Out of the Box
First came shock. Deer in the headlights. Fish out of water. No comprehension whatsoever.
Next came skepticism. One of those look left, look right moments that end with a timid “are you talking to me?”
“Yes – I’m talking to you! Wanna come over here and lay down in this coffin?”
Silence.
“It’s a photo booth and it’s free! Haven’t you always wanted to feel what it’s like from this side of the box?”
Shock instantly subsided, swallowed by a fit of laughter. Alacrity. Glee. A childlike jubilation saved for the most the most ridiculous of moments in life. Nothing is more absurd in our culture than being asked to willingly lay down in a casket and close your eyes – let alone get your photo taken there, in that vulnerable, forbidden place. I might as well have asked people to drop their britches mid step and show me their unmentionables.
Still, folks played along. From the oldest patron to the youngest. People were actually curious as to what it was like to lay down in a coffin plush with sheepskin and adorned with flowers. Over 100 people participated and every single one of them had an indelible grin on their face stepping timidly into that casket.
What surprised me most was what happened when folks settled in. From the top of my little ladder – camera in hand – I witnessed muscles relaxing, breath releasing, and each body melting into a state of deep comfort. People looked at home in that casket. There was this sense of peace and rootedness that came over each and every person who I photographed. It was stunning. It was universal. You’ll see what I mean in the photos below.
The children were especially magical to behold. They had no problem cuddling into a plain pine box. A few actually fell asleep there. They have yet to inherit our culture’s fear of death.
My childhood was a magical place full of ruffles, feathers, tulle and lace. I adored dressing up – parading shamelessly around the house in burlap. An imagined Indian princess with lipstick war paint. I relished my time alone in the mornings, before my parents woke – the hour when my imagination ran wild.
I recall one morning. I scamper into the kitchen to make my Nesquik, peruse the morning cartoons, and pull out my chest of dresses. First came the obligatory white Easter tights and matching socks with the turned down lace cuffs. I pick a snow-white taffeta gown with miles of tulle underskirt, the loose bodice gapping from my baby barrel chest. Clear plastic shoes with kitty heels. Pearl clip-ons. Ivory gloves. Aunt Cindy’s wedding veil. I powder my face. Lace my hands. Then I lay down on the coffee table to die.
I was somewhere between the age of picture books and PG movies. My experience with death was limited to sleeping princesses and witches spells hidden in the pages of those little golden books. To me, dying was a way somebody looked – a costume you put on.
When my mom found me lying there, pale and supine, she made the worst face I’ve ever seen. It was like she realized – for the first time – that our daughters and our sons can die. It turned me to ice – my guilt unbearable. What was so scary about death? I held onto that guilt for two decades. When I shared this memory with my mother last August, she didn’t recall it. Yet I held it in my bones for so long – informing my fears.
This is why I created a coffin photo booth. This is why we throw Death Faire. We’re not just interacting with coffins – we are normalizing the concept of our own mortality. We are reconciling with death – learning it’s face – seeing it as the cradle of life. We’re breaking down those walls that our culture has built in our hearts, separating ourselves from our own humanness. Through childlike wonder, we are relearning what it means to be human.
This is why we need to start these conversations and have these experiences – so that our daughters and our sons may not live in fear.
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News + Stories:

Out of the Box
First came shock. Deer in the headlights. Fish out of water. No comprehension whatsoever. Next came skepticism. One of those look left, look right moments that end with a timid “are you talking to me?” “Yes – I’m talking to you! Wanna come over here and lay down in this coffin?” Silence. “It’s a photo…
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Epiphanies at Last Year’s Death Faire (2016), a blog by Anonymous
By Anonymous Incognito Leave a Comment
The 50th year of my life brought on some strange realizations. I was half a century old. I had several “mortality checks” where close friends lost loved ones and I was unable to support them in their experiences…
Filed Under: Abundance News

Crown History of Pepper Festival
By Tami Schwerin Leave a Comment
A central piece of The Amazing Pepper Festival is the crowning of the Pepper King and Queen every year. As a tribute to the artisans that spend their talents and passions, we wanted to capture the past 7 years of crowns. In 2010, year three of Pepper Festival, our collaborator Kristy Yule of Briar Chapel…
Filed Under: Abundance News

Eclipse Community
Eclipse Community About ten million of us headed to the “Arc of Totality” last Monday to see the solar eclipse. Tami and I went to Nashville to meet my brother Glen and Bill Klein who had traveled from Canada for the event. We booked into a crummy Best Western by Opryland—surrounded by a sea of…
Filed Under: Abundance News, Essays
Upcoming workshops + events

