Magic

The Wigi Dome

/ N.Pearson / Leave a comment

An Interactive Art Installation

What inspired the Wigi Dome?

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. 

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. 

What is the Wigi Dome? 

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.

What is the Festival of Dreams?

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. 

–Stephanie McGeary, https://lostcoastoutpost.com/

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. 

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? 

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. 

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. 

Check out the Wigi Dome Website at https://littlelostforestar.wixsite.com/little-lost-forest.

Please donate toward our Go Fund Me! https://gofund.me/bc4db4cf

Come check us out tomorrow 9/9/2023 at Recovery Happens!

The Wigi Dome: What inspired it, What it is, What it has accomplished, and Where it's going next.

Tarot for Beginners and Deck Reviews

/ N.Pearson / 1 Comment
Original Art by Natascha Pearson

Tarot has been an impactful tool to explore my reflection and objections of self and a life path guide. Sometimes I will draw cards on my past, and the card will put things into perspective about how I channeled my energy at that time. Other times the cards will map out a future path and remind me of what I should avoid or be wary of or what I should accept and be open to. I interpret the cards, and part of that interpretation is an inside intuition, and that is the psychic within. 

(All links in this article are Affiliate links or lead you to my Etsy. Thank you for exploring and supporting my writing by purchasing through these links at no extra cost to you.) 

Tarot, the suit cards, 21 trump cards, and the matto card (aka “the fool”) were played as a game in the 1430s, originating in Italy and spreading throughout Europe. Roma gypsy people took this deck of cards and began the divination fortune-telling Tarot we know now. They believed Tarot was a tool for psychics to interpret symbols for divination, realization, and understanding. 

I started with tarot cards when I was in high school. I became interested in witchcraft and began with the traditional starter deck Rider-Waite Tarot. I liked this deck because the images represent the card’s meaning more evident than most. All tarot decks come with a book for reference. Studying the book wasn’t something I was drawn to at first. Instead, I would pull a card and read up on it as I went. I would sit with that card and see how it resonates with me and my life at that moment. At this point, I was not ready to read for other people, but I was prepared to pull a past, present, and future Tarot spread. After shuffling my deck, I choose to discard my first card or not to discard depending on what came naturally to me. There is no rule on what is right and what is wrong. It’s about flowing with you’re own practice. Thank yourself for showing up and putting forth effort. It is unimportant if you forget to discard the first card before putting out your spread, but it is an option. If the cards are reversed, it is your choice to take this as an opposite meaning or to think of it as upright. You should take into consideration the other cards surrounding it. Either way, go with what flows naturally to you. Don’t be disappointed to receive reversals; if it’s easier for you, flip it upright. 

Then at Lucidity in 2015, an artist I treasure, Gabriel Welch, let me read his cards using his deck. His deck resembled the Druid Animal Oracle Deck, and I remember pulling some prolific birds that predicted a vibrant ongoing career along with obstacles that could arise. I could have been a better tarot reader, but I remember this as a special moment. He took the cards very seriously, considering the images and meanings. 

Later I met my husband, and we traveled to Shasta, where we lived in the woods, this time for about three months. He had the Egyptian Tarot Deck, it was very worn, and I could tell it was full of his energy. I did not have a tarot deck at this point, and I used his for divination. This gave me a lot of hope and guidance as to what our futures looked like and what I could expect. It even foresaw a struggle we would endure that would change our life paths. I was forever thankful for this deck and my time with it. Even though it wasn’t the deck that called to me as my own, it resonated strongly with my husband. It’s a superstition that tarot decks must be gifted to their beholder, but the magic remains the same if it is bought or gifted as long as the deck resonates with the owner. As you can see, there are many different tarot cards, and the symbols may be completely different. The card’s symbols are meant to bring meaning to the card, but there can be different perceptions of cards, such as the King of Cups. Where someone might see the King of Cups as fulfilled and abundant emotions, they might use a deck with the image of a king with a crown and staff holding a cup full of water and his kingdom behind him, or it might be a man at the beach meditating with a singing bowl and starfish like this Light Seer’s Deck. The tarot reader must choose a deck that resonates most with them so they can get the most meaning from the images. This also helps the reader decipher the card’s meaning without looking at the book.

My current deck is the Mystic Manga deck. I got it for my birthday four years ago and enjoyed the imagery and the manuscript with the description of the cards facing forward and reversed. I made this tarot deck cloth; you can purchase it at my shop. I also really like this Past, Present, and Future spread cloth from Tamed Wild and their beautiful Moon phase deck. 

Whichever deck you use to explore your deviation ventures, be easy on yourself. I thank you for researching Tarot and spending the time to explore not just this psychic art but also this bridge to you and the otherworld.  

Here is a gift to you for 10% off of any Tamed Wild product