathan: The path of spiritual awareness. Unique insights. Wow! Hmm.
Jonathan: Well, I would say, you know, studying Buddhism and whatnot in college, just the ephemeral nature of all things, the fact that everything is in a way, temporary. So that includes our pain, that includes our suffering, that also includes our joy, our gratitude, the higher vibratory states bliss that we that the brain really seeks us to experience. But there is a certain. Acceptance. I think that comes with the realization that everything is impermanent. So it brings us what does it bring? It brings us into present awareness that if we’re having a hard day, if we’re having a hard feeling, a hard emotion, that this too shall pass. So really it’s a liberating. It’s a liberating thing for me.
Natascha: And that’s beautiful. In your experience, how has Kambo enhanced your clients lives?
Jonathan: Yeah. Great question. Well, I mean, the Kambo has, as I mentioned before, it’s a it’s a heart medicine and it recalibrates the heart to the heartbeat of the universe and to the heartbeat of the earth. And I think when people come and see me, they come and see me for a variety of different reasons. Candida, depression, addiction. Some people just want to like, supercharge their immune system and not get Covid or something like that. I think that that the Kambo, is a very powerful catalyst for change, and it shows us the areas of our lives where that need attention. And then it asks us, it also shows us what our fears are. In life, everyone has fears, so it shows us these fears in a very real and palpable way. And then it asks us to summon the courage to overcome those adversities and those challenges. And so, in a way, when any individual does their work, when they do the work to change, when they do the work to shift, to transform, to uplift their life, to uplevel their consciousness. Then everybody wins. Then all of the collective consciousness is raised because that individual is choosing to do their medicine work. So I think the Kambo has really been really profound for a lot of people with heart blockages, you know, because a lot of people have been hurt. They’re carrying trauma, PTSD. Some of it’s from this lifetime, some of it’s from ancestral previous lifetimes. And, you know, until that stuff is really looked at and healed, it can be really difficult to move forward in life in a clear and in a purposeful way. And so the the Kambo can really show us our trauma and help us to overcome it.
Natascha: What does the Caboclo inoculation offer?
Jonathan: Yeah. So the Caboclo Inoculation is a modern-day take on taking three sessions of Kambo within a 28-day lunar cycle. So the Caboclo people are a tribe of indigenous that live in Brazil and they left the Amazon to come out into the cities. So they started this tradition with Kambo. And the idea behind it is that Kambo works accumulatively in the system to detox the body, spirit and mind. And so if you do one session, if you do another session shortly thereafter, it’s going to go a little bit deeper and then it’s going to go a little bit deeper. So much in the way that sometimes, you know, an ayahuasca ceremony, if there’s a two-night ceremony, the first night is about working through energetic congestion. That’s maybe outside the energy field or right on the edge of the energy field. And then the next night, the medicine moves more, more inward to the physical because it’s already cleared out the energy, the energetic realm. So in the same way Kambo is, is similar. That way, every time that you take Kambo, you’re flooding your body with beneficial bio peptides, which are short chain amino acids which do an amazing job at detoxing the cells, and also causing white blood cells on the liver to start rapidly, rapidly producing. This in turn greatly enhances the immune system of the body.
Natascha: Where do you where do you see yourself in the future?
Jonathan: [laughs] Yeah great question. Well, I see a family in my future and I see it just continuing to be an educator and a teacher of Kundalini yoga and also retreats like that’s been like a big calling for me for, for many years is how to create and market and successfully pull off. Transformational, immersive retreats where people come and have an amazing experience with nature, food, all these things that are medicines, right? Nature as medicine, food as medicine, breathing, breathwork, yoga, alignments and perhaps Kambo as well. So all the different heart medicines. So that’s what I would love. That’s what I am creating. It’s what I’m working on and would also get me out of Humboldt in the wintertime, which would be lovely.
Natascha: Thank you Jonathan, for sharing your knowledge and watching over me and giving me the medicine. I really appreciate you and thank you to everyone that reads the blog.
Jonathan: Yeah, thanks a lot Natascha. That was that was really a beautiful transformation to witness. So, thanks for showing up for yourself when you do your work. When you win, I win. We all win. We’re all here to do our work. And so, we’re up leveling humanity one day at a time.
Natascha: So true.
