Thoughts behind "Acorn" - A Performance Piece (Patreon)

Today I’d like to share with you some thoughts behind a performance piece I did in the very beginning of my pregnancy with Arthur. This was a piece I did live-streamed in April 2020 at the very beginning of the pandemic. It was curated by Grace Exhibition Space and performed at Three Phase Center for Collaborative Art Research and Building. 

I chose acorns to be objects of focus in this piece with the idea of preparation and potential. The acorn both represented mine (and Luke’s) preparation for the unknown with setting out on being parents, similar to a squirrel storing its nuts in preparation for winter, and the tiny seed within me - barely noticeable - that would become a whole lifetime of a whole person, similar to the acorn becoming the mighty oak. They now live on my meditation altar!

I first held all of the acorns in my dress and then let them release onto the floor into chaos. I created a circle of safety, sanctuary, and intention out of the acorns. I then pulled out ribbons from a Mother Goose book and tied them to the acorns, creating a feeling of petals. Each ribbon represented a prayer. These ribbons I used both as wings and tied them around my waist, letting the acorns cascade once again in between my legs.

In the end, I piled all of the materials onto the storybook - representing them taking on a story of their own.