Volume 22
Support Cynthia Alberto's cancer treatment & Natalie's Going Home Celebration; TrauMonsters by Trishia Frulla; Mendocino Coast Writers' Conference; wingless bumblebee love
ACTION ITEMS
This GoFundme is for a member of our Volume 22 contributor, Trishia Frulla’s community.
From Cynthia Alberto:
Many of you may know me through Weaving Hand, my Weaving and Healing Arts Center that has been serving the community for the past 17 years. Many of you may know me as Cindy, a childhood friend, Cynthia the mother of 2, the artist, the dreamer, the maker. I am deeply saddened to now introduce this part of my journey.
I have recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer, and due to rapid changes in my health and abilities to function on a day-to-day basis, my family and I have sadly had to close Weaving Hand's doors, the main source of my daily income and survival.
PLEASE SUPPORT CYNTHIA ALBERTO HERE.
This GoFundme was brought to our attention through our deathwork community. We send our love out to their families and community and are asking those who are able, to consider donating to Natalie's Going Home Celebration & Funeral.
From Natalie’s sister:
Hey, alot of you may Know me as Nina. Natalie's sister/bestfriend. Natalie was a kind hearted, genuine person. She loved EVERYONE. In the short 30 years Natalie was here with us, she impacted so many lives. Unfortunately, this was all unexpected and the family wasn't prepared but we really want to give my sister a nice Going Home celebration. So if you could please help. Anything will do. 1$ 5$ ANYTHING. Thank you guys so much.
PLEASE SUPPORT NATALIE’S SISTER HERE.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This Volume’s Food For Thought is also an Offering to our community. We are thrilled to have Trishia Frulla’s contributions for us which include a loving exercise along with some writing around the process behind her TrauMonsters pieces.
We met Trishia through our Going with Grace deathworker community. She also conceived of Hypofuture’s Death of Me exhibit (a group art exhibit which had a focus on death and grief) which included our original installation piece Holding Space last Fall.
Trishia Renee Frulla (she/they/siya) is a Queer, Pilipinx visual & social practice artist and death worker memorializing experiences of grief and joy.
Raised in Luiseño Territory and the Kingdom of Hawai’i, she has been fascinated with materials and their relationship to one another for as long as she remembers. As a child, Trishia recalls observing the buildings against the backdrop of tropical trees and watching her mother mend poi balls from recyclable materials around their home.
Trishia holds a Bachelors of Arts in Studio Art from California State University, Long Beach, and a certification in user experience (UX) design from General Assembly. She has shown her work in New York City, Southern California and Canada, and is currently practicing ease in between supporting trauma through sunbathing, tending to her garden, and discovering new recipes to feed her chosen family.
More Ways to learn about their work:
https://www.trishiafrulla.com/ https://www.instagram.com/trishiafrulla/ https://www.hypofutures.com/
Trauma Monsters
by Trishia Frulla
Try this exercise with me:
Close Your eyes. Take a deep breath into your body noticing where it feels... Different.
You might need more than one breath.
There might be more than one place that feels… Different.
Take a minute to feel which one(s) to focus on
Once you've arrived at a focus, ask yourself:
What does this difference feel like?
How big are they?
What color/shape/texture might they be?
Do they have a name?
Notice what comes up as you ask yourself these questions. Let yourself imagine this difference for as long as you need.
I’ve done this exercise for years—along with other ones—and every time, I learn something new. That’s the thing with trauma though: once it’s in you, it finds a place to live in your body until you do something about it.
At the start of 2020 I began crocheting dolls I’ve lovingly named, TrauMonsters. They began on a flight home from the Philippines at the end of winter, and continued with the onset of The Pandemic. In the month of May alone, I crocheted about 25 TrauMonsters.
I think about Trauma as a kind of death. It’s a death of a part of our life, and also a death of a piece of ourselves. When trauma occurs, your reality dies, and when your reality dies, you need to grieve.
