YO (Love is a Rebellious Bird)

Hey everybody,
I just reread our Project Report from Spring 2020. Time feels like it has moved in a different way these past two years. A lot of people I talk to have felt a similar time-warp sensation. Days and months feel long and monotonous while somehow disappearing at a shocking speed. Now we are at war. I say “we” because there is one planet. In the last few years we have experienced how quickly local becomes global. I don’t know how far the war will spread or how long it will go on. But even if it ends soon, it is taking our collective eyes off of the type of deep collaboration that is needed to solve the complex and interconnected challenges we are facing as a planet. I’m in the midst of taking all this in and have little to offer in the way of guidance, advise or predictions.

I do have a small ritual I do with Yo these days that I’d like to share. When I come into the studio, I burn some sage in her fireplace, report my thoughts on the morning's news, think about Yo's perspective, then try to let it go.  

There are some exciting project announcements coming in March but they can’t go out with this report. For now I’ll just say that we are working away in our studio and sending the world as much love and hope as we can.  

Take Care,
Anna + Banker

Hey Everyone,

Fall is caterpillar season in our household and we decided to share the joy with Yo by bringing some guests into her miniature home - larval Anise Swallowtail butterflies. 

Seeing these creatures in her house sparked new thinking about transformation between the phases of life. The way they change between life stages was so wonderfully clear. An enviable quality. 

Each time they molt, they grow and take on a new form.  These stages are called instars (pronounced “en-stahr”). The caterpillar goes through five of them before its transformation into a chrysalis and then a butterfly.  

The first four instars of the Anise Swallowtail look decidedly like tiny, black, bird poops, but when it moves into the 5 star it sheds it’s fecal disguise for bright green warning colors. At this stage, it’s hungry-hungry caterpillar time and all about fattening up. Then they enter what we call the wandering phase. They leave their food source, find a spot to create a silk hammock, and prepare to transform. This next transformation has become the focus of our latest shoot. The butterfly emerging seems to get all the attention but the change from caterpillar to chrysalis is its own version of spectacular.  

Banker and I spent many many hours trying to film this in these last couple weeks and our caddies proved to be quite elusive, choosing non-office hours to do so. But we soon got into a good rhythm together and we are excited to share a small glimpse of what we captured. 

Here is a short 3-minute clip of the Anise Swallowtail's metamorphosis from caterpillar to chrysalis: https://vimeo.com/639190317/0de090e590

Thanks again for your continued support of this project! Please reach out to let us know how you are doing. We very much look forward to seeing you in person again soon.
with Gratitude,

Anna + Banker

Links:

• Heaven Through the Backdoor Media Deck