My voice was frail during that interview. I had just finished my third Kambo session, which meant twenty to thirty minutes of intense purging and detoxing. I followed up that session by going to work with frog (swollen) lips. So, let’s get into this, shall we?
What made me take Kambo? I saw the Kambo sessions marketed on a signal group called “What’s going on?” An Arcata-based group. A friend had told me she was into trying it perhaps two years ago. She mentioned they take an incense stick and some medicine and go through an experience. I think this is all she told me. After my sessions, when I told her I had done the Kambo, she said she hadn’t tried it yet. So, I had very little knowledge of Kambo. I don’t even think I researched it before my first session. I knew it would be healing. I was smoking mole bowls (a mix of tobacco and marijuana in a bong) at the time, a nasty habit I had been exposed to in my college years in San Francisco, and I set the intention to stop smoking moles. This was my intention. I had a quick orientation over the phone with Jonathan, agreed to a donation, and met up a few days later in Arcata to a quaint healing facility. He recommended three days of a vegetarian diet prior to the Kambo session and that we do not drink any water for eight hours prior to the session. I went upstairs into a flat with a waiting area, bathroom, kitchen, and two rooms.
I did a group session, and we were asked to bring two liters of water, a pillow, and a yoga mat. I laid out my yoga mat in front of Jonathan, who sat on his knees next to a drum and a ceremonial serving tray. On the tray was a small statue of a green frog. Another woman joined us. He asked us if we wanted an alignment, and taking turns, he took us to the other room to give us one. By the end of the alphabiotic alignment, he said something along the lines of how your legs are now equal lengths. It felt great, and I’m generally scared of any alignment work.
He had the other woman and myself speak about our intentions, and then we began the ceremony. We saged one another, washing away bad energy. Jonathan chanted and then started by thanking the directions, the participants, and the medicine, and intensively bringing awareness and appreciation to the indigenous of the Amazon and Brazil who had taught this practice. He awoke our higher consciousness and spoke of the sun’s power, burning within our hearts. He called in our ancestors. He asked for there to be a physical reaction that would tell us when they had landed. I had an incredible shift at this moment, calling on the help of my ancestors and feeling their presence with me in the room. After this meditation, he asked us how much medicine we wanted to take. He said, “Think of it like you are doing any entheogen. Do you like to microdose, or are you a heavy doser?” He suggested the most we take during our first session was five. The lady beside me decided on four, even though she said she would usually dose lightly, and I went for five. Jonathan began to burn a coal incense. With a knife, he scrapped off the medicine from a wood stick that came out of a wooden box. The medicine was clear with a slight tint of yellow. He placed the doses onto a quartz crystal. Then he showed us the patterns the burns would be in. I chose a straight-line pattern. Than he asked where we would like the burns placed. The traditional way was for women to get it on the inside of their ankles and men on their triceps. I decided to do it on the backside of my heart, next to the spine. He told me this is a very powerful place to put the medicine. He then burned small dots into my back with an incense stick in a line.
I opted to go first, sitting upright (like he instructed) on my yoga mat in front of an empty bucket. I began drinking the water. Jonathan drummed as I drank and drank. I drank so much water it came up, and I thought I had already taken the medicine. He told me to keep drinking, and I did, and then he asked if I was ready to take the medicine. At this point, I had already spat out water. He then placed the five doses onto my back. I could feel the medicine on my back. I could feel the medicine like a rush inside my body. I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t tripping, but I was hyper-aware of my body. A few minutes went by, and it wasn’t so bad. Ten minutes later, I started to feel nauseous. I began to purge, and I purged a lot. Twenty minutes, maybe thirty, after he wiped the medicine off and began a ritual with the lady next to me. I felt hungover, but I was no longer purging. Afterward, I was glad I had followed through with my goal and sent a picture of my frog lips to my friend.
Immediately after my session, I had no cravings for alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis. My liver seemed rejuvenated, and my mind was clear, like my third eye had opened, and I could see things for what they were.