That’s where this process came in. It was a sort of nonlinear equation built upon these formulas:
Locate the trauma
Gather materials
Crochet your TrauMonster
(I’ve made a zine-style guidebook on moving through them and will also work with you on discovering and processing them, if it’s something you feel called to do.)
Once the TrauMonsters were created though, what did I do with them? I guess that depended on what I needed at the time. It was important to me to be able to feel free to acknowledge them in whatever capacity necessary, and to most importantly be gentle with myself. Sometimes I just put them away. I stuffed them in a basket and hid them in my closet. Other times I slept with them—holding them like I would a baby blanket or the teddy bear I’ve had since I was a child. The one I slept with was filled with My Insecure Inner-Child—photos of young me from middle school. In one of the more tumultuous moments, I hung all but 9 TrauMonsters above my bed in a spiderweb made of yarn and baby’s breath (a flower representing purity) for a virtual exhibition centered on boundaries.
Now my TrauMonsters live with me until I need them again. Some are hung in clusters on the walls of my studio, while others are resting in their basket with a bunch of crochet flowers. I’ve even moved into life sized versions where I can work even more specifically w parts of my body—physical reminders of very real emotions. I know not to shame them when they show up in me anymore (even though it’s extremely hard not to sometimes). They’re a part of me, and ultimately I’m grateful. Sometimes I’m definitely not though—I am human after all.
More from Trishia:
(Podcast) MeSearch: Featuring Filipino Perspectives: How Does Art Heal Trauma?
“In this episode of MESEARCH, we meet artist and death worker, Trishia Frulla. Today, we discuss how Trisha helps others process their trauma through crocheted sculptures and dolls. In their death work, they channels memorials for past selves and spirits through ritual and art. Ultimately, Trishia helps individuals through memorializing their experiences of grief and joy.”
OFFERINGS WE LOVE
The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference (MCWC) is an annual gathering of writers from all genres in Mendocino, CA*. Mornings are spent workshopping and afternoons are loaded with seminars, pitch panels, consultations and open mics. This year MCWC is excited to offer eleven workshop options in a wide-range of genres facilitated by dedicated writers’ who are masters of their craft.
Master Class: Expermimental Memior and Story Structure with Ariel Gore
Screenwriting: Screenwriting Beyond the Page with Q. Terah Jackson (see below for a special discount in solidarity with the writers’ strike!)
Mystery: Developing your Mystery Toolbox with Rachel Howzell Hall
MG/YA: Embracing the Monstrous with Emily Lloyd-Jones
Novel: Writing Real and Authentic Characters with Nayomi Munaweera
Short Fiction: Get Lost: Finding the True Heart of a Story with Margaret Malone
Poetry: From Drafts to Better Drafts with Daniel B. Summerhill
Speculative Fiction: The Shapes of You with Ploi Pirapokin
Emerging Writers: Begin Again: A Writing Workshop to Revive and Revise Us with Muriel Leung
Memoir: Transforming the Material of Our Lives Into Art with Sarah McColl
Non-Fiction: The Narrative of Self with Carvell Wallace
MCWC is honored to offer a 50% discount in solidarity with the writers’ strike specifically for writers taking the screenwriting workshop. Use discount code: WGASTRONG.
THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 30!
What: Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference
When: August 3-5. 2023
Where: Mendocino, CA*
Cost: $675 (includes breakfast/lunch, not lodging)
FIND OUT MORE HERE
REGISTER HERE
*Please note that Mendocino is a small, rural community on the Northern California Coast. 2-ish hours from the nearest small airport (Santa Rosa, CA) and about 3 hours from larger airports in the Bay Area. The roads to the coast are wooded, windy and downright beautiful. The economy of Mendocino depends on tourism and as such it is wise to book lodging sooner rather than later. Fort Bragg is about 20 minutes north and has more options for food and lodging. The conference has detailed TRAVEL INFO and ACCOMMODATION INFO for your benefit.