Late in 2018 I began thinking about four large tree stumps I passed during my regular walks around Lake Merced. They felt like altars to me, and I had an idea about honoring my daughter, who had passed a few months earlier, and about thanking the lake for its beauty and nourishment. In November I started to construct weekly offerings, using mostly materials found around the lake - rocks, branches, leaves, and seeds, and supplemented with purchased flowers. I love the immediacy and impermanence - these are for the moment, and they deteriorate in the weather and go back to the earth. Some weeks the previous offering is completely scattered by the wind and the birds, and sometimes I find that people have carefully put back things that have fallen to the ground, or left small gifts and, on occasion, notes. I love that! All of these are dedicated to Valerie.
In the summer of 2022, an unknown person began vandalizing my offerings, repeatedly and aggressively. After two months of this and a great deal of thought, I decided to change locations. A friend connected me with the people at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park and I was honored to be offered a spot to work in the Grove. I've been doing my offerings there since September, 2022; it's a beautiful and sacred place, and I feel fortunate to be welcomed there.
If you're in San Francisco, you can see my weekly offerings in person; I work next to the Circle of Friends, just inside the entrance to the Grove. If you see me working (usually on Fridays), come say hello!
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MY NEW BOOK, "LAKE OFFERINGS", IS NOW AVAILABLE!!
You can order your copy here
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Order this year's calendar, "OFFERINGS 2025" here
All images are available for purchase as prints or cards; click on the shopping cart at the lower right of each picture. Also - you can send FREE e-cards - click the shopping cart, then "Cards", and choose "eCard" from the menu shown.
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