The following day, I questioned myself. I no longer craved to drink, but why would I want to stop drinking? This wasn’t my intention going into Kambo. I like drinking; it helps me manage my stress, and I have fun with my friends when I drink. Then I thought of all the goals I set out when I was a young adult: I wanted to write a book, do animation, and, most of all, sail the world. Before taking the Kambo, I had fallen into a depression. I told my partner, “I no longer see a future. All the goals I have ever had seem to be distant memories now.” So when I started questioning myself why I wouldn’t want to drink, these thoughts came up, and I told myself that I wanted to see a future again where I’m alive when my kids are old and happy with my partner. I want to see a future where all my dreams come true, and I have worked hard to achieve them. Most of all, I thought, I want to be my best self for my children so they can have a mommy who is present with them and not intoxicated. With these thoughts, I knew I had to contact Jonathan again and tell him I was ready to continue on my path of Kambo by completing the Caboclo Inoculation.
The next session was done a week later. He drove me to the beach, where we sat in a ceremony in a secluded dune. This time, I intended to feed my creativity, become a writer and an artist, and fulfill my goals. Again, I drank the water to his chants, and he placed the medicine in a line on my back—this time, I did seven hits. A beautiful image came to me, one where I was in a prayer pose, and a deer with antlers was over my head, birds and butterflies were coming off my arms, mushrooms, and flowers supported me on the ground, and the frog was in front of me. An elderly male to the left of my head and an elderly female to the right were there to help me get through my processing. When the medicine hit me, I pucked into the sand in agony. I moved away from the watery vomit and rolled in the sand, trying to find comfort in the earth. Jonathan directed me to breathe to try and soothe the sensations. In twenty minutes, he wiped off the medicine, and the ceremony came to a closure.
After my second session, I went to an EDM show with my best friend at Blue Lake Casino. I drank NA drinks and danced all night. My energy and personality wasn’t less of from being sober. We had a blast.
In my third Kambo session, I asked myself why am I even doing this again. I’m putting my body through agony, and even though I feel great after, the purging process is so intense; why would I do this to myself? We completed the ceremony, and I left feeling like, well like a frog. (Did you know frogs only jump forward? Not backward?)
During the time of taking Kambo, I had distanced myself from my partner. I felt he needed to be more supportive of me taking on the role of a breadwinner, working long shifts, and not getting the time I craved with my kids. After my third session, I was able to communicate differently with him. I didn’t give him what he wanted to make peace. Instead, I told him what I needed to feel fulfilled and supported. This is straightforward advice to give someone, but doing it can be hard when you feel stuck in routine, and your partner won’t listen to you. I starved him of my attention until he would listen, and when he was ready to listen, I didn’t let him fall back into routine. I asked for the things I needed: time with the kids, time with him, and to be non-competitive with chores and daily practices. Our business has taken off since my Kambo sessions. I feel like Kambo helped me achieve these things, and I hope I can continue moving forward with a clear mind to reach more of the goals I have set out.
As you may have heard, I have started teaching Acrylic Expression classes at Willow’s in Eureka. This is an all age class where we talk about our shadows and it’s relationship to art. Our shadow is the part of us that we deny attention, rather we be ashamed, or not ready to face that the ego isn’t always as perfect as it makes it’s self out to be. Many times the community asks me, where do you get inspiration for your art? And my answer is through meditation. When I sit in meditation I am able to conceptualize things clearly and then I take those ideas and I use them in my artwork. In this class we begin introductions with a tarot reading. Everyone chooses a card and relates that card to their lives, without knowing anything about tarot. You may be surprised how much the imagery makes strong suggestions to what the tarot card means, but almost always the newcomer is able to relate the card to it’s intended meaning.
Next we sit (or lay) in a 30min-1hour meditation. During this meditation I guide my participants to the otherworld, but first we thank our directions and ourselves for showing up. When were in the other world I create a safe space that is different for each participant. Once that safe space is created we face our shadow selves, this can be negative traits of ours, problems we may be facing day to day, or with other people. We confront this shadow, talk with it, accept it and then let it pass. Then we return to the safe place and take note of all the details within it. Throughout this experience we draw inspiration to paint in our art session. When the participants wake up from the session we go into an art lesson. The themes are posted on the flier. Our first theme was Light and Shadow. I am going to post the lesson plans on here so you can do this guided lesson at home. Feel free to leave me a tip through the link to my etsy store. If you prefer a video I have also linked a video to my youtube channel so you can participate in the guided meditation at home.
