Journal
LIVING: Sonoko Sakai
Do you have a morning ritual? If so, what does it consist of? Do you have any self care or beauty habits that you consistently practice? Describe your home in five words: Do you have personal practices for living or well-being that create a reduced environmental impact or are zero waste? (share a recipe, practice or how to) Try as we might, humans will inevitably negatively affect the environment in some ways, both on a local and global scale. With this in mind what are some specific intentions and convictions that you hold close? What is a project for home or living that you have recently started or finished? (share a how to, recipe, etc.) What distracts you? How do you remain centered? My iPhone, I put it away in a mini-nap bag I made to limit my social media time. How has your relationship with your immediate surroundings and the environment at large adapted or changed through the years? Describe a practice in living well that you admire from someone in your community. Share a well-loved family recipe: For The Spice Mix
I get up early in the morning to bake bread (twice a week). I like to have miso soup and toast (made with my bread) for breakfast.
Eat umeboshi, salted ume plums for overall health (especially, digestive health). Umeboshi even travels with me.
Home life is your art.
I compost my kitchen scraps. I believe that cooking starts in the garden and ends in the garden.
The planet is for all living things. We must live in harmony.
I am presently working on a garden project with my friend and permaculturist Jade Luu. (she is the woman in the photograph with me.) Permaculture gardening incorporates techniques and practices that combine wildlife gardening, edible landscaping, and native-plant cultivation into a single and productive ecosystem. It’s actually practicing a way of life rather than doing a goal oriented project.
Our relationship with our immediate surroundings have been affected by the pandemic that we are living through at the moment and by climate change. I have become more aware, more concerned, and more pro-active in finding solutions to combat the changing realities that affect the health of our planet, and by this I mean solutions I can put into action on a daily basis at home. (such as the composting or permaculture that I practice)
Farmers Bill and Miriam Keener and their extended family (4 generations) of Sequachie Cove Farm in Chatanooga, Tennessee. They are my dear friends. They don't’ live close to me but I feel we are part of the same community of people that share the same life values and goals – everything from raising a family to growing food and appreciating art and culture. I have been invited to their farm to teach cooking classes and hope to return soon.
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick, pounded into small pieces
1 dried bay leaf
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 dried shiitake mushroom, broken into pieces
1 (1-inch strip) dried kombu, cut into bite-size pieces
1 ½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 orange, zested
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 ½ cups/340 grams unsalted butter (3 sticks)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1. In a large skillet, toast cinnamon, bay leaf, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves and cardamom pods over medium heat, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the spices. Transfer the toasted ingredients to a spice grinder.
2. Add the mushroom, kombu and peppercorns to the spice grinder, and grind at the highest speed for 30 seconds. Shake the grinder a couple of times as you blend to make sure the cinnamon stick is pulverized. (You can also grind the spices in batches, if necessary.) Transfer the pulverized spices to a small bowl. Add the orange zest, turmeric, ginger, sea salt, paprika and cayenne pepper.
3. To make the roux, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter is nearly melted, lower the heat to medium-low. Gradually whisk in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux turns light brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn the roux. Turn off the heat, add the spice mix and stir until well combined.
4. Divide the mixture among three mini aluminum loaf pans, adding about 3/4 cup per loaf pan, or transfer the entire mixture to a parchment-lined quarter-size sheet tray. Let cool for a few minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the fridge so the bricks can solidify. Once firm, unmold, cut each brick into 9 small curry brick cubes (or, if using a sheet tray, cut the mixture into 27 pieces total) and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for about a month or in the freezer for 3 months.
Masks for Donations
Throughout the month of June we will be offering one free cotton face mask while supplies last to members of our community that donate to one or more of the following organizations:
Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles
The Loveland Foundation
Summa Everythang
To participate, please forward a receipt from your donation made 6/9 or later to info@shainamote.com with your shipping address and preferred mask size. More information on our masks and sizing can be found here.
