Ascending Ocean
Nearly 70 hand-painted, hand-sewn koinobori (“carp flags” in Japanese) delighted event-goers day and night at the 2023 rendition of the experiment in community that is Blazing Swan.
It was a simple idea turned into a hundreds-hour process from start to finish. Sourcing materials, meticulous hand-painting and sewing, to the consistent onsite maintenance of detangling the pretty ribbons and rescuing rogue fish flown away in the heavy winds.
A moment for contemplation
Ascending Ocean was a quiet friend tinkling in the wind, one to nod hello to on the way to the Temple, a construction which people say goodbye to anything from departed loved ones to on the walls of. On the Sunday of the Blazing Swan event, the temple burns with thousands watching in contemplative silence.
