Issue 8 Wabi-sabi 2023

Ethnosphere Connect, Express, Inspire

Wabi-sabi

Japanese (n): an appreciation for beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete Collection 8 - Augutst 2023

Mary Crider

Contents

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Masthead

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The World through an Ikebana Lens

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Lesson from the Moon

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A Moment and a Lifetime with Joni

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The Charred Tree

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Birthday Binge

Cheryl shares the art of Japanese flower arrangements and how delving into this craft changed how she views the world.

Photography and poetry

Trevor journeys to watch an idol in concert when he’d believed she’d never perform again.

Photography and poetry

What was intended to be a relaxing birthday of self-doting entails more pain than Christine thought she was signing up for.

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Lake Erie Sunsets Photography and poetry

Beyond the Magazine Learn more about the people highlighted in this issue and see where you can view more of their work.

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Submissions

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September Issue Reveal

Mary Crider

www.ethnospheremagazine.com

Editor

Madeline C. Lanshe editor@ethnospheremagazine.com

Editorial Staff

Mitchell Dunbar, Maureen Gregory, Madeline C. Lanshe, Marcia Neundorfer, Mike Neundorfer

Designer

Madeline C. Lanshe

Photographers

Julie Chaudet, Mary Crider, Mitchell Dunbar, Madeline C. Lanshe

Writers

Julie Chaudet, Trevor Dodson, Christine Gregory, Madeline C. Lanshe

Other Contributors Cheryl Barker

Published by Advanced RV

2023 Advanced RV. All materials contained in this publication (including text, content, and photography) are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast, published, or modified in any way without the prior written consent of Advanced RV. Contributors retain all rights to their stories, photography, art, etc. while giving Ethnosphere Magazine/Advanced RV the right to share their work in the digital magazine, print, and any other way they see fit for creative or promotional reasons.

We created Ethnosphere as a place to connect people who are alike and unalike, express pieces of the human experience, inspire, and be inspired.

Mary Crider

by Madeline C. Lanshe

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kebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement which emphasizes simplicity, understated elegance, and respect for nature. It uses geometric principles and often asymmetry, an importance of the numbers three, five, and seven, and triangles.

Cheryl discovered ikebana in 2013 when she took a class at The Cleveland Museum of Art. She’d always had an interest in flowers, doing her own flower arrangements, but ikebana caused her to experience nature differently.

She can’t help but pay attention to the flowers, plants, sticks as she moves through everyday life, seeing the world in a way she hadn’t before. “I was at a meeting and there was an azalea bush growing right out the window that had a branch on it that had the most amazing curve,” she relates. “I could barely pay attention to the meeting.”

Another interest, which overlaps with the practice of ikebana, is neurochemistry, specifically things that are pleasing and create a sense of calmness. “Putting the arrangements together, taking time, looking at them, the underlying principle to all of that is there are chemicals that generate a sense of love.

Anything that elicits that chemistry of love is healthy for you.”

When she has done workshops with other women at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, she says it’s so quiet in there, it’s like you’re in a church. Everyone is focused on their work,

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silently arranging their flowers. Along with the plants themselves, the materials used are: kenzan, which is a tool covered in spikes used to hold the flowers in place (her mother called them “pin frogs”), vases, and hasami, which are flowerclippers or shears. They even use a cloth to set the metal clippers down noiselessly.

In August of 2016, the local Ohara School brought headmaster Hiroki Ohara to the Botanical Garden. The attendees, which included Cheryl, were from near and far.

The headmaster guided them through a new style he’d created, hana-kanade, which means performing or playing flowers.

While she’s been practicing for nearly a decade, she considers herself a dabbler. “I wouldn’t call myself an ikebana artist at all,” she says. She doesn’t adhere strictly to every rule and every angle, but this makes it a little more freeing.

If you look through a book on ikebana, you might see diagrams with very specific angles. “When I was in high school I told my geometry teacher that I didn’t get the purpose of geometry,” Cheryl says. “And now I do.” She had to give away her arrangements after her classes, however, because she had cats that would eat them, and many flowers are toxic.

Part of the wonder and beauty of ikebana is the impermanence. The cut flowers move from life to death, and their journey is on display; every moment seen and appreciated. For Cheryl, it is in the searching, finding, thinking, and arranging that she finds comfort, getting lost in a world of fragrances, colors, textures, and angles.