Please note that due to the high cost of international shipping we are only able to ship to addresses within the US. Each donor will be allotted one mask regardless of the number of donations made. Upon receiving your donation receipt we will issue a reply within one week confirming that your mask has shipped. Masks will be shipped via USPS First Class Domestic and tracking will not be available.
Sustained Justice + Change
To Our Community, We will continue this work by focusing on the following commitments: In this incredibly pivotal moment, we hope that all in our community will join us in both challenging ourselves and being kind to ourselves, and that you will take the time to make meaning from this moment for yourself and those around you. We have been using this resource list as a starting point for educating ourselves, we hope that it will serve as a useful resource along the path of deeper understanding and action.
We stand in a crucial moment in our country’s history — a moment of listening, learning, reflecting and action. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and are committed to the movement to fight systemic racism and dismantle the white supremacy that is so deeply woven into the fabric of our country and its infrastructure.
This movement has united voices across generational, racial and social divides, reaching all fifty states and many countries outside the US. Though we are given hope by the magnitude of this movement, we know that it is only the beginning of a lifetime of work — both for each of us as individuals, and for our nation as a whole. We honor the small victories that have been hard fought and won in this last week — witnessing the power of people uniting and mobilizing has been incredibly inspiring. We cannot stop here. The work of undoing a network of fundamentally unjust systems and of unlearning internalized racism is both crucial and difficult, and can only truly come from sustained effort.
We have outlined our short-term and long-term objectives for continuing to improve and hold ourselves accountable in solidarity with the movement to create deep, sustained change.
Below are the immediate actions that we are taking in our commitment to this work:
Our future rests on our actions now, and we look forward to continuing to work together to create a better future ahead.
In solidarity and respect,
Shaina Mote
The SM Cotton Mask
With each purchase of a face mask from our website, a mask will be donated to California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), a government organization that provides care including medical, dental and mental health services to California’s prison inmate population at all 35 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) institutions statewide. Prior to trying on, please machine wash mask in hot water with like colors and tumble dry. Please note that this mask has been designed to shrink after washing. Creating a filter for your mask
CCHCS is allocating these donated masks to a women’s correctional facility in California where 200 inmates are being tested daily during the COVID-19 outbreak. Inmates have been provided masks by the facility thus far, and your donation helps the healthcare workers at this facility, who up until recently have been asked to provide their own.
These masks are 100% cotton and were produced in Los Angeles, CA using surplus material from our own production cycle. For the production of these masks and many of our other goods we use surplus yardage along with scraps of all sizes with the intention to find use and value for all of the materials we enter into our system.
If you have purchased a mask or have supported us in any way during this time, we thank you, acknowledging that this is a difficult time for many in our community and around the world. We understand that this moment has challenged all of us to consider what is important to us, which is why your support at this time is especially valued.
Please read on for instructional information in regards to proper use of our masks.
-Content: Dual layered 100% cotton fabric.
-After each use, machine wash your mask in hot water with like colors. Then tumble dry low.
-This mask includes an opening for a filter insert. Please see below for instructions and a printable cut-out guide for using a filter with this mask
-Per Center for Disease Control (CDC) Guidelines, please ensure that your mask fits snugly but comfortably against the side of the face and allows for breathing without restriction.
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.
Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their cloth face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.
This product is not recommended for use in any surgical setting or where significant exposure to liquid, bodily or other hazardous fluids may be expected, or for use in a clinical setting where the infection risk level through inhalation exposure is high.
This product is not medical grade and does not make any claims of particulate filtration or possession of antibacterial or anti-viral properties.
For any questions or concerns regarding the proper use or care of your mask please contact us at info@shainamote.com
A 2013 study published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness showed vacuum bags are nearly as effective as surgical masks at screening out bacterial and viral aerosols. Even tea towels or coffee filters and other similar materials can work, and will help the mask filter out more than cloth alone.
Please use the following steps to create a filter for your mask.
