The Traveling Native// Planting The Seed

The Traveling Native is a project that came into fruition after weeks following a 7-day Vipassana retreat at Spriit Rock in Nothern CA. For those who may not be aware of a Vipassana retreat, it is also known as insight meditation influenced by Buddhist meditation. I attended this retreat as a gift to myself for my 30th birthday and honestly, did not realize what I got myself into until I left. It was one of those decisions that changed my life and I came back from it disconnected with the work that I have done with the florals and was seeking a new way of creative expression. This is where The Traveling Native came into my awareness. I wanted to create work that not only had meaning, but was reflective of the new space and perspective that I gained while I was at Spirit Rock. I reconnected with myself, grounded down by slowing down and gave myself the self-love I was seeking from others. It was truly liberating to be able to feel in-tuned and reinforced by nature and myself of some life-changing decisions I had made, one of which was to take a risk and do THE CROWN COLLECTIVE full time.

In November 2015, the thought of going back to where we started and this concept of reconnecting with Mother Earth came into my mind. After some reflection, The Traveling Native became not only a thought, but I knew it would be something that would allow me the opportunity to not only have a creative outlet, but allow me to explore personally and professionally a culture that inspires me.

I am not sure where or how long I plan to work on The Traveling Native , but I do know that it will be a journey I am looking forward to experiencing. I hope to create something at the end of this journey that reflects my experiences in a manner that displays artistically this spiritual journey to reconnecting with the roots of Native America.

Below is a collection of some things I gathered during my stay at Sprit Rock, all with meaning to my experience and act as a visual cue of the underpinnings of this project with The Traveling Native .

Turkey Feather // Represents pushing through the unknown and being able to come out with a greater sense of purpose.

Pine Leaves // I went walking in the woods during a storm and I found myself stranded by down pour, surrounded by hundreds of Pine Trees. All I could smell was the clean, crisp air filled with the scent of pine and rain.

I received this unique paper given to me as a gift from my friend Danny for my birthday before I headed off to Spirit Rock, which were passed down in his family and were printed on Dambar Kumari Paper, a Nepali cloth printing style used for centuries by the people of Nepal. It was remarkable to notice the print of a bird with huge feathers after the fact and attune to the fact that everything is meant to be.