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Look at me, says the moon Observe me and learn Discover that every day is unique That each day has its colors Its light and its darkness Learn that life is movement: Nothing is still Marvel Feel things with your child’s heart Never forget that beauty is Everywhere It surrounds us It can be ephemeral, imperfect But that’s also what makes it so Beautiful Beauty is fleeting Admire it See, it hides in the smallest corners It inhabits imperfections Cultivate simplicity and sobriety And above all Never stop loving and hoping

Regarde-moi, dit la lune Observe-moi et apprends Découvre que chaque jour est unique Que chaque jour a ses couleurs Sa lumière et sa noirceur Apprends que la vie est mouvement : Rien n’est immobile Émerveille-toi Ressens les choses avec ton cœur d’enfant N’oublie jamais que la beauté est partout Elle nous entoure Elle peut être éphémère, imparfaite Mais c’est aussi ce qui la rend si belle La beauté est fugace Admire-la Vois, elle se cache dans les moindres recoins Elle habite les imperfections Cultive la simplicité et la sobriété Et surtout, ne cesse jamais d’aimer et d’espérer

- Julie Chaudet 8

A Moment and a Lifetime with Joni

by Trevor Dodson

W

hen I was about 15 years old, my dad received some belongings from a family member who had passed which included a box of CDs. My dad gave me the box and said I should flip through them to see if anything interested me. I downloaded a few onto my iPod (these were pre-streaming days) and did some sample listens. One of those albums was Joni Mitchell’s 1991 “Night Ride Home”. I was mesmerized by such a distinct voice flowing through my headphones, with intricate guitar pickings accompanying. That voice combined with poetry and complex guitar tunings – I knew she must be special.

Over the next few years, I took a deep dive and discovered a well-respected artist with an impressive discography. I quickly started searching for and collecting Joni Mitchell LPs. I was instantly enamored with the album art and, of course, the music.

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With my love came sorrow. I thought Joni wouldn’t ever perform publicly in my lifetime.

She hasn’t made an album since 2002, and has smoked almost her entire life; it seems like each decade, her voice has lowered in range and has become huskier. If she were to tour, I guessed it would be too far away and probably quite expensive. After Joni suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015, I was sure the world wouldn’t hear her sing again.

In her youth, Joni overcame polio and its complications; doctors claimed she wouldn’t walk again. She proved them wrong, demonstrating great resilience. Turns out she’s quite the fighter, and surprised a crowd at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 2022 by singing and playing the guitar with the help of a crew of musicians.

In October of 2022, it was revealed that the legend herself would perform in her first announced show in 20 years. I felt a mix of excitement, anxiety, and skepticism – mostly due to her age, health issues, and realizing that her other fans would be just as determined as me to buy tickets for such a big event. Would this show actually happen? Was there any chance I could get tickets? Lately, for popular music events, online ticket sites are notorious for long waits and website crashes. I was so nervous to think I might miss out on what I knew would be a fleeting, once-in-a-lifetime moment.

After anxiously waiting to get in the online queue, I was lucky enough to snag tickets for four seats. I felt numbly overjoyed. In early June of 2023, I made the long-awaited journey. I met with my friend, Elizabeth, in Vancouver and we, along with two of her friends, crossed the Canadian border and headed for George, WA. The Gorge Amphitheatre, which holds 27,500 people, is situated within a canyon, with the Columbia River in the background. None of us had ever been to a venue like that before.

Prior to the concert beginning, you could feel the shocks of excitement, jittery nerves, and joy pulsing through the crowd. The show itself was everything and more. Joni came out at 9 PM and didn’t stop until midnight. We were in the lawn section with rental chairs (a lifesaver) and still had an excellent view of the stage and screens.

Joni’s range is quite deep now, her voice husky, but her control and tone are still incredible. She played an array of her music- late 60s songs through to the early 2000s.

Joni Mitchell playing live, combined with the sunset over the canyon and river, was an overwhelmingly beautiful scene that stays imprinted in my mind.

There will come a day when Joni is no longer able to sing, and all we will have is what has already been sung. Even if I was just one body filled with the electric energy in the

thousands that watched her that night, and the hundreds of thousands that have listened to her music and seen her perform over the years, I was a part of the “Joni Journey,” and that is something I will always hold on to.

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urrounded by beauty and majesty, it is the charred, dead trunk that catches the eye. It was once as lovely as its living relatives. Is it not still?

Without pain, there could be no beauty. Without loss, there could be no beauty. Without the certainty of impermanence, there could be no beauty. And these three qualities of life not only create space for beauty, but possess it in their nature as well. It is in the knowledge that all things change and fade that our aching human hearts are stirred with awe and longing.

Longing to hold on to that which we find glorious, if only for the fleeting time we are able. Soak in the joy of the beautiful, but do not neglect its inextricable sadness. It is the fusion of these two emotions that stays in our hearts long after the sunset has dissolved, the flower has wilted, and the wolf has breathed its last breath.

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-Madeline C. Lanshe

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Birthday Binge

by Christine Gregory

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hen you are your own partner, you get to plan your birthday adventure however you want.

I made a stimulating itinerary for my 40th birthday, treating myself to special things I rarely got to do: a massage, some hot mineral pool soaking, and a hair braiding appointment. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Little did I know that I would soon be subjected to a hefty dose of pain instead.