THINK AGAIN: Fashion, Farming & Fiber
A Festival Conference
at The Plant• Fri, Apr 27 6:30-8:30 – Sat, Apr 28, 2 PM – 10 PM:
In this Friday Evening Amuse Bouche panel discussion and Saturday daylong festival event, we’ll re-think: The history of big cotton in NC – from the slave ship to the shores of China. The industrial agricultural system. The ills of “fast fashion.” Global industry and the economics of extraction. Conventional fibers and textiles. Social justice. The worldwide effects of garment disposal. Who and what is beautiful? Deep culture versus personal style. We’ll also dive into current sustainable fiber endeavors – such as hemp. We will engage in rethinking fashion by considering the use of upcycled, recycled and local materials. We’ll also shine a light on vendors and designers doing good work on this front – across our world and right here at home!

Amuse Bouche: Fashion, Farming & Fiber
A Part of Think Again: Fashion, Farming & Fiber
A Panel Discussion on the Impact of Apparel• Friday, April 27, 6:30-9 pm:
Our 6th Annual Amuse Bouche event is a festive panel discussion with five outstanding professionals who represent a holistic view of the current paradigm in organic farming, sustainable textiles and eco-friendly fashion. From industrial cotton to hemp farming. From fast-fashion to upcycled boutique wear. We’ll delve into concerns over the impacts of apparel, dive into topics you’re curious about and explore the questions you’re yearning to ask!

Sustainable Fashion Show with East Coast Runway at Think Again:F3
A Part of Think Again: Fashion, Farming & Fiber
A Sustainable Fashion Show by East Coast Runway• Saturday, April 28, 8:00 pm:
East Coast Runway is a sustainable fashion show debuting at Abundance NC’s event THINK AGAIN: Fashion, Farming & Fiber! The show highlights local designers, models, and fiber artists who use sustainably-sourced materials and challenge our dominant cultural paradigm of fast fashion.

Sustainability Tour of our Eco-Industrial Park
FIRST SUNDAY 1-2PM
Come visit and see a working sustainable biodiesel plant, a sustainable agriculture farm, a biodiversity garden, a green building model, an organic local food distributor, a huge solar array with shade-tolerant plants growing underneath it, a micro-distillery, and an organic pesticide/herbicide manufacturer, and much more!

THE WEDDING FEAST by Mardi Magoo & The Modern Mystics
An Ancient Fertility Rite
Disguised as a Burlesque Variety Show, by Mardi Magoo & Modern Mystics• Fri & Sat, May 11-12, 8 – 10 pm:
The Wedding Feast is an ancient fertility rite disquised as a burlesque variety show! Created and directed by Mardi Magoo, with accompanying musicians and performances by The Modern Mystics. This is Ritual Theatre. It’s a cabaret…it’s a ceremony…it’s a pagan bacchanal. Come find out for yourself! *Rated PG-13 – for lots of cussing, adult themes and a little artsy nudity.

Mythtelling with Dr. Martin Shaw at Sparkroot Farm
A Thousand Persian Horses Gallop: Passion, Eloquence & The Road of Story
at Sparkroot Farm• Saturday, May 19, 10 AM – 4 PM:
Join us for a day or a full weekend with mythteller and author, Martin Shaw. Dr. Shaw claims the stories we need arrived right on time about five thousand years ago. They were provocative, mysterious, wild and deep. They were the weft and weave between us, the land and the Otherworld. A mighty currency that has lost all its purchase in modern times. This is the inheritance no one ever told you about. Martin Shaw is at the forefront of the revival of the mythic imagination and widely regarded as one of its most accomplished teachers.

A Way We Once Were Made – A Gathering for Men with Dr Martin Shaw – at Sparkroot Farm
A Mens Gathering
at Sparkroot Farm• Sunday, May 20, 10 AM – 4 PM:
Today is a real cultural moment: the most degraded elements of a toxic masculinity paraded in full view, and a degree of consequence metered out. Let it be so. For men that love and admire women, that are raising kids, are lovers, sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, mentors, partners, we need deep and profound wisdom to draw from at such a time. How do we rise to this cultural moment gracefully, with acute listening, honesty and capacity for depth? It can be an exhausting business to maintain the shape of being human.

Bikes & Barnyards Summer Camp – 2018
A Summer Camp
with TRIANGLE BIKEWORKS • June 16, 9 AM – June 19, 5 PM:
Days of exploring, laughing, and riding, learning camp & forest skills and stewardship, care & functioning of ecosystems and nature and, discovering cooking local! On the last we’ll camp out under the stars while preparing a meal over a fire! The hope is that you’ll never want to go a day without riding your bike again!