Why do I put these lessons up for free? The class may never come up again in the same manner. These classes are experiences that are unique each and every session. I can’t promise that one session will be just like the other. To get the full experience it is highly recommended that you come to class in person. The classes structure will change after the series is done, next I would like to do a class targeted to pregnant moms, and new moms so they can explore their unconscious reactions to motherhood and paint it on canvas.
For this class we offer high quality, golden paints, a small canvas, a journal that you can take notes on, sketch paper and drawing tools, as well as cookies, and beverages.
This class takes place every other week. Below is the flier. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in class.
Light and Shadow
6:15pm Introduction
Introduce class, who I am, the shadow and light physically and metaphysically and its relationship to self.
Introductions, Names, what brings you to art class today, What inspires you? What are you working on?
Talk about safe space, letting people speak, and not sharing other people’s stories outside of class.
6:30pm Lesson
Ask we progress through this lesson sketching is encouraged.
There is no light without shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection. -Carl Jung
The shadow is everything which one has no wish to be. -After Skool
Persona, social mask. Taboo to talk about our hardships and failures. hiding behind the persona.
The shadow is limitations, biases, fears, traumas, oppressed fears, and untapped potential.
The shadow is often seen in dreams. When the shadow is confronted, we can understand our potential and ideal self.
Similar to the Ying and Yang, we need both the light and the shadow to make a whole.
The shadow is seen as the enemy when really it is knowing what bad one is capable of. The shadow only gets hostile when it is ignored or misunderstood.
If working with a partner, set your intention on your relationship with that person; if you are on your own, focus that energy on your own lights and shadows.
Go over Light and Shadow and what that means to you. The shadow self. How our art doesn’t always come out the way we expect it.
Meditation: 7:00 pm
Deep Breathing Meditation
Something that brings us light.
Something that takes us into the shadow.
Imagine the color of light brought to you.
Imagine the shadow color you hide in the box.
Behind every negative action is a positive intent.
Look for the positive intent and reframe it to yourself as an adult. Heal it and acknowledge it so you can move forward.
The inner child but not limited to, lacks needs and has scars. Or at any point in life, these traumas could have occurred.
Rewrite your perception, I have become successful because of these traumas.
Drawn to the light what color do you see? What is the light? What do you see?
Now hidden in a chest is another color is illuminating from inside. When you open it what do you see?
Now, these two images draw them together in the shape of a Yin and yang.
Talk about what the colors are and the things and what this may represent to you.
How can I redirect the darkness to support the light?
Confront your dark side.
Light From Above
Average Light
Half Tone Light
Average Shadow
Cast shadows- an object casts a shadow: will shadow adjust to object form shades.
Form Shadows- When planes turn away from the light. The shape is determined by the curve of the shape.
Halftone- Inbetween light and shadow. Control the halftone by choosing colors closer to the average light.
Pick two colors on your palette paper. Blend the colors slowly into one another. Also, make a line to depicting colors from white to dark. See how they correspond on the color wheel. Use only these two colors for your painting.
7:30pm Start Painting
Shadows are darker or lighter than light? Darker obviously
So remember shadows are darker than lights…
Talk about your painting.
8:20 Accept and Redirect
You can’t be in acceptance and resistance at the same time. Truly accept your circumstances in the now. This can pertain to the painting, and this can pertain to real life. Your worst nightmare can no longer be your worst nightmare if you accept it. By accepting this fault you are no longer feeding into resistance.
Perceive how the mishap is a blessing in disguise. We write the narrative of the mishap to paint a brighter future that makes you unique because of your experiences.
Narrow down how to make your future goal meet your needs and discard the situations that no longer serve you.
The end of the school semester came in June, which meant a break from substitute teaching for me, and the beginning of summer. My daughter’s previous teacher and good friend forwarded me the “Call to Artist” by the Festival of Dreams in the Lost Coast Outpost. They were giving out $40,000 of art grants up to $2,500/ ea. The gears of my imagination pushed forward.Â
The event’s theme was the Wigi, the Wiyot name for the Humboldt Bay. I was inspired to combine my job as a substitute teacher and my passion as an artist to come up with the Wigi Dome, An Educational type of Magic.Â
What is the Wigi Dome?Â
The Wigi Dome is a 19×18′ tent that can fit about 13 people, funded by the City of Eureka for the Festival of Dreams. For the event, Fun Facts were lined outside the tent made by second and third-grade students from Laurel Tree Elementary in Arcata. On the top of the canopy, local artists spray painted with water-based acrylic on cloth panels to represent different times of the day and places of the Manila Dunes. Artist such Gizmo (@neudepths), Jackie (@jackalope_studios_arts) and Joe Fox, Ruth (@ruthcreaates_4), and Amber (@mushroom.firy.logs), Autumn, Sera and Georgia.
