Pictured: a bee with pollen on its back flies toward an open sunflower
The Sunflower Cycle
The Sunflower Cycle is the title of an educational zine about change created in 2018 (then crumpled and recreated again and again). Over the past five years, The Sunflower Cycle has shifted into a project which includes a variety of artwork, writing, and resources.
The namesake, of course, is the common flower recognized by bold petals dancing around the center; a gift of the earth reflecting changes in time. Sunflowers turn toward the sun as a source of guidance and nutrients. For me, sunflowers invoke feelings of safety and awe. These magical flowers bring warmth to my soul in a way that only the sun can rival. It is my hope to turn toward each other and collaborate together in cycles of life, death, and in-between.
Zines
The Sunflower Cycle
A mini-zine about the life and death cycle of the sunflower from seed to death. This is a digital PDF copy of The Sunflower Cycle Version II zine.
Body Care After Death: Options for Disposition
A mini zine about what options are available for body disposition. This zine is raising funds for death education, with any money from sales going to ASP!
Body Care After Death: Washing & Shrouding
A mini zine about how to wash and shroud a body after death. This zine is raising funds for death education, with any money going to ASP!
About
Summer Gail Diegel loves the ocean, chocolate chip cookies, their friends, and kin. They can be found playing D&D, taking a nap, sharing stories, and admiring book shops.
Summer is a full-spectrum doula who enjoys time with people of all-ages in the waves of slowing down (and speeding up) to embrace life's cycles, transitions, and rites. They are often building curriculum, organizing spaces for community-led care, or offering nonmedical support, game nights, and study groups.
Summer is currently director of youth & family education at Valley & Mountain Fellowship guiding the children & youth ministry programs, and on the board of directors for A Sacred Passing: Death Midwifery & Community Education. They have over a decade of experience integrating storytelling and playfulness as allies in care work in the service of peers, children, and elders.
Contact
Want to collaborate? Let's get in touch!