I’ve Been Summoned by a Dragon…

She fiercely calls to me to be brought into her earthly form. Honestly, I feel incredibly honored to heed the call. We absolutely need the power of the Dragons in this world. Radical power, courage, fierce protection, harbingers of transformation… a resetting of the scales. As I work with and slowly learn about this Dragon, I feel a deep reverence for the magic she is offering.

Her name is TabiChan. Tabi means “journey” in Japanese, and Chan, a term of affection. Her body is an oak felled. What was thought to be an ending is now a new beginning, from Mighty Oak to Mighty Dragon. A story of our collective journey through death and transformation.

While I am serving TabiChan in her physical creation, she is serving me by calling me into a higher soul purpose, merging my love of place-based art with my devotion to craft and traditional materials. What began as a revelation during dance: looking out the window to see an oak stump and calling to my friend, “Si, this oak wants to be a Dragon…” has grown into an offering of the highest form: a sacred altar honoring the land, the Dragons, and our relationship to the mystical realm.

She is asking me for my best while also creating an integrated learning environment encompassing the materials, color, form, collaboration and so much more.

TabiChan Temple and Altar is a creation from my heart that I am offering to the land and the community.

The Vision

TabiChan is a River Dragon — born from a naturally curved oak stump at River Dragon Ranch, a beloved community gathering space where we host workshops, grief rituals, ceremonies, and our crowning jewel: Dance Church & Sunday Sing, a gospel-inspired hour of communal singing followed by two hours of dancing our prayers into the earth.

For over two and a half years, we have gathered every single Sunday without fail. Families, children, elders, and friends come together here to reconnect with themselves, each other, and the land. TabiChan will stand as a permanent altar in this special place.

The Making

The oak’s existing shape is already the perfect dragon body, curving horizontally for eight feet before rising again. Sculpted elements — the head, neck, and two front legs (one growing from a natural knob in the wood!) — will complete her form.

The medium reflects my passion for craft and traditional materials:

Clay and straw sculptural plaster around wooden armature

Hand-blown glass eyes, teeth and nails crafted by local artisans

Shikkui lime plaster (Japanese heritage)

Polished lime (tadelakt) plaster (Moroccan heritage)

Fresco painting (European heritage)

To protect her from the elements and preserve her specialized finishes, TabiChan will rest beneath a timber framed living earthen roof.

(While in Japan I was struck with the revelation of altars. On the road sides, abandoned roads and quiet paths, on tops of mountains (even the smallest ones) and in the gardens. They all had a roof of some fashion, hand carved stone and demure or ornate timber frames with intricate carvings and accented with white paint.) It is this care and reverence that I want to bring to this piece.

Why I’m Asking for Your Help

Creating a piece of this scope, one that blends fine art, craft heritage, and ecological care, is not a small undertaking. Additionally, she requires hundreds of hours (I estimate somewhere between 200-400 hrs to bring her completion from here.) It’s also a portfolio milestone for me as an artist working in natural materials and traditional craft.

I’m seeking to raise $10,000 to bring TabiChan fully into being:

Estimated Budget Breakdown:

$3,000 - $4,000 ~ Roof structure

$3,900 ~ Artist labor stipend

$1,600 ~ Custom glass work (eyes, teeth, nails)

$500 ~ Raw materials (plaster, pigments, armature)

Every contribution, no matter the size, will be met with my deepest gratitude and the knowledge that you are part of TabiChan’s story.

Why This Matters

In times of division and uncertainty, spaces of connection and beauty are medicine. TabiChan will stand for decades as a physical embodiment of transformation. A reminder that endings can become beginnings, and that the mythic still lives in our everyday.

If you feel the call to support, please contribute and share this campaign. You’ll be helping birth a Dragon into our world — and we need her fire.

Thank you for believing in art, in craft, and in the quiet magic that changes us all. May our courage be steadfast, our actions quick, our love cast far, and our fire felt.

Avani