The newly created event is Festival of Dreams – a collaboration between the North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT), Ink People Center for the Arts and the City of Eureka. The festival will happen in two parts: an outdoor event Aug. 18 through 20 that will take place at Halvorsen Park and around Old Town, and an indoor festival on Oct. 5 through 8, that will be held throughout multiple different Eureka venues. And to make this new festival even more exciting, the City has made more than $40,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant money available to fund local artists who want to participate.
The festival Started on August 25th as a parade danced through Old Town. Local businesses allowed performing artists to set a stage in their occupancy, including Eagle House and Eptimony Gallery.Â
Saturday’s event took place in Halvorsen Park as the free interactive art festival commenced. There was a beer garden, vendors, and lots of interactive art. Perhaps you found yourself lounging in the Do Nothing’s Societies Oasis (@thedonothingsociety), hanging out with flow artist Zephyr, making your own tarot cards, and eating complimentary fruit. Enter the Kaleidoscope airplane or sit at a table at the Clam Juice, a psychedelic experience (@glittergizzard). Beautiful fabric acro dancers from Synapsis performed in the center of the park. You may have wandered into a forest of pom poms or the dream-like fabric maze. You step into the photo booth and allow its mechanics to hand draw your photo (@aart.by.mir). Live music and a late-night DJ rocked the stage. In the amphitheater, an artist hung a lanyard of butter wrappers painted with unique images. Ceramic artist Josh Roller (@darthgritty) displayed abstract creatures and wall hangers along the stone edges, along with a smoking dragon, a bone and metal sculpture, and much more art surrounding the amphitheater.
How was the Wigi Dome experience at the Festival of Dreams?Â
The Wigi Dome offered tea and art by Erica Brooks (@fineartbyerica), Joe Mallory (@joemalloryart), Ruth Murphy (@ruthiecreates_4), Drake Munson (@draykinarts), Natascha, and Jeremy Pearson (@littlelostforestart). 10% of all paintings sold inside the dome go to Friends of the Dunes to restore Manilla. Kris Coffman (@kriscoffmaninsight) spoke on Love and Communication with an intimate group that shared stories, laughter, tears, and animal noises. Rah Kiv (@rahkiv) played Flamenco R&B to set the mood as the vendors finished setting up and the festival began. Ruth, vocalist, and Uncle Steve, violinist (@unclesteve1352) performed sea shanty and folk music throughout the day. I made a Wigi mix that was Lofi Hop and had the sounds of the animals of the bay mixed in for in-between sets. Stories on Humboldt County were shared within the Wigi Dome between our community and collaborators, along with discussions, lessons, and music. I ended Saturday night with Alien Paintings, where we free-painted on canvas, folded the cloth in half, and opened it with a groovy alien design. On both days, Jackie (@jackalope_studio_arts) spent a few hours painting fish ceramics with “kids of all ages.” Autumn was an active emotional support partner throughout the festival.Â
At the Welcome table, we gave out an educational pamphlet by K-12 Educator Crystal Linde about the Wigi, The Wiyot name for Humboldt Bay. We also asked our guests to write an Orison (a 13th-century word for a prayer) for the Wigi. Here is what our community had to say:
We appreciate all the effort that went into the Festival of Dreams. The coordinators, staff, and volunteers. Along with all the other artists that participated. It was truly a beautiful experience to hold space in an interactive art installation to teach our community, hold space for discussion, and supportive relaxation. Thank you to all the Wigi Dome collaborators, artists, musicians, historians, businesses, volunteers, and community guests.
