Emilia Jane Richeson-Valiente
Where were you raised? Has the landscape of that place influenced your work in any way?
I was raised in Appleton WI, and Danville VT— A college town with a coffeeshop and a mall, and a small farm town with a general store and a post office.
I felt really lonely as a kid, even though I had friends and a devoted big sister. In VT I blamed the remoteness of the country, in WI I blamed born-again Christians. I know now as an adult that my sensitivities are a gift, and my experience of feeling isolated and alone as a young person have made me more attuned to others that struggle with that. Because of that, I am devoted to facilitating connection with ourselves and with others through dance aerobics.
Do you collect anything?
The Cure band T-shirts. Feathers, dried flowers, rocks — little gifts that come across my path and invite me to take them inside my home. I like to have my copies of my favorite books, which I also like to gift. So i’ll give one away and buy a used copy again. I currently have 2 copies of Weetzie Bat.
What was the last thing that you fell in love with?
I fall in love with our dog, Pepita, over and over. I’m officiating my friends’ wedding this weekend, and working with the 2 of them, talking about their love and their relationship, has really made me fall in love with them again too.
What do you love most about yourself?
I think I’m funny! Not everyone agrees, and I’m getting to be more and more ok with that and not let that change what I love most about myself.
What is your favorite smell? How does it make you feel? Or what memory does it bring you toward?
This candle I have called “Balsam and Cedar”. Lol— I can’t believe that’s true, but it really is. I call it Christmas Candle, and it’s April and I’ll still burn it as long as it’s 65 or below. I really like to be cozy. Cozy is what I’m striving for. I expend a lot of energy when I’m with people— I can’t help it! I’m excited to be around folks, I like to connect with them, to laugh, to talk about ideas, to help when I can, to witness and reflect. I re-up my energy with time by myself or with my family at home. So I like it to be really cozy, and smelling sweet like a christmas tree, and with plenty of food in the fridge. That’s what I like best.
Is there a place or activity that helps you to access (magic/ love/ god/ spirit/ the universe/ mother nature/ higher self/ the divine/ a power greater) than yourself?
I have an altar I like to keep special and beautiful things on. It feels good to connect with that space either by dusting and rearranging it, or meditating or praying, or doing spells, or just by walking by it every day and touching something on there.
What book are you reading?
I’m on book three of the Dune series.
What object do you hold most dear?
My engagement ring. I really wanted to meet someone I wanted to marry, and I did. I let her know early on that I wanted to be proposed to, and she agreed but then really took her time! Turns out she was searching for “the perfect ring” which I never believed in and I didn’t really know she believed in such a thing, but of course she’s changed my mind about a lot of things, and she DID find me the perfect ring. And I cherish it.
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be? Is there an individual or an organization doing work in this area that you want us to know about?
Wow. Yikes. One thing. Well… I think that a lot of the horrific shit that goes on in every day life (racism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, ableism, extraction/exploitation/violence against marginalized humxns, extraction/exploitation/violence against our HOME PLANET) is the progression of a brutal history that people in power have always refused to be accountable for, and instead created systems to deny wrong-doing and stay in power at whatever costs. SO… I think LANDBACK is really important, and that that movement and the organizations that support that work deserve everyone’s attention and resources.
If I was not afraid, I would…
make music, write the book, travel more to explore and less to visit. <3
All photos courtesy of Emilia Richeson-Valiente
