Orcas Island’s most famous puppet is going back to school
||| FROM EVAN WAGONER-LYNCH |||
Dear island neighbors,
This is a letter of thanks to you, and to this land. Over the past seven years, I’ve experienced kindness and support from this community in big and small ways. I want you to know what your support has made possible.
For the past three years I have been broadcasting videos about mental health and wellbeing from this island. The project, entitled Squirrel Dialogues, stars a thrift store puppet named Squirrel. He guides viewers towards self-kindness and self-acceptance amidst the trees, lakes, and beaches of our beautiful island.
The response has been extraordinary. Squirrel Dialogues has been viewed over 10 million times. I’ve received over 10,000 comments, messages, and response videos from fans. Here’s a message I received last year:
It may seem silly, but my inner child really feels like your squirrel puppet sees her, and hears her pain, in a way nobody else has before. You found a way to tap into emotions I didn’t realize existed inside me, and I feel like I know what direction I need to take my healing in for now. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for doing the work you do. -Madison
I am so grateful to have stumbled across this work. I don’t think Squirrel Dialogues would exist without Orcas Island. The kindness of our community helped me to heal my own wounds to the point that I was able to turn around and help others. And the natural beauty of Orcas, the setting of my own healing, is now the setting for my healing art, which touches millions of lives.
My heart is overfull.
And my heart is heavy, because it is time for me to leave Orcas. In order to commit fully to my vocation as a healing artist, I’m going back to school this fall, to Evergreen State College in Olympia. So I am writing to say thank you, and to say good bye. And also to ask for your help.
I’ve created a fundraiser to gather support for this transition, to help pay living expenses for the two years it will take me to complete my degree. And to invest in my vocational work, in equipment, collaborators, and so on.
And I’ll just put the word out, in case anyone in our community has access to the following: I’m in particular need of a reliable/fuel-efficient vehicle, housing in Olympia, and a pro-level iPhone for video recording. Please contact me directly if you have any leads.
As with all things on the internet, if you’d like to support the fundraiser, the best thing you can do is share it. I would be so grateful. And if you’d like to support me directly over the years to come, you can join my Patreon community.
Orcas is the first place, and the first community that I have truly fallen in love with—it’s a major milestone in my own healing, for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you to all of you, and thank you to this land.