1. Print out this PDF at full scale on a sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper
2. Cut the shape out of the template
3. Trace the cut out shape on your filter material in pen (vacuum bag, tea towel, coffee filter)
4. Cut filter material along the shape
5. Insert the filter into the fabric opening in your mask
Please note that each filter has a one-time use. Please dispose of each filter after use and machine wash your mask on a high temperature setting before reusing.
MEET: Lyric Shen
How clay chose Lyric. Tell us about your early influences. How has your relationship with your immediate surroundings and the environment at large adapted or changed through the years? What distracts you? How do you remain centered? Do you have personal practices for living or well-being that create a reduced environmental impact or are zero waste? On looking forward to creation in the future...
About a year after graduating from college, I got a job working for Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth, an after school program for arts and humanities. What was interesting is that I was hired as a drawing and painting instructor and they had mentioned that they needed someone to teach ceramics. I applied, and I didn’t think that they would hire me. But they did! During that time I was constantly thinking about lesson plans and so also how to contextualize ceramics in a contemporary way. At the same time something I think is cool about ceramics is the connection to a deep history of the way people have recorded life.
I wanted to look specifically at Asian-American women who had been working as potters in the East coast. Just through browsing online, I came across this woman, her name is Toshiko Takaezu. After years of teaching she bought land in New Jersey which has since become her studio and legacy. It was special to find an artist who fit all of this search criteria for me. She was making commercial products casting hundreds and thousands of the same thing and eventually found her own path as an artist. I really related to that multidimensional narrative, of potters both in industry (laborers) and as artists.
Since moving back to California, I’ve had the opportunity to return to the East coast periodically. A lot of the pieces featured in this residency are from a work study I did in North Carolina at a school called Penland. The potters surrounding the community are digging their own clay, mixing their own glazes, just going beyond the first step of being inspired by your environment and portraying it to really understanding your relationship to it and understanding every time you’re taking from it or giving to it. Going one step deeper from making work about your environment to making work with it. If I know there’s a way to do things more responsibly now it would be silly for me not to try my best to take that away from what I learned.
Hmm, devices. Something I have been doing is making sure that I take breaks. I’m not the most organized person but I do love a to-do list or planner, crossing out tasks and having a clean agenda. If I don’t schedule in breaks, you know designated mind wandering time every couple of hours (especially during quarantine), then my mind will do that when I need it to be tethered or focused the most. I try to take into account everything that factors into feeling good - physical and spiritual nourishment, etc.
I personally think choosing a few everyday changes at a time to really stick with helps with the overwhelming feeling of responsibility as a consumer.
I hang dry clothes and linens when possible. My roommate and I use microfiber rags instead of paper towels. I make my own green juice and raw crackers with a blender and dehydrator.
Something I’ve missed is practicing yoga and movement in studio space. Even though the home practice has been interesting and cool in a lot of ways I really miss the people I practice with. I would love to just practice at the park with friends.
Tiana Petrullo
What shapes, textures, and palettes encompass the sensory details of your present self? What is something you have loved for a long time? What is something you have recently rediscovered? Please share the story behind a modern “talisman” you own — an object in your possession that you consider either a token of good luck or energy. At what moments are you the truest version of yourself? What landscapes or places in nature are most resonant? Where do you feel the deepest connection with the outdoors? Can you share the story behind a meaningful garment you own — perhaps an heirloom, or something that feels weighted with a special significance? Can you share more details on one act of “wellness” that brings you joy in its ritual — maybe a special tea, or a favorite walk, or another ritual that you use to come back to yourself? Can you share a recipe or idea for a simple, healing meal that you make for yourself often? What books are you reading right now (or have read recently)? What book(s) do you always recommend to friends? What music is in rotation for you this month?
I have been living in soft textiles and knitwear in varied shades of ivory. My view at home is of the art deco molding on my living room ceiling – hard lines with curved edges in a barely-there pink. I'm thinking a lot about what pairs well with gold.
Reading. I've always reveled in the mental escape.
Pencil to paper.
