Unity Art

I've designed a practice I call Unity Art that opens the doors of creative healing, to heal our connection to the earth - to Creation. We are all (de facto) connected because we are a part of nature, but we have built walls to keep nature separate, because our culture is human focused; we've been taught that we are more important than other parts of nature, and that's a hard lesson to unlearn.

I've shared some Medicine Art for fall seeds, and also for autumn leaves, that included the intentional steps listed below. I'm discovering that it's easy to find ways to connect to the earth, and, with intention, any simple task (even a chore) becomes a path to healing.

Unity Art includes these parts: 

1. Setting an intention: name, list, define (often this requires some research to figure out);
2. Collecting: explore, and gather sustainably;
3. Observing: take a pause, use all your senses, take notes and drawings;  
4. Preparing: mis en place - do all your preparation, including preparing our state of mind, before moving on to creation;
5. Creating: use your creative fire to heal (cooking, crafting, art, writing, dance);
6. Sharing and giving thanks.

1. Setting an Intention: 

The first step in any Unity Art process is (usually) to define the project: That requires some research, meditation, and discernment. I might start by listing or naming the subject(s) of my Art, then dive into the science and folklore to figure out the importance of the subject, and then meditate on my relationship with the subject. 

I've found its best to narrow the subject down to a relatable entity, and set a compact intention for a season or even for a week of time (rather than Unity Art for leaves, it's for fall leaves; rather than Unity art for rain, it's for first fall rains).

My ultimate intention with Unity Art is usually to use my creative fire to forge a stronger connection between me and the subject. Artists have been doing this for centuries. When I do a search online I find some amazing works that artists have done with nature as a subject, and these inspire me. 

But the Art in my practice is also practical: I ask, what applications of creative skill can I adopt to serve nature? to witness for nature? What ceremony or traditional craft might help to forge deep connection?

After this discernment, I can set a complete intention for how I want to heal our relationship, and some ideas for how I might start to do that.

2. Collecting as a sacred activity:

Unity Art collecting has 2 parts; first exploring. When I set an intention to "explore for seeds," for example, my walks take on a new kind of focus: They become a meditation - I move slower and look at every plant with new eyes (walk like a little kid).

That leads to sustainable gathering: I don't want to be a greedy human, taking whatever I want, so I consider others who might need this subject of my Art, and gather only what I truly need. The other part of sustainability is to remind myself of the economics; collecting my own seeds, for example, saves me money, and lets me always grow my favorite varieties.

3. Observing:

Once you have gathered the subject of your Art, you need to take a crucial pause: Sit down, take a breath, and look at it, to really notice it, and recognize it as being amazing and significant.

It's always helpful to look through the eyes of a young person. my young people are preschool-aged, so our observation is very tactile.

4. Preparing:

I use the French cooking phrase mis en place (pronounced ​mi zɑ̃ ˈplas) to describe the Medicine Art way to prepare your collected supplies; it means "putting in place," and refers to the setup, chopping, and arranging you do before cooking, and also a state of mind of being prepared: Do all your preparation, including preparing yourself, before moving on to creation. Take a few minutes to gather your supplies and clear an area to work. Then set an intention to honor your subject by giving it what it needs to survive. Create a love connection between you and the subject.

5. Creating:

As I said earlier, my intention with Unity Art is to use my creative fire to forge a stronger connection between me and the subject. All of the steps up until now have been working on me to form connections, and now I'm ready to honor my subject with my creativity. 

I use every skill I have: Creative gardening, preservation, crafting, writing, and painting. The final product might be in the form of a poem, a ceremony, a container to hold the subject, or a traditional craft or food. Sometimes I share a craft that can teach others (craftivism), and sometimes it's artwork that I can hang on the wall. Often it's more of an every day art, like making pickles, or saving seeds ... these practices require as much skill. 

And I want to be clear that the Unity Art is the whole process, not the final product.

6. Thanksgiving and sharing:

The culmination of a Medicine Art project is to give thanks, and share. At the end of a Medicine Art process, I feel a great gratitude for the subject.