Yowei Shaw is working with comic artist Ruth Chan on a project about rituals, and are looking for your stories! They're specifically interested in finding a ritual that someone has invented to grieve the LA fires, but also very open to any kind of ritual: from elders and kids, public rituals, work rituals, etc.

There are the inherited rituals that get passed down from family, culture, religion - and then there are the rituals we invent to meet the moment when no ritual already exists.

Yowei and Ruth are looking to make a set of comics and interviews spotlighting these quieter, more informal, improvisational rituals.

How are people creating rituals to process specific moments, feelings, or events in their lives?

How are they using the resources at hand to create meaning and magic?

How are they making use of what ritual researchers call one of humanity's most efficient tools for conjuring emotion - from delight and wonder to peace and closure to connection and on and on?

Their goal in this project is to celebrate and unpack the art of ritual-making, a creative practice that many people have engaged in throughout time, but that hasn't been recognized as a creative practice in its own right.

Maybe you set up a massage studio in the basement to massage one friend a week, to force yourself out of isolation after getting laid off? Maybe you created a kill log to deal with the guilt of smushing lantern flies? Or maybe you buy yourself flowers every week to have something in your home that needs tending to because you live alone?

A heads up - this is not a freelance opportunity. They are sourcing rituals to do stories for the project.

If you have a ritual or a lead, get in touch with Yowei at shaw.yr@gmail.com. They are grateful for you spending any time thinking about this!