Komorebi is a Japanese word we stumbled upon when we first started thinking about creating Ōde. It translates as “How sunlight filters through trees.” We loved that the Japanese have a word for this. It made us think of looking up, on a long thoughtful walk around the lake, surrounded by the branches of Douglas Fir and Cedar trees. It also made us think about how we might filter the light and the beauty that is Orcas Island. In the pages of the book, you’ll see one of these images by island photographer Robert Dash. We highly recommend viewing Robert’s award-winning books and photography at www.robertdashphotography.com.
“When you live on island…there are no secrets.” Bright and beautiful, sixteen-year-old Flora shared these words with us. She also shared how the community looked out for her after the death of her father, Ian.
photos by Peter Lin Carrillo of CoverntryAutomatik
The visionary sculptures of Aleph Geddis integrate sacred forms of geometry with traditional hand carving techniques. Aleph grew up on Orcas Island apprenticing with his stepfather, Walter Henderson, a master woodworker. Through traveling and collaborating with other artists he has developed his own understanding of form and means of expression. Now, Aleph splits his time between his studio in Bali and his family's carving shed on Orcas Island, where we spoke with him about the influence of travel, the difference between his life in Bali and Orcas, and the how spirituality and creativity interrelate. —Forest Eckley
Read the full interview in Ōde. Photos by AJ Ragasa
Ayame Bullock’s work reminds us to take a moment to slow down and instills a sense of quiet joy and ritual in the everyday.
She works best when grounded to the land around her, and that groundedness is tangible in her ceramics. Even the work she describes as her “loud” work—gorgeous matte black teapots and bowls that are a departure from her monochromatic white and cream pieces—tends to still be quiet. She’s drawn to quiet, and that is evidenced by the rustic one-room cabin she lives in on the Bullock family’s multi-generational permaculture homestead. And, while many residents flee for warmer climates come December, Ayame finds her creative zone, reflecting the stillness and quiet of winter in her work.
Read more about Ayame Bullock and see more of her work in the pages of Ōde
Artist and biologist Robin Lee Carlson’s family has been visiting Orcas island for decades. This summer, we invited Robin and her six-year-old son, Isaac, to hike Cascade Creek from Mountain Lake to the San Juan County Land Bank's Coho Preserve. While Isaac sketched stained glass windows (his current obsession) purely from imagination, Robin documented their journey and a complex ecosystem with field drawings. This week we will be posting those field drawings for you to download.
There once was a young island girl who loved an island boy. In the summer they floated on driftwood in the sea. When she had to leave, she gave him a Mason jar of water and whispered to him, “In this jar is the rain and the ocean and the sea. As long as you have it, you’ll always have a part of me.”
The girl knew that as the water above us and around us and beneath us is connected in intricate ways, so, too, are we. The name Salish Sea pays homage to the Coast Salish first peoples who have lived on the shores of the waters we call home for thousands upon thousands of years.
The above excerpt is from the opening of the book Ōde and was inspired by a memory from islander Adam Farish. To learn more about how islanders are working with others to protect the Salish Sea, we recommend visiting Sea Doc Society.
Photo by Peter Lin Carrillo of Coventry Automatik
“Orcas Island. The very name conjures up mysteries of the deep. It is a place in some ways forgotten in time. Orcas nurtures those who come. Orcas heals. Orcas seduces, but gently, with promises of solitude. But what fortuitous twist of fate brought the humble Loney family, now three generations strong, to an island with all that magic? For this, simply slide back to a foggy winter’s day nearly a half-century ago…”
—Excerpt from Ōde. Words by Toby Cooper.
The island has inspired songs and musicians from near and far. Check out our Orcas Island Mixtape in the pages of Ōde, created by Adam Farish on Spotify or check back in soon. We also plan to publish the links here, too.
Photo by Kyle Carver
The Ladies Hunting Club of Orcas Island, aka The Huntress Guild, was founded partially as a response to the decimation of wildflowers and pollinators, the declining health of forests and Madrona trees, and an ecological system out of balance.
See images not included in the book and behind-the-scenes of the shoot in Features.
Photo of Xoe & Sommer by Kyle Carver.
Use of land courtesy of Jeff and Angie Johnson.
