Notes

I just had a dream of a new lichen engagement inspired by the EPA. Their instructions are clear and accessible. They are simple. I dreamed of the snow on the patio and a front page with it. There are options for different ways of engagement, and instructions. Participants choose which protocol to contribute to. Various protocols include:

Lichen Dance:
Walk among the lichen, or dance among them or crawl among them. How does your body shift? What sort of choreography is required to adapt to them? In my dream I had such a beautiful vision. Maybe I should rest more.

I want to start somehow by a welcoming, an entering ritual. It can be a simple crawling, right?
Welcoming walk crawl
Walk and crawl among the lichen, whispering greetings and recognizing their presence.
How must our body adjust so as to center their well being? How does this shifting feel in your body and breath?

Speaking of rest, this is another protocol.

Rest with the lichen.
Find a patch where you can lie for some time, or sit in a still, comfortable position. Whisper to the lichen around you, expressing your intention to rest with them. if you'd like, set a timer to experience resting in duration. Try 7 minutes or longer, and set the volume to low.
While resting, notice your breath and desires. Change positions as necessary
After timer rings:
What do you see? How does your body feel? Allow yourself to crawl around or get up slowly and move around, letting the lichen time linger in your body.

More info:
Lichens grow less than a millimeter per year. They are one of the oldest organisms alive, and they don't age. How can resting be a way of experiencing lichen time?




>>>Find a place you haven't been to yet or, find a new perspective, a new angle, and a new level. Bring drawing supplies. What patterns do you see on this patio landscape? What other life forms? Where are the lichens? Make drawings, sketches, or write observations. What can seeing the whole patio at once teach us?<<<




Get close to a lichen assemblage, allowing comfort in your body. Sketch an outline. Where do the lichen end? What counts as one lichen?

More info:
What you are drawing is an outline of a lichen Thallus. This is the body of the lichen, seemingly one contained world. A much closer look would reveal a symbiosis (the word was invented to describe lichen) between algae and fungi, as well as cyanobacteria. This is a whole world. There are many worlds here!

>>> I want a separate place for observational sketches, for diagrams to be posted and shared<<<
Make a sign and space, a table

Air
Acknowledge the air space of the patio. How might air be moving? What is it carrying with it? Move through the lichen with the awareness of air moving you and you moving air. Bend down to a lichen that catches your eye. Breathe>>> Offer it your CO2 and accept its oxygen.
>>>Have video of leaf blowing in corner on loop<<<

>>Give a gesture to the air present on the patio. How is it moving? What is it carrying with it? Move through the lichen with an awareness of air moving you and you moving the air. How does it feel against your skin? Bend down to a lichen that catches your eye. Breathe: offer your C02 and accept its oxygen. Repeat as much as you like.

More details:
Lichen are extremely sensitive to air and are important bioindicators. They only grow in areas with low sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide pollution. How might your offering be a a form of reparations? Might it be a way of making kin?

Water
Where is the water in the landscape? Where is the water in your body? Feel the grass outside the patio for clues, or feel the surface of the bricks. Gently touch the lichen. Is it hard or soft? Wet or dry? Feed the lichen some water, then drink some yourself. Notice how the algae awaken and change color. How does your body respond to water? Feel free to pause and use the restroom or rehydrate at any time.

More info:
Because lichen have no roots or filtration system, they are Poikilohydric: their water content changes with the moisture of the surrounding environment. Even though they can't prevent themselves from drying out, they can withstand doubts and freezes, rehydrating with the next rainfall.

How is the lichen experiencing touch? Where does it seem to be going?
Feed the lichen some water, then drink some yourself.

Examine through a crack
Take pictures and upload them
Whisper to the lichen
Research the bricks

Think outside: What is this space? When was it constructed? How can we rethink the way we care for it and the life that inhabits it?

What about option for people off campus? >>> It's alright. For our sakes, let's get this done first.

Section for WWL: World Wide Lichen!

I also should provide my own research into lichen and share resources, right? >>> I am doing that with "More info"!
Note: BEAUTIFUL thing is how EPA encourages participants to bring care to their actions while they do them. This really really deepens and heals me in different ways.




Photoshoot: Here's how you do it, and while you do it, bring care, love, and kindness. Show affection. Flirt and show gratitude. Whisper to the lichen and your own body as well. That's it! Go between seeing through camera and seeing without. How does the device/lens help you come closer and connect to the lichens? How does it distance you? Express affirmations and gratitude, thank the lichens for letting you take a picture of them.
Examine photos: What do the photos/videos reveal? How does this way of seeing feel in your body?

>>> Slowly walk among the lichen, letting your eyes and body glide with care. Is there a particular group that calls your attention? Get close to the lichen with your camera. How close can you get before the focus blurs? As you photograph and videotape, bring love and care to the lichen. Whisper and flirt. Go between seeing through camera and seeing without.
Express affirmations and gratitude, thanking the lichens for letting you take a picture of them.

More info:
How does the device/lens help you come closer and connect to the lichens? How does it distance you?
Submit contributions to the Patio Archive by emailing [email protected]




Update: Crawling is a kind of dance. As is walking. It doesn't have to be a dance. Also, bring warm clothes and gloves just in case.

Today has been a glorious day. As I sit and type in the warmth, snow gently billows around, landing on the lichen and melting on their tongues. I'm mesmerized.

Oh my goodness. What a gift it would be, invitation to rest with lichen. I love the simple accessibility of this project. Vocal meditations tend to have a certain strict precious seriousness, but this feels timeless and accessible. Like the writing of the score. Sometimes removing voice might offer more space for interpretation and engagement.

Where do the lichen end?

Maybe they find a particular lichen, and bond with them?

Invitation to rest with lichen, invitation to go on a lichen walk, invitation to crawl, invitation to be.

Bring warm comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and a phone to take photos if you'd like.

12/4
I'm battling between zooming in moment to moment, ie, take in the patio
well, welcome the VAPA patio. There are lichen here. Take a look from a distance. What do you see? Do you see

How about,
Welcome to the Lichen Patio!
This is a brick patio. There are many stories and lives being lived here, one of which is lichen. I've been spending some time with them this term,
Take in the patio from distance. Notice this and notice that. How does this noticing make you feel? What excites you?