I created a wearable glass piece last year (the Transparency Pendant) that is symbolic of the importance of transparency around varying personal mental health experiences. Its purpose is to encourage unguarded dialogue and can act as a much-needed reminder to open up. It prompts me to get in touch with my underlying thoughts every time I wear or even see it.
When I'm alone or with my other half. Favorably: in nature, away from the material pressures of life in a city, and sans daily routine/obligations.
Wide-open spaces where you can either see or touch the ocean, like a quiet, placid beach. Or there is a hike that my partner and I return to when visiting family up north – rolling grassy hills and a surrounding view of the bay. I like the freedom of an unimpeded view of the sky.
Anything in my wardrobe that is timeless, beautifully-made and was created with minimal environmental impact. These sustainable concepts were never modeled for me growing up and it has been such a meaningful period of discovery to shift my own perception of consumption to align with ideas of both personal and environmental longevity. The garments that I've accumulated since then are what mean the most to me. When care and thought are put into the conception of a garment like this, it already carries a story. I love the things that I know I will have for years to come and can't wait to pass down to future generations.
Sometimes I get to a point where I just need a full body and mind refresh which comes in the form of dry brushing, a face masque, and reading in the bath.
Lately, I have been loving sourdough bread topped with avocado, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, salt, and pepper. Or I'll replace the avocado with sliced cherry tomatoes for a variation on a bruschetta.
Current: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Last: From Heaven to Arcadia - The Sacred and The Profane in The Renaissance.
In The Flo by Alisa Vitti. It's a little self-help-y but I think that all women can benefit from the knowledge about how much our hormonal imbalances can affect our mental and physical health. It's very eye-opening if you haven't been exposed to these concepts before.
An art book I continuously rediscover is Art Glass Nouveau - a book from the late 80's that a friend found for me at a used book store. It sits on a chair in my living room and is easy to walk right past, but when I stop to pick it up I am always inspired by different styles of glass making and want to create.
None. I have been basking in silence lately or listening to sounds coming from open windows. Since screen time has increased to maintain relationships I have been preferring to be without the extra layer of stimulation.
Martine Syms
What shapes, textures, and palettes encompass the sensory details of your present self? What is something you have loved for a long time? What landscapes or places in nature are most resonant? Where do you feel the deepest connection with the outdoors? Can you share more details on one act of “wellness” that brings you joy in its ritual — maybe a special tea, or a favorite walk, or another ritual that you use to come back to yourself? Can you share a recipe or idea for a simple, healing meal that you make for yourself often? I love a smoothie. I have one every morning that usually contains 1 cup spinach, 1 cup frozen fruit (whatever I have in stock), rice milk or more recently barista blend OAT MILK (so luxe), sunflower seed butter, apple butter, flax, vitamin d, ultrainflamx, maybe an avocado if i'm feeling wild. I always recommend Women Who Run With The Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. That book has changed my life several times. I have a monthly radio show on NTS called CCARTALKLA. You can listen to my tunes here.
What books are you reading right now (or have read recently)?
I just finished Lite Year by Tess Brown-Lavoie. I read it slowly and usually sitting in the sun.
What book(s) do you always recommend to friends?
Maryanne Casasanta
What shapes, textures, and palettes encompass the sensory details of your present self? * Lauren Runions is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer and educator based in Toronto, ON. She is the founder and artistic director of I/O Movement.
The shape of hands, and the very brief colours of a winter sunset cast on my apartment wall. Low lavender, muted grey and a soft burnt orange.
What is something you have loved for a long time?
I love experiencing warm nostalgia more than anything. Remembering small moments and holding them for a bit every once and awhile. For example, I had a boyfriend who owned a motorcycle and would lace up the strap of my helmet for me whenever we would go for a ride. Just that gesture. Or a memory of building a big beautiful fire by a river at dusk on a solo camp trip to an incredible symphony of crickets, bullfrogs and cicadas. Or randomly recalling a really funny story or a well timed punch line by someone and enjoying a memory of having big laugh. Or, awakening in the middle of the night at a Berlin hostel many years ago where I shared a room with 6 other travellers and our window, left open, was slightly swaying and creaking during a loud thunderstorm. Or being on a nearly empty subway car really early one morning while another rider, a Muslim man, was singing a beautiful call to prayer.
