The Fifth Room 

An embodied, sensory event series. Designed to give grief somewhere to go and the nervous system a place to rest.

This fall, Sustain Frame and Calyx Studios are collaborating on a workshop series called The Fifth Room, bringing together instructors, artists, and community to explore transforming grief through ritual and craft-based practices.

Drawing on John Coltrane's The Coltrane Circle, the mathematics of jazz, and Five Element theory, the series explores the alchemical theme of Solve et Coagula — to dissolve and reform. We believe grief works in a spiral, leading us through transformation but never quite back to the place where we started.

In this series we will gather at Calyx Studios Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, each session is unique. We will have workshops ranging from crafting your own herbal preparations to painting your astrological compass with natural dyes. A ceremonial grief circle and braiding prayers as a form transforming material memory. 

Everything in the world feels tender and a little scary right now, so we wanted to offer a place to occupy your hands in community while creating beauty. The act of making, and making with the spirit of plant material is an invitation to slow down and connect to practice.