My first appointment was with a massage therapist who was highly recommended in on-line reviews. She was situated inside a tiny storefront in a strip shopping center in Desert Hot Springs. This small town is located in the Coachella Valley area of California, and about a one-hour drive from my home in the high desert, near Joshua Tree National Park. As I rang the buzzer for admittance, her last client was exiting with a contented expression on her face.“This therapist must be good,” I thought.

After introductions, she gave me a chart on which to indicate the anatomical regions that were feeling discomfort. I circled the neck, shoulders, lower back and upper legs. There was no discussion regarding types of massage so I made the mistake of assuming that this would be the spa-style, peaceful type of massage.

When we entered the massage room, I was all poised to enter a state of relaxation. When she started, however, I quickly discerned that this was a traditional Thai massage, and no part of it would be relaxing.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this technique, suffice it to say that a Thai massage is definitely not your typical “relax on this table while I gently rub your muscles with scented oils” type of treatment. For starters, instead of a nicely-cushioned table, you lay on a thin mat on the hard floor. There is a physical intensity

to a Thai massage that involves the therapist manipulating your body in a myriad of ways, using compression and stretching to increase the range of motion in your joints and muscles and improve flexibility.

Thus began the longest hour of my life. The first disenchantment of the day was that I had to do half of the work.

She would twist me in some awkward position and shout instructions, “Push!” “Push against me.” Then, “Right side.” “Now left side.”

“Up.” “Down.” On and on, it continued. At one point, she was hanging from the rafters and jabbing my calves with her feet so hard that my thoughts turned to my three cats, thinking that it was a good thing I left extra food for them in the event that I died right there. I was surprised that I didn’t have to sign some type of waiver liability form. At times, she was having me push against her so hard, and the pain was so deep, I thought I might give birth to something. I reminded myself that I was paying to be tortured, so I needed to just bear it and get my money’s worth. Oh, the irony, that to pay for this body work, I have to earn money at my job that involves physical labor which strains my body and makes me need the massage in the first place. I pictured a snake eating its tail, symbolizing that Greek concept of the cycle of birth and death.

Finally, towards the end, the therapist lightened up on me a bit and brought out some kind of ultrasonic device that she used to roll CBD balm on my skin. She revealed to me that one of my legs was slightly shorter than the other. That was news to me. No wonder I’ve experienced instability all my life, I joked to myself.

whatever issues were undoubtedly being worked out. I told her she was gifted and tipped her generously, as I knew she had trained a long time for these skills. I sense that people like her do not get into this profession for the money as much as they feel a calling to help people. I told her I would be back, which I meant, although next time I think I will make sure that I ask for a more gentle Swedish style massage. I left and silently congratulated myself on not passing out on the mat.

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I began to feel that I was living it up at the Hotel California.

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I had two hours of leisure before the hairbraiding appointment, so I purchased a day pass at one of the many hot springs resorts scattered throughout the dusty tourist town. It was described on the website as Mid-Century, which is a polite way of saying run-down and outdated. To me, this has a certain charm and keeps the cost reasonable. I started out with Next, she talked to me about nutrition, and some gentle stretches and easy water ballet explained in her thick, Thai accent that it is moves as I tried to shake off the lingering healthier to get your vitamins from your food terror of the Thai massage. I languorously and not from manufactured pills. A woman after soaked in the hot mineral waters for which my own heart, I thought. the region had earned its name. I admired the palm trees above me swaying in the gentle I was feeling a bit more relaxed at this point breeze of this healing oasis. I began to feel like because she had stopped twisting, kneeing, I was living it up at the Hotel California, “cool karate-chopping and wringing me out. It wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas rising was the only massage I have ever had where up through the air.” Such a calming respite…

I looked forward to it being over, despite before my next torture session.

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I have these wayward strands of hair that are undisciplined and never seem to grow long enough to stay anchored in a ponytail. I get tired of constantly tucking them behind my ears, only to have them fall forward again. I got the idea that some simple rows of tight braids, only on the sides of my head, might give me some lasting control of the loose wisps. I had never had African-style braiding done before on my curly Irish locks, so I had no idea what to expect. But you can tell by looking at cornrows tightly woven against the scalp that there must be some pain involved.

Queen Cee, the owner of the salon, smiled and assured me that she was the best in the business.

I couldn’t believe how quickly her fingers worked through my hair and formed the rows against my head. But oh, the hurt! During the previous Thai ordeal, I seemed to be at risk of passing out, but now, I was actually concerned that I hadn’t written a will. Something about the angle at which I had to hold my head while she seemed to be pulling my hair out of its follicles made me feel like all the blood was leaving my body. I tried to remain focused on a decorative plaque hanging on the wall that read: “Be still and know that I am God.” All I could think was “Dear God, please let this be over soon. I can’t be still much longer.”

