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Memento Mori: A Sand Casting & Ritual Workshop Returns to CAFACMINNEAPOLIS, MN — On November 7–8, 2026, artists and siblings Brienna Hall, a metalsmith, and scottie hall, a hospice chaplain, will return to Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC) in South Minneapolis to lead Memento Mori: A Sand Casting & Ritual Workshop, a two-day, hands-on experience rooted in the ancient tradition of memento mori, or “remember death.”
Over the course of the weekend, Brienna will guide students through the entire sand casting process from cradle to grave; creating a mold, safely using a torch, casting with molten metal, and finishing a custom piece.
Chaplain scottie will complement the time facilitating personal reflection, altar building, and the co-creation of a ceremony to honor the significance of the memento mori practice. Participants are invited to bring a cherished object, cremains of a loved one, symbolic material, or a personal offering to incorporate into their creation.
Together, Brienna's experience as a metalsmith and scottie's work as a hospice chaplain invite participants to view death as an integral part of being alive.
This workshop is open to all levels of experience. The only prerequisite is a willingness to reflect on the impermanent nature of life.
Memento Mori: A Sand Casting & Ritual Workshop
November 7–8, 2026. 1-7 PM
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center
3749 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55407
Spaces limited. For registration and additional information, visit Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center.
About the Instructors
Brienna Hall is the jewelry artist and metalsmith behind Shrine Jewelry. Her work explores the relationship between material, memory, transformation, and intention. Through traditional and experimental metalworking techniques, she creates objects that hold personal meaning and invite reflection on the stories, memories, and intentions we attach to the things we carry.
scottie hall (ze|zir) is a Minneapolis-based artist, hospice chaplain, and ritual practitioner. Ze invites hospice patients and their circles of care to meet death with curiosity, self-discovery, and radical acceptance. A longtime Buddhist practitioner, scottie holds an MDiv from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, where they studied Interreligious Chaplaincy and Theopoetics.
Testimonials
“This was my very first time creating something from sand casting. I was a little bit nervous to try it because I really didn't know what to expect. With the excellent guidance from the artists teaching the class, it was very easy to catch on and I actually created a test piece and a keepsake to remember my youngest son, who passed away when he was 12 years old.”
—Workshop participant
“The poetry and readings as we gathered around the altar beginning and ending each day. Sharing the love and memories of the ones we are missing and grieving for. The gentle encouragement each of us received when something didn't go quite right. Realizing I could learn this ancient art of sand casting in a weekend! WOW!!”
—Workshop participant
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Event venue
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407-2610, United States
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