Jacqueline Maloney, Artist: September 2012

I've been day and night dreaming some intense visions of animals, art forms, and landscape all of which feel tribal and old to me. These images have been an impetus for and a reflection of a recent exploration into animal medicine from several tribal traditions; various native american groups, pacific islanders, and the maya all have left rich mythologies that teach a strong relationship between people, animals and habitat. Many stories illustrate how one may learn skills and solutions from careful observation of animals and the earth's cycles that apply to surviving and thriving in our communities and individual lives. People make sense of and navigate their lives by finding, or creating, meaning of all that we can sense. A snake may shed its skin to cleanse itself of parasites and allow for physical growth, but for a long time humans have included this process as an important metaphor in our own mythology. A reminder to allow parts of ourselves to die when they no longer serve us, and to revel in the fresh energy, or rebirth, the letting go of things kindles. As I seek to apply this method of learning to my own life, I realize that seeing animals and ecosystems as teachers directly impacts my ability to nurture and live in respect of my environment. So this tradition becomes a cycle of sustenance, reminding me that self-sustenance and sustenance of my environment are not separate, but co-dependent.