What is something you have recently rediscovered?
Optimism and a sense of possibility.
Please share the story behind a modern “talisman” you own — an object in your possession that you consider either a token of good luck or energy.
A keychain my late dad gave me with our old car keys on it that has a line drawing of a cat leaning casually, winking one eye and smirking confidently that says, "Damn I'm Good." I think my brother had originally bought it for him because my dad would always triumphantly ask us, "Why am I so good?" after fixing something using random or makeshift parts, say, around the house.
At what moments are you the truest version of yourself?
I travel for work and quite love long road trips, so I think when I'm driving I can get into this out of body state where I am totally relaxed but completely alert at once.
What landscapes or places in nature are most resonant? Where do you feel the deepest connection with the outdoors?
That changes from place to place and time to time depending on what I need and am present for. I could be equally moved by a light blue and pink desert landscape while on a road trip as I would be by the colours of a sunset being cast over trees and gardens in my neighbourhood in Toronto. One place that I have been consistently moved and affected by over the years is time spent on the Toronto Island. A small oasis just a short ferry ride from the city.
Can you share the story behind a meaningful garment you own — perhaps an heirloom, or something that feels weighted with a special significance?
For a long time I kept a skirt that a talented photographer friend of mine took a photo of me wearing one beautiful beautiful summer. I don't have it anymore though. So at this moment, nothing that I currently own is filling that space.
Can you share more details on one act of “wellness” that brings you joy in its ritual — maybe a special tea, or a favorite walk, or another ritual that you use to come back to yourself?
I have several and they're not consistent. My comfort rituals shift with the seasons a bit. Now that we're moving deeper into winter, it's really important that I stand and move on soft, warm things. My apartment a has wooden floor, so I've taken to changing into a pair of merino wool socks that were given to me by a girlfriend from a Canadian company called Icebreaker as soon as I get home.
Can you share a recipe or idea for a simple, healing meal that you make for yourself often?
A dark bread such as pumpernickel or maybe rye, with hummus, topped with fresh basil and figs.
What books are you reading right now (or have read recently)?
I am in graduate school for educational policy so my reading list has been influenced by my research. Right now I'm reading, "School: A Recent History of Self-Organized Art Education" by Sam Thorne and published by Sternberg Press. I recommend their catalogue for any art theory, philosophy or criticism literature.
What book(s) do you always recommend to friends?
Elena Ferrente's Neapolitan series. The books are wildly popular and the HBO show adaptation is certainly loyal to the writing but I tend to recommend them more to friends who are interested in socialist or marxist politics. They are an accessible resource into Italy's rich history of workers' rights along with the shifting politic of friendship between women under intense patriarchal conditions. So many layers to unpack!
Amanny Ahmad
What shapes, textures, and palettes encompass the sensory details of your present self? What is something you have loved for a long time? What is something you have recently rediscovered? Please share the story behind a modern “talisman” you own — an object in your possession that you consider either a token of good luck or energy. At what moments are you the truest version of yourself? Can you share the story behind a meaningful garment you own — perhaps an heirloom, or something that feels weighted with a special significance? Can you share a recipe or idea for a simple, healing meal that you make for yourself often? This is my version of a simple Palestinian peasant lentil soup that I make whenever I need a quick & nourishing warm meal. This is a very rough recipe, as I usually make it up with what I have at the time. Palestinian Fellahee Lentil Soup Can you share more details on one act of “wellness” that brings you joy in its ritual — maybe a special tea, or a favorite walk, or another ritual that you use to come back to yourself? What books are you reading right now (or have read recently)? What book(s) do you always recommend to friends? What music is in rotation for you this month?
