Meet Presenters in Our Arts and Culture Hall:
Cristina Biaggi and Barbara Chepaitis
We are excited to offer Arts and Culture Hall “booths” where some of our great presenters will share their work through videos and links, and maybe even in face-to-face conversations with you! There are also booths for academic programs and other resources. You may access these booths any time from April 3 to April 18m, by signing in after you register and selecting the Culture Hall at the top menu. Sign up at the booth to receive news about their work, see their videos, leave messages, and meet other attendees at the “table” at each booth. Two of our selected presenters are:
Booths with Cristina Biaggi and Barbara Chepaitis
Cristina Biaggi: “The Poignant connection between Sapiens and Canis Familiaris”
Cristina’s video explores the intimate connection between the most prevalent
species on this Earth: Sapiens and Canis Familiaris. Accompanied by illustrations and diary entries the author will relate her intimate experience being the Doula and nurse maid of 8 puppies that her dog, Dandelion, could not take care of because she contracted Puerperal Fever (also known as Childbirth Fever) and had to be hospitalized. (Women in the 19th century and much before frequently died of this condition). Eventually the author’s other dog, Amandla, took over the care of the puppies, developed milk spontaneously, and became a mother to the 8 puppies, all whom survived – with the help of the author.
Cristina Biaggi, Ph.D is an artist, writer, and lecturer and has published 5 books. She has lectured extensively on Prehistory, Women Spirituality and Art. She has achieved international recognition for her contributions in the field of Goddess-centered art, Neolithic and Paleolithic prehistory and the history and impact of patriarchy on contemporary life. (amandla379@gmail.com)
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Barbara Chepaitis: “When the Goddess Calls”
“When the Goddess calls, she’s fierce, and real. And you better pick up the phone. The goddess who wants you is the one who finds you, and sometimes she arrives with more questions than answers. The goddess who found me was Austeja, bee goddess of Lithuania. And she didn’t make it easy. In fact, she swarmed me with bees, repeatedly, until I wrote a novel about her.
The result was the novel The Amber, which pays homage to the Lithuanian bee goddess Austeja, and explores what it means to be dragged back into your own soul, your own heritage, just when you thought you could leave it all behind.
But you can’t. We search out our ancestors because their story informs ours, and helps shape our souls. The more we know about it, the better we can make conscious choices about what we’ll keep, what we’ll leave behind, and where we want the story to go next. When I finished the first draft of my novel, I printed it out and stood on my front porch holding it, saying thank you, as I always do for the completion of a first draft. As I did, a swarm of honeybees flew down my country road, dipped briefly by me, and moved on.
Barbara Chepaitis is author of 12 published novels, including the critically acclaimed Feeding Christine and These Dreams, as well as the sci-fi series featuring Jaguar Addams. She is founder the storytelling trio The Snickering Witches, and concentration director in fiction for Western College of Colorado’s MFA in creative writing. (chepaitis@aol.com)
Hear Barbara’s description of her encounters in meeting Austeja, the Lithuanian bee goddess.
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