PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time, but it is highly recommended you attend the classes live for the richest experience.
From animal skins lovingly wrapped around early humans to elaborate garments for Incan sacrifices to tender hand-embroidered linen made for a dear grandmother, many cultures and historical times have used a shroud to offer dignity and respect to our beloved dead.
Shrouding can be religiously proscribed, an ecological symbol, or a deeply personal creation. As modern humans curious about our own mortality, this class will provide space for you to meditate on death while creating your very own burial shroud from the design and materials of your choosing.
In this 5-week class, we will learn about historic burial traditions and current burial practices, with an emphasis on shrouds. You will also get the opportunity to explore your feelings around death and dying through writing exercises and meditations, and, finally, we will begin to design and create our own burial shroud. Following the five week period, once monthly drop-in workshops will be available to continue the creation process together and share our thoughts and progress. Shrouds are intended for actual personal use with the possibility of a physical group show in the future to showcase our collective work. This is an intimate, meaty class and may bring up of strong emotions. We will create a container of safety and confidentiality in our first class.
Class will be enhanced with a number of videos, readings, and optional book and website list for further independent study.
Week 1:
Opening Meditation
Introductions and creating a safe container to share and work together
History of human burial with an emphasis on shrouds.
In class writing assignment
Week 2:
Current burial trends and issues surrounding green burial.
Styles and Types of Shrouds
Ways to measure and create a shroud.
How to shroud a body for green burial.
Homework
Week 3:
Korean Death Meditation
Present initial shroud ideas and sketch
Begin work in class together on your project
Week 4:
Short meditation
In class writing assignment
Second hour to work on project in class
Week 5: Final Student Final Presentations (expected to be work in progress)
Following completion of class, once or once every other month free drop in workshop to continue working on our shrouds together (in virtual space).
Dr. Tamara Rettino, DACM is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture based in Buffalo, NY where she specializes in women, children, and the LGBTQ community with special emphasis on the childbearing year, mental and emotional wellness, and acupuncture to ease any pain and anxiety at the end stages of terminal disease. She was a lead medic at Occupy LA and many human rights demonstrations, including volunteering as an ambulance medic in the West Bank, Palestine during the Second Intifada. Tamara is also a writer, mother, artist, birth doula, and an end-of-life doula. She identifies as "Jewitch" and brings a balance of science, spirituality, and humor to her work. She's also the head hag of Hag & Hare Apothecary, creating handcrafted magical oils, spray, tinctures, and kits and she's a percussionist and vocalist for the, now legendary, Krampus themed band, Krammpstein. Tamara first attended one of Joanna Ebenstein's Morbid Anatomy lectures in Los Angeles in 2011 where she met the love of her life, and they have been together ever since.