Day of the Dead - 9 Days of Flowers - A practise of remembering
An online-led art process with flowers for the time of Samhain and Day of the Dead.
Starts:Monday 24th October 6-8pm,
9 days of personal artwork, and a final class Thursday 3rd October 6-8pm to reflect.
Final class Thursday 3rd October 6-8pm to reflect and close.
In Mexico, 9 circles of flowers are made in the traditional floor altar that welcomes the dead back to be honoured and celebrated at this special time of year. It signifies the nine steps or dimensions travelled through from across the veil to come visit us, to be remembered. Flowers are such an integral part of this ceremony. It is a celebration, a thanksgiving and honouring. Bright marigolds, the multi-petalled cempasuchil like the sun, shining to light the way. Flowers are universally one thing humanity can agree on for spiritual ceremony.. that their beauty and joy is sacred - that they are of this world and the other and therefore a bridge.
In this art meditation, you will be led by a beautiful art exercise using flowers either in drawing, painting, colour, altar making or arranging - each day for nine days. It will be a conversation between you, the flowers, spirit and perhaps your loved one’s passed over - a sure journey of beauty, joy, remembrance, grief, faith, discovery and celebration. You might choose to work on one piece and add to it each day, or make a series of nine works. What you create you can regard as sacred.
The work does if it’s appropriate to you, sensitively lend itself to working closely with one person who is in spirit and using the flowers to connect and celebrate or talk or heal something with them during this time. Or you can choose an offering to someone different each day. Art can be the medium, and this time made as a ritual.
How it will work:
24th Oct 6-8pm (UK): online class with full instructions for the nine days, information on flowers, flower traditions and flower altars for this time. We will do an art exercise and create a sensitive opening of the work, a safe container for this sacred time.
25th Oct - 2 Nov - each day for nine days you will make a piece of art with the flowers. This does not have to be more than 20mins work - it will be up to you. Prompts and inspiration will be sent to you each day.
You will be invited to share in a collective WhatsApp group along the way but this is not at all obligatory. (Some people find it supportive and inspiring)
3rd Nov 6-8pm (UK): online class to showcase and reflect on our work, including a closing art and flower ceremony
Suggested materials list and zoom link sent on booking
£70 per person. BOOK HERE
(image featured: Flor de cempasúchil by Tere Chávez 2019)