The Wigi Dome doesn’t end at the Festival of Dreams. On September 9th the Wigi Dome will have a booth at Recovery Happens. Autumn and Natascha collaborated on a small interactive art piece where we will ask the community to write on a leaf, What in their life is worth living for and clip it onto the tree. I dream of displaying this place at Morris Grave. We will also be exhibiting the Wigi prayers at the booth. In the future, I can see further collaborations with educators, community, and artists and bring this project to schools to educate our youth in an interactive manner.Â
I started as a live painter in 2012 and recently became a vendor. As a live painter, my responsibility is to entertain the guests with fantastic art. As a vendor, I create products that I have a passion for and a strong understanding of, and I share the benefits of my product with my community. I’m having a steady rise in sales as I learn the ins and outs of vending and which of my products people find valuable.
Here are some quick tips:
Post on social media before the event. If you want to post the same flier twice in one week, go for it. Just get it out there.
They say it takes seven interactions for an onlooker to become a buyer. This might be a hear-say statistic, but it’s a good message. Don’t be discouraged.
Practice pitching to your friends. The fairs may be intimidating if you’re not ready to pitch your product to your immediate community.
Testers make sales.
The booth has to be open and inviting for people to stop, and the person manning the booth needs to engage with the customer. Music is a plus.
Proper weather guards like side panels, sandbags and solar-powered lighting are necessary.
Table clothes and displays are a must. Boxes to make multi-level presentations for your booth, a fence to hang items from, and S hooks (to replace zip ties.)
Small and large recycled paper bags are recommended.
Bring your square or online payment option!
Remember to write a receipt.
Bring two chairs.
Stay from open to close. I have learned it is bad etiquette to leave early. I recommend not packing up until at least thirty minutes before the show has come to an end. If this is a new event, drivers might stop after passing it more than once. If the vendors leave because of a low turnout, it is harder for the promoters to continue to promote their event. If it’s raining, it’s up to you if you want to stay if it’s okay with the promoter. Some events are rain-or-shine, while others are flexible about the weather.
Half of what I do at my booth is promotion, and the other half is sales. Drawing people into my booth allows me to share my business motto, values, and ethics. Building a relationship with the client can ensures future sales.
Things I would want to do in the future.
Make sales goals. This will help me determine if the audience at an event is drawn to my product. To make this an accurate depiction, I have to take away the booth costs (and if an additional license or insurance was purchased) to compare different productions properly.
Don’t give up! After one year of being a vendor, is this worth my time? has come across my mind, and I hear it whispered among other vendors. By seeing other successful vendors, I know that the profit is all you put into it. Even if one show doesn’t go well, if you have a great product, you are bound to continue to sell.Â
When I asked a peer of mine what they thought about selling less variety and choosing products to showcase at events that fall into one category she recommended displaying everything I had, you never know what people are looking for.
Josh Roller and Natascha sip on iced green tea at a table in Ramone’s Bakery in Old Town. Natascha excitedly plays with the voice recorder to ensure it is working.
Natascha: Is it working? Test. Test. Red button on. Hello. Today, Natasha with Little Lost Forest is interviewing Josh Roller. Did I say that right, Josh? Awesome. A ceramics artist participating in the Festival of Dreams, August 25th to the 27th in Eureka. Hey, Josh. How is your week going?
Josh: My week is going good. Very busy with creating.
Natascha: What are your pronouns, Josh?
Josh: He. Him.
Natascha: Thank you. What do you have brewing up for the Festival of Dreams?
Josh: I am going to create or currently, I’m creating, intuitive sculptures made from stone, stoneware, and ceramics. It fires up to cone-ten usually, which is really hot, high fire. My process really is not having an actual idea or goal. It’s really very intuitive. It’s very feeling the moment.
Natascha: Josh was one of many artists that got a grant for the Festival of Dreams. They supplied local artists with $40,000 of artist grants. Josh, how long have you been making ceramics for?
Josh: I have been doing ceramics since I was actually a senior in high school. I learned how to throw on the wheel back then and did a little bit of hand-building. So, it’s been quite a while, but I’ve actually been away from it for ten years. I kind of just stepped away to do other stuff and found myself back with my hands in the dirt.
Natascha: What high school was that that you learned?
Josh: I went to Eureka High School in- In Eureka.
Natascha: Super cool. I bet you that program is still going on, and other kids are seeing your art and being inspired to continue making ceramics after high school. What inspired your pieces for this festival? You said it’s a kind of intuition and feelings. Can you tell me more?
