The Stewards