December: All Of It For All Of Us
As humans, we are compelled to tell stories. Sometimes these stories help us understand and explain the mysterious forces of our world, and often these stories change with changing times. Old myths give way to new discoveries; new discoveries integrate into more holistic perspectives—our stories shift a lot. But there are a few stories alive right now that seem totally fixed — more real than real. One of these is the central myth of capitalism: that some of us deserve to have a lot more than others.
Belief in this story is at the heart of so much suffering across the world—we can see it within deforestation and resource extraction, displaced migrants and questions of national borders, and the tremendous gap between the rich and the poor across the globe; we can also see it within the psyche of the privileged, and the psyche of the oppressed, keeping minds and hearts at odds. We offer you this spell at the close of a year that has intensified this suffering on many terrains and also seen new uprisings and resistance. Help us live out a different story and co-author a more sane world.
About the spell
This is an anti-capitalist spell—with it we mean to rekindle the lines of living connection that are daily threatened by the myths of capitalist culture. It is a spell about seeing through the myths of scarcity and supremacy. Working with this spell means unblinding ourselves and beginning to tell new stories, truer stories. We don’t have to know what systems come next, we don’t have to figure out all the details—we just take the first step together by choosing to live a different story. Like the crows in this image, let’s find ways to broadcast that all life deserves enough resources to live and thrive. Let’s sensitize ourselves and our communal spaces to this ancient, radical story. And if—or when—we’re struggling to believe this truer story, let’s commit to supporting each other and finding the resources we need in order to feel its truth once more.
Meditation on All of It For All of Us
For this meditation, please begin by getting comfortable—as comfortable as you can allow yourself to be. As you settle into yourself and the moment that’s holding you, consider the vast network of systems that function together in the dazzling choreography of your Self. If it happens naturally, allow your mind to marvel for a moment at the coordinative feats of your own existence. See if you can allow and notice whatever responses emerge from you as you consider the inner multiplicity that makes you a whole individual. And now, simply breathe. Breathe naturally, with keen attention on the moments you are stitching your presence into with your breath. Without a single thought required, the intricate systems of your being are breathing through this breath—each organ, each cell, each current of vitality riding on this momentum. With no thought required—it simply works—your living system works without a single conscious thought required. Your mind, with its thinking no longer needed, can watch and feel until those two actions begin to merge. Wherever you find fear, you’ve found a place thirsty for breath and hungry for connection. Breathing, seeing what you feel and feeling what you see, you are living out a story of intimate connection with the world you are utterly immersed in. Starting in your own body, just like this, you can practice living the declaration: All of It for All of Us. All the breath for all the cells! All the connections for all the systems! All the feelings for all the witnessing! A moment of meditation on a manifesto like this can seep into the deep places where all the old stories live, like fresh water trickling into an old, stagnant pond, bringing oxygen enough for the life in us to breathe again.
About the painting:
Corina: I feel like December is often where we try to cram too much into the image. It’s the culmination of the year, a time for festivity and bonfires and gifts, and I often freak out a little about how to do get all that excessiveness in there. I’m glad we chose to tone that down this year, and just let a few crows and berries stand in for all the abundance we’re working toward.
Jocelyn: We have a history of making less than climactic December images and this one is a welcome exception. When I look at this one, I think, yeah! I’m in support of the message, and heartened by the image. And I also think we should remember that this worked and just have two crows or ravens reminding us of something true every December. But then I remember that’s not how we make the art that we make—nothing quite so logical will do.
This month's offerings:
We've got a sale going on this image for the whole month of December! Buy a print of “All of it” and get 15% off, using the coupon code ALLOFIT
There will be a few chances to see Jo this month if you’re in or around Asheville:
Dec. 14th 5:30 - 7:30: Wild Awake in Marshall, NC
Art opening at Flow Gallery in Marshall, NC with hand-embroidered giclées of each of our 2019 spells in custom, hand-built wooden frames. Come by and celebrate our eighth collaboration in my sweet hometown!
Dec. 15th 4-6pm: Yoga for the Obliteration of Tyranny in West Asheville, NC
Jo’s beloved heavy metal yoga class designed to overthrow internalized oppression - sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds, at the beloved West Asheville Yoga Studio - still a few spots left if you want to register.
Dec. 22 11am-4pm: Firestorm Coop’s Craft Pop Up
Abacus Corvus, HTV Jewelry, Ceramic Song, and Emily Eagen Art will be set up with last minute holiday shopping galore - this event benefits the Firestorm Coop and all the critical work they do in our community!!
You can also pick up a calendar and more artwork from Corina if you’re in Olympia!
Dec. 15th noon-5pm: Last Minute Craft Fair at 115 Legion.
This craft fair is the last of the season for Corina, and is also an event to raise funds to support the migrant caravan, and to keep the new artists’ collective and event space 115 Legion up and running!
We’re are getting down the last few 2019 Calendars and expect to sell out by New Year’s -- so if you haven’t yet, you can order your calendar here!! And, as always, you can follow our shenanigans at @abacuscorvus on Instagram. And you can find out what each of us is up to by following @corinadross and @jocelyncorvus
And Finally - THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US FOR ANOTHER YEAR!