I spend a lot of time in nature, in the woods, by water. The natural world is endlessly inspiring to me. All the creatures that live in it, big and small, their vibrant colors, their textures, the infinite manifestations of variables that make up rocks, water formations, plants, trees, endless variations of mushrooms. I am always collecting little pieces of the outside world, and bringing them in, to make things with, to look at, to eat, to learn from.
I have always really loved foraging, or looking for objects, both outside in nature, for plants and mushrooms and pieces of life, and inside at thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales. I think I started going to thrift stores and digging around when I was 10 years old. I have been hiking and keeping little pieces of life or learning about plants for as long as I can remember. This kind of search for a gem within a landscape filled with so many other things puts me in a very serene, zen state. It's very therapeutic and meditative for me.
I was estranged from half of my extended family for 15 years. We just reconnected a few months ago, and that was a very strange and interesting rediscovery of sorts. Lots of feelings to sort through and process, people to re-meet, memories to recall, places to rediscover.
My talisman is always changing - I tend to keep a few tiny trinkets with me, in my purse, in my pocket, tucked away here and there. Especially when I am traveling/moving around (which is mostly always), it makes me feel safe to have a little piece of a crystal that my mom gave me, or a medallion from a friend. Jewelry often functions in the same way, I always wear the same gold ring that I had made in Palestine some years ago. It reads “yalla”, which is a colloquial slang word that carries the sentiment of 'hurry up' / 'lets go' / 'come on'. It makes me feel at home, and reminds me of where I am from in a way that is very particular with Arab culture and language.
Always when I am near the beach/an ocean/the sea. Just to be within view of the ocean makes me feel so calm, serene. Something about seeing the coast, the edge of a landmass that I can never quite grasp the scale of in a tangible way, resets my perceptive on vastness, and makes me feel like a whole insignificant dot in the endlessness of space and time.
My family has never been much into heirlooms, and I think that's partially to do with being displaced in the 1940s, and generally having a detachment to things (not a trait I have inherited). Just recently in our village in Palestine, I went into my long deceased grandmother's home, a crumbling old stone room, blanketed in 30 years worth of dust, and unearthed a tiny cloth bag covered in vibrant (after an extremely thorough washing) turquoise, mustard, and pink traditional Palestinian embroidery. I can imagine her using it to make change when she would take her wares to sell on the side of the alleyways in the Old City of Jerusalem, a time long before it was no longer accessible to my family.
My mom has this contraption called the Chi Machine that I love and use daily whenever I go visit her. You lay on the floor, put your ankles in it, and turn it on, and it basically swings your ankles from side to side for 10 minutes. This makes me feel energized, takes away back pain, and clears my mind. Otherwise I practice self care at every opportunity I have, whether it is treating myself to a delicious beverage, or a 10 minute meditation, or a bath. The world we live in requires a constant re-up on the care of the self, both in and out.
I've fallen into the habit of mostly reading non-fiction books in the last 5 years, so my book stacks are mostly plant and mushroom identification books, cookbooks, and how-tos. On my bedside table right now are: Agriculture by Rudolf Steiner, Manifestly Haraway by Donna Haraway, The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard (a classic I read years ago but am now revisiting, and think anyone interested in spaces/homes/interiors/relationship should read), and a few Etel Adnans. I'd actually love it if anyone reading this would recommend fiction to me (seriously, hit me up please.)
Mount Analogue by Rene Dumal is an interesting one. Any of Jiddu Krishnamurti's writings.
I love Bad Bunny and Ozuna, Latin American Top 40 Rap & R&B is great for cooking and for summertime beach and dance party vibes. My beautiful/talented friend Okay Kaya’s debut ‘Both’ - it’s haunting, weird, pretty, lots of things. I make a mix as often as I have time that I share on my soundcloud (Valley Of Sound). I tend to get really into a few songs and listen to them over and over, and then they get put on to my mixes. The Individual You by T.J. Hustler has been on heavy rotation for me for months now!