Gatherings

Holding What We Cannot Change

*

Holding What We Cannot Change *

Altar-Making Workshop

Register Here!

"To love is to accept the rites of grief."

-Francis Weller

Join ceramicists and grief-tenders, Daria Matza and Amanda Feaver, in this altar creation workshop, designed as a sacred space for you to build your own altar and create ritual around your grief.

Altars are an ancient way for people to engage the sacred, to honor the complexities of being alive while experiencing death. Join us for this intimate workshop where we’ll engage in altar-making, storytelling, and ritual practices—creating space to hold grief and meaning together.

Rooted in the stability that clay offers, this three-part gathering invites you to create with your hands, honor your loss, and make space for your inner life to contract and expand.

In a small community of like-minded folks, you’ll create your own altar from clay and consider what you want it to hold as you consider how to cultivate personal ritual as an ongoing practice. We’ll spend time in meditation, storytelling, and creation as we make space for ourselves and each other.

Altars are an invitation to enter the liminal; join us as we gather for this threshold work together.

We’ll be starting on April 6, 2026. Space is limited to 16 people this time around.

Cost: $280

If the workshop cost is prohibitive, please reach out to Sellwood Community House to discuss scholarship options.

Dates:

April 6, 2026: 6pm-8:30pm—at Sellwood Community House: Altar creation and decorating, storytelling, ritual time

April 13, 2026: 6pm-8pm—at Sellwood Community House: Grief Circle and Ritual

April 20, 2026: 6pm-8pm—at Sellwood Community House: Activating finished altars, Grief Circle, tea and cake

If you have questions about this workshop and if it’s a good fit for you, please send us a message.

The location for this workshop is Sellwood Community House-1436 SE Spokane St, Portland, OR 97202

*Along with your finished altar, you’ll receive a PDF workbook to learn more about altar spaces with journal prompts to keep you going.

Four images of decorative clay altars with candles and natural elements.
Join Us!
Join Us!
A surreal digital collage featuring a hand emerging from a snake, with colorful plants, flowers, and an arched window revealing a tropical beach scene with palm trees and a blue sky, set against a purple background.
Digital collage featuring a woman in a green dress, a classical marble statue of a female figure, a butterfly, a bee, a key, an hourglass, purple and black leaves, and a starry galaxy background.

The Evolving Life

A sacred space to honor the feminine — from Maiden to Crone.

We change.
Our bodies change. Our roles shift. Our desires deepen.
What once fit no longer does. What once felt certain begins to unravel.
And in these thresholds—where identity softens and remakes itself—we need each other.

The Evolving Life is a guided group for women navigating life’s turning points. Whether you are entering motherhood, facing the end of a relationship, finding your power after loss, or reckoning with aging and legacy—this group offers deep witnessing, ritual, and community.

  • Together we will explore the archetypal seasons of a woman’s life:

    • Maiden – The call of vitality, new beginnings, innocence, and courage

    • Mother – The phase of devotion, tending, nourishment, and creative power (with or without children)

    • Queen – Sovereignty, purpose, boundary, leadership, and fierce compassion

    • Crone – Wisdom, mystery, rest, and deep-rooted knowing

    This is not a linear journey. These archetypes live within us all. Each phase calls us in different ways at different times.

    • You are moving through a significant life transition and longing for grounding

    • You feel called to ritual, reflection, and reconnection with your feminine lineage

    • You are craving a space where complexity, grief, power, and joy can all belong

    • You want to explore how you uniquely embody these archetypes.

    • 6 weekly gatherings (in-person in Portland, Oregon)

    • Guided reflections and writing prompts

    • Embodied practices and ritual

    • Archetypal teachings rooted in depth psychology and myth

    • A circle of women walking beside you—honest, raw, sacred connection

    • A deeper connection to your personal story and the archetypal energies shaping it

    • Language and ritual for navigating transitions with grace and power

    • A felt sense of belonging—to yourself, to the circle, to something ancient and wise

    • Insight into how the Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone live within you now

    • Tools for honoring your rhythms, setting boundaries, and embracing change

    • A circle of women who have seen and honored your becoming

Get On The List
Get On The List
Woman with towel wrapped around her head, wearing a black dress with green speckles, surrounded by pink butterflies and seashells, against a green background.
Digital collage featuring two women with closed eyes, one above the other, surrounded by flowers, the Earth, and a starry background, all set against a light blue backdrop.