Josh: Yeah. So basically, a couple of months ago, I recently got back into ceramics. I had a few sketches in my sketchbook, so I had goals of some things that I wanted to make. But as I was trying to make them and trying to shape the things that I was going for, I just kind of lost interest. I got kind of bored trying to, to duplicate something or translate this particular thing.
So, I just- maybe- I stepped away for a day or so, and I came back and just kind of went with it and I just started making a coil pot and just went for it and was just having fun. It’s all about- it’s all about the process and the fun, for me.
(Interview with Josh Roller)
Natascha: How does this process reflect your everyday lifestyle?
Josh: I would say that I’m- I’m a very like, I don’t know, go with the flow sort of person. Not that I don’t like plans because I think plans for your everyday life are pretty important, but at the same time, you know, it’s all, it’s all in how you feel at the moment. Like you can plan on doing something tomorrow, going somewhere, doing something. But if you don’t feel like it, whether you- whether you go for it or not, I’m trying to, to feel good. I’m trying to be confident and understand that, that it’s really all about feeling good. And I think that’s kind of like my new way of looking at things, because before I would do a lot of a lot of stuff that I didn’t really want to do, and I’m tired of that.
Natascha: Well, that’s a beautiful lesson. Yeah. When you consider yourself empathic.
Josh: 100%. Yeah, absolutely.
Natascha: Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood and how that could be reflected in some of your art?
Josh: Yeah. I was a spaz. I was very energetic, very all over the place. Very loud. Um, yeah. So, I feel like that kind of, the whole play aspect, has become a really important thing to my art. Because before, like I said, when I was trying to, copy things or make certain things, it was just like more frustrating and less freeing. And so, when I think about me as a child, just kind of just out there roaming, doing, doing whatever. Being kind of crazy and all over the place. That’s what translates in my art through that intuitive nature that I enjoy.
Natascha: Awesome. Yeah. Who are some of your artistic influences?
Josh: That’s a good question. Since I have been away from the art world for so long, I’m not really good with names. So, I don’t have, like, particular names. But lately I’ve been really into music and, and kind of seeing that crossover with musicians doing other art forms. So, people like Erykah Badu and, Andre 3000. Like those, those kind of eccentric folks who are very musically talented. But it’s cool to see them, like dabble into other things, dabble into fashion, dabble into painting and doing weird-just, just doing their weird, eccentric things- I find things like that to be very fascinating and inspiring.
Natascha: By any chance, are you a musician, too?
Josh: Um, of sorts.
Natascha: That’s wonderful. I like the cross between the two. The artistic brain. Where do you envision your art going in the future?
Josh: That’s a really good question. I’m not too sure because of that intuitive nature, that is the most fun. I don’t know if I really see a direction or goal for it, but I know that I want to keep on doing it. I won’t stop doing it because it feels, it feels good to do. But it is also very nice to have people recognize and be interested in it too. And I think I’ve been away for so long that I haven’t, I haven’t gotten that for a long time. It’s really cool to see other people interested in it, asking questions, and curious. And I think that kind of drives me to, to keep going. I think that as long as people are interested then I’ll keep wanting to put myself out there because it’s, it’s definitely a thing that I’ve shied away from in the past. This is kind of my first, first go for it.
Natascha: When was a time when your art took you by surprise?
Josh: That’s a very good question. Think lately almost every piece has taken me by surprise because of that, that nature of not having an initial idea. And basically just like taking a couple of steps and, and taking steps back and looking and kind of talking with the clay and, figuring out, what do you, what do you want to be, you know? So, I feel like that has, has been always surprising when, you put a coil up to one side and you’re like, wow, that actually looks really cool there. Let’s… let’s just do that. Because if it messes it up, I could always make another one. And I think that’s something that I never had instilled in me before. I was always like so afraid to make the next move because it would ruin the best thing that I’ve ever made. But now it’s like, no, this, the base of this didn’t take very long. Like, I’m just going for it so I could always do it again, you know? So.
Natascha: What advice do you have for a younger or a beginner artist?
Josh: My advice is super simple. It’s just to do it.
If you feel like doing it, just do it.