Queen Cee was a seasoned braider and thankfully was soon finished. I had just about reached my pain threshold for the day. Or so I thought, until she told me what I owed her. At least I liked the look of the braids, though I will be glad when my hair grows just a wee bit.

So much for my idea of a relaxing and therapeutic celebration of my birthday. What a day! I knew I’d sleep soundly that night, but I’m glad I fell asleep quickly, because whenever I yawned, it hurt my head.

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Beyond the Magazinee Cheryl Barker is an organizational consultant and psychologist in Cleveland, Ohio. She sees herself as a dabbler in activities and fields of knowledge. An interest in ikebana and neuroscience has been present for over a decade. She currently supports arts organizations in applying skills of using neuroscience to build community.

Passionate about life, Julie Chaudet has always loved capturing the authenticity and emotion of a moment.

Photography for her is the opportunity to freeze a moment, to transcribe an atmosphere, to stop time, and of course, to create memories that will cross the meanders of time. She particularly enjoys nature and portrait photography. Often, she accompanies her photos with a few poetic words. She likes to be forgotten and to be a spectator of her environment: nothing is planned, everything is lived.

Instagram: @JulieChaudetPhotographie

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Mary Crider, a graduate from the University of Akron in Graphic Design, has been working with Document Concepts for 5 years and with Stitchfix as a stylist for over 2. Mary recently started using her talents on large wood signs and refinishing furniture, with aspirations to get into business on her own. Travel has always been a constant in her life, from all over the US and several European countries, to her first visit to Asia (Japan) this summer. Mary is an avid tea and coffee lover - never without a cup! She spends the little free time she has to painting, reading, rehabbing her home, and finding new ways to go on adventures with her husband and new daughter.

Trevor Dodson, with experience in hands-on furniture and a background in industrial design, works at Advanced RV on both the design and production team. He enjoys making music, looking through vinyl record bins, and rescuing vintage furniture.

Intagram: @treviestyles

Mitchell Dunbar grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and London, England, before moving back to Ohio, where he now produces and oversees media for Advanced RV. He loves to create across a variety of platforms. He is interested in photography, videography, graphic design, producing music, and writing. His favorite thing in the world is to go on a hike with someone.

Christine Gregory is a singer-songwriter residing in Twentynine Palms, CA. She enjoys “van life” camping, hiking in the desert, photography, and her job co-hosting vacation rentals. Her music can be found on Spotify under the artist name Rambler’s Joy. Instagram: @ramblersjoy

Madeline Lanshe is a writer from Green, Ohio, with a passion for traveling, rock climbing, and getting lost in the night sky. She taught English for two years in Le Mans, France, which now feels like her second home. She works at Advanced RV as editor-inchief of Ethnosphere, putting her obsession with taking photos to use by practicing photography on the side. Besides dreams of becoming a published fiction author, Madeline is a volleyball addict. She believes life is about collecting moments of magic wherever you go and immersing yourself in the things that light your heart on fire. Instagram: @mudpuddlephotogrpahy51 20

Submissions Who can submit? Anyone! If you have access to our magazine, we’d love to hear from you.

What should I submit? Anything creative and heartfelt that can be shared in digital form! Photography, illustrations, poetry, short stories, personal stories, art, etc.

Why do you accept submissions? This magazine is a space for people to share their stories and passions in hopes it will connect us with others in a positive, uplifting way.

“The ethnosphere is humanity’s great legacy. It is the product of our dreams, the embodiment of our hopes, the symbol of all that we are and all that we have created as a wildly inquisitive and astonishingly adaptive species.” - Wade Davis When can I submit? In each issue, we will reveal the theme for the coming issue. If you’d like your proposal to be considered for the coming issue, submit as soon as you can to give us time to review it with our team, communicate with you, edit, and fit it into the greater picture of the magazine. Otherwise, submit anything at any time. It may fit in a future issue or even inspire the theme of one!

What do I need to include in my submission? Tell us a sentence or two about yourself, how you discovered Ethnosphere, and the work you’d like to submit. If possible, attach any images, PDFs or other files to be reviewed, and the editor will be in touch with you. If you have a story that you think would make for a great article, but you don’t have the narrative prowess to write it, don’t worry! There is an opportunity for a conversation with the editor so that she, or someone on the editorial staff, could write the story with you. ​If your submission is not accepted, don’t get discouraged. There is always a chance in the future. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy all that the magazine has to offer. Even if you are not featured within it, your experiences, dreams, and creations are equally part of the Ethnosphere.

Disclaimer: Contributors retain all rights to their stories, photography, art, etc. while giving Ethnosphere Magazine/Advanced RV the right to edit and share their work in the digital magazine, print, and any other way they see fit for creative or promotional reasons.

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Coming in September: Issue 9

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Trouvaille French (n) : something lovely found by chance Madeline C. Lanshe

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