Twin Flames, a Suttons Bay cult, an inferno of controversy

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Perhaps no Spring 2020 COVID-19 transplants to Leelanau County were as mysterious, and now as controversial, as Jeff and Shaleia Ayan, the Suttons Bay residents and relationship coach gurus behind Twin Flames Universe, which a December 2020 Vanity Fair article called “a sort of therapeutic-spiritual reality show.” Last week the streaming service Netflix launched a scathing, three-part documentary series titled “Escaping Twin Flames,” which casts the Ayans’ online community as a cult whose leaders prey upon members and charge them thousands of dollars while pressing them into toxic relationships and manipulating their emotional and mental health struggles. Twin Flames has also attracted negative national press from Vice and Time magazine.

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Nicaraguan priest meets Pope in Rome after taking refuge in Empire

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Priest José Luis Díaz Cruz and Sergio Jose Cárdenas Flores, political asylees from Nicaragua, have been living in the rectory at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Empire since March after they escaped the autocratic Ortega regime, which has cracked down on dissent and persecuted the Roman Catholic Church. Originally from the city of Matagalpa, Díaz and Cárdenas were among dozens imprisoned for six months in the capital of Managua after living under house arrest in their church last August. In February, they were among 222 political prisoners flown to the United States after being forced to relinquish their Nicaraguan citizenship. “We’re offering them a safe place to be,” said Rev. Ken Stachnik at St. Philip Neri. “This is important because it’s in the gospel. We are watching out for those who are lost and have no place to go.” The push to bring the Nicaraguans to northern Michigan came from Reverend Wayne Dziekan with the Diocese of Gaylord and who co-directs the Justice and Peace Advocacy Center, an organization which helps asylees and migrant workers in northern Michigan. Matagalpa and Gaylord are sister diocese.

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Mary Fortuna’s Tree of Life

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The Tree of Life is one of the most universal, recurrent, and enduring of all iconographies—a visual metaphor for the interconnectivity of life forms, Earth and the cosmos. Its legacy stretches across religions and cultures. It appears throughout literature, the arts, and even modern science. This ancient motif now graces the Lobby Gallery of the Glen Arbor Arts Center. It is the mixed media installation of Traverse City artist, Mary Fortuna, aptly titled: Tree of Life: Connecting the World. The exhibit will be shown through April 25. Fortuna’s Tree of Life: Connecting the World is a glorious rendition of this most recognizable of images. It is comprised of the tree form itself, which is drawn in Sumi ink on Japanese paper, affixed to which are numerous hand-sewn soft sculptures—a snake, armadillo, turtle, fox, and bee, among other critters.

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Local luthiers craft instruments from specialty wood, castoff paint and found materials

Walk into Bob DeKorne’s garage outside Maple City, and your eye is immediately drawn past the Subaru to the phalanx of guitars in front of a work bench. There are more against the wall, and others in various states of assembly: from guitar bodies and necks to slabs of wood, alongside various amps, electronics and gear. Welcome to the home of Pyramid Point Custom Guitars. DeKorne is a luthier, turning wood, wire and other materials into unique, one-of-a-kind instruments. He’s not the only one plying the trade. Just a few miles away, his friend Kim Hillard proudly shows off his latest creation, a ukulele. Then its near-twin, and his recently completed guitar, one of five acoustics he’s made over the last few years.

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D-Day veteran, longtime Leelanau resident, to receive French Legion of Honor

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The International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City has announced that longtime Leelanau County resident Dick Grout, who is 103 years old, will be presented with the French Legion of Honor by Yannick Tagand, the Consul General of France in Chicago, in a private ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Kirkbride Hall in the Grand Traverse Commons. Grout took part in the Allies’ D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944—the seminal battle on the Western Front during the Second World War. He was earlier awarded both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service.

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Nic Theisen, Loma keep farming, even in winter

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“Growing food in summer and fall is easy,” says Loma Farm owner Nic Theisen. “Growing during winter is a more interesting story.” Spoiler alert: he’s right. Winter is cold and snowy. There’s significantly less light. It costs lots of money to provide electricity if you want heat spaces to promote growing. It’s a huge challenge to try to grow under those conditions. Why even bother? There are a few reasons. One is because Theisen wants to promote better, longer-lasting use of the land. Another is to keep his workers employed year-round. And there are those that depend on the products from the farm, especially Farm Club, the nearby restaurant that Theisen and his wife Sara own along with Gary and Allison Jonas.

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The moving art of James Thatcher

Moving is rarely an easy task, but for artists with crates of canvases to transport, the prospect can be daunting. Fortunately, for artist James Thatcher, moving has been a constant in his life. Moving his art from Oregon to Northport was just one more step in his journey. The artwork currently on display at Trinity United Church of Christ in Northport first came to life in Oregon where James volunteered at a food bank. He and a staff member picked up donated food from grocery stores and delivered it to the food bank warehouse, and from there, it was distributed to local food pantries as needed. One day, James and the staff member wondered why some volunteers agreed to help but did not show up. James hypothesized that the warehouse was too removed from the people who came to pantries. He resolved to communicate through his art the urgency of the work and the humanity of the people receiving food.

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“This land needs to hear its language”

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Emily Modrall drew an audience of 150 to Suttons Bay High School on Nov. 29 where she summarized the Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabe History Project and its work to give more space and visibility to the Anishinaabe past and present through signage and art on public land. A fascination with history led Modrall, who grew up in Suttons Bay, to a Ph.D. in Art & Archeology from the University of Pennsylvania and 15 years of field work in Italy. But upon returning home, this region’s own history seemed far away. Two years ago, Modrall ran across a marker at West End Beach etched “OLD INDIAN TRAIL” which she learned led south to Cadillac and was used by the Anishinaabek more than a century ago. Most of these trails are now lost to history—or paved over. Modrall describes herself in that moment unmoored, as she felt the history of her home and birthplace shifting beneath her feet. “What was this old trail?” She remembers wondering, “Who put up this marker? And what more can we do to preserve the past?”

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Oomen wins Michigan Author Award

The Library of Michigan (LM) has announced Empire resident Anne-Marie Oomen as the recipient of the 2023-2024 Michigan Author Award. Oomen is the founding editor of Dunes Review; former president of Michigan Writers, Inc.; and instructor at Solstice MFA in Creative Writing at Lasell University in Massachusetts and at Interlochen College of Creative Arts. She appears at conferences throughout the country.

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Mitigating holiday stress with Peninsula Provisions

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Thanksgiving is rapidly, and happily, descending upon Leelanau County. While it is, indeed, a most joyous season, it also has its challenges. Among them: travel logistics, family dynamics, and, most notably, victuals. To assuage those seemingly epic holiday anxieties is Kate Vilter Stassen’s Peninsula Provisions, a wine and gourmet shop which opened earlier this year in the village of Lake Leelanau. For Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas, Stassen and head chef Brad Roth will offer all the ancillary—yet essential—components of a holiday meal.

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