(Interview with Josh Roller)
Because it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter- ultimately. It’s for you do the art for you. Don’t try not to do it for other people. And just keep going because, you know, the more that you put it off, the more you’re probably going to want to do it. But it kind of creates an anxiety that you’ll stay away from. And I think really the advice to my younger self also would even just be to, to just do it. Stop talking about it and just try it.Because the more that you fail, the better you will be, because failure isn’t scary, It’s- it’s learning.
Natascha: Check out Josh and his art and ceramics at the Festival of Dreams August 25th to the 27th at Halvorsen Park Pre-party with us August 13th as we parade through Old Town Eureka. Thank you, everyone, for reading and thank you, Josh, for the wonderful, amazing interview.
The smell of petrichor seeped through the window. The three littles ranging from two to six sat in car seats while my eldest, my friend, and I, along with the beagle, Aspen, who jumped from lap to lap sat in the front in the F150 with all our gear in the bed. We drove through the quaint Victorian town of Ferndale and past the sign that read, Capetown Petrolia, up a winding road. I put Get This Party Started on by Pink! We sang songs for about twenty minutes from the sign until we lost service and resorted to country blues CDs. We pulled off the road when it began to drizzle and questioned heading back to avoid the rain. We quickly decided we would bear through it and drove over the mountain to the coast where the fog rolled off the sea. The wind blew through fields of tall grass. Petrolia has one store/ post office, a cluster of homes, and some beautiful gardens. A skateboard ramp repping the tag “P Town” and other artist-like homes are sprinkled off the roads.
A little way out A.W. Way campsite is on the right of the road south. It is first come, first serve but there are many campsites. A.W. Way is $30 a night campground compared to the coastal campsite which is $8. We chose this one to avoid high winds. We settled on the far side/ inside of the loop, where there was easy river access. Rolling mountains surrounded the campsite. There are no redwoods in the area due to humidity and a lack of fog, said one of the trail signs near the entrance by the showers and bathrooms. We unpacked the bikes first and the kids chased after one another making the half loop around the site. The large Costco tent will fit us all. When the kids came in we had them collect pinecones and twigs to help start our fire.
We were soon greeted by our neighbors and their kids. We instantly connected and were encouraged to step out of our shells and socialize.
The mother of the neighboring kids told us after taking us in fully, “It’s easy to get caught up in the time-lapse of being a mother, we forget to forgive, and most of all we forget to forgive ourselves.”
Down on the riverbed, we found a small pool with salamanders, tadpoles, and river snakes. The kids used a net to catch and release the critters. My two-year-old played easily in his floaties with the other kids in this small pool. Further down, east, there is a bridge and a trail that we never found but got lost along the river looking for. To the west there was a bigger pool where we brought the kids and found many of the other campers lounging in. The rushing of the stream into the bigger pool was enough to quickly float the littles down a way without being too aggressive or pushing their heads underwater. I wish I had brought water shoes. I laid with the baby on the rocks and I was elevated.
If there are so many moms in the world, I thought, and this is how they feel when they hold their child, then there must be really good energy going into this world on a constant basis.Â
We cooked chicken and boxed fried rice one night and the other night we made burgers. We had fruits and circus animals for snacks. Marshmallows and graham crackers for dessert. Bacon and muffins for breakfast. Top Ramen and hot chocolate after heating up some water. We always pack too much food but often forget one of the kitchen supplies- salt and pepper, dish soap, sponge, cutting board, etc.
The second day we picked up the ecstatic fifth kid from Lost Coast camp and we were met up with another friend. The wind picked up and even though our tent was staked it was pulled right out of the dirt causing it to collapse. We parked the car to face the wind and that protected our tent enough- along with a few more stakes. At night we sat under a billion stars calling out the spaceships, satellites, and exploding stars. We played Cards Against Humanity, the family edition and told scary stories that lead to old memories and funny outcomes. The kids fell asleep easily and it wasn’t freezing throughout the night, even though I’m sure it can be near the Autumn.
On the last day the park really seemed to fill. Schools, dirt bike groups, and lots and lots of families loaded into the sites. The campsite supports a good amount of people and it seems that it attracts a fun and heartfelt crowd. Leaving Petrolia we stopped by the store and loaded up on fresh snacks. We made a longer stop on the coast and collected shells and driftwood. Our camping trip was easy going and we were happy to escape the hustle and bustle of Humboldt city life.
Little Lost Forest 