Artfarmers Sandy Buck. Eilis Carpentier, Jaqueline Rogers and a whole bunch of sophisticated pumpkin carvers collaborated on a truly mystical Halloween spiral this past weekend. Sandy worked all week on the spiral installation combining Eilis's poetry with fallen alders, Japanese knot weed, metal sculpture and lanterns made from recycled plastic and fencing. Eilis brought her passion for the pagan roots of the holiday to the event; poetry, musings and offerings for the bonfire:
"Halloween is rooted in the earth, the natural cycles, not just of death but of rebirth. It is the day when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. This allows movement for the dead back into the world of the living. It's a day to make the dead welcome but also to be wary of the dead. It’s a day to honor our ancestors: a day to ponder the old dark abyss, the shadows, the things that go bump in the night."
Jaqueline helped Sandy lead the charge with our team of pumpkin carvers at the Arts Building - providing soup, muffins and cookies for the Jack-o-lantern sculptors.
Then nature took over. Saturday evening was overcast but dry, calm, allowing the lanterns room to breathe in the cool October air. Sunday was clearer (even a sliver of the moon paid us a visit) but windier with Eilis's poetry rustling in the wind and the bonfire raging high. Both nights the children ran through the spiral screaming, yelling - then silent, transfixed. The adults gathered around the bonfire. It was a magical evening, one that opened up a whole new side of Halloween. Yes, there is craziness, candy, costumes - but there is also the eeriness of fall, the chill in the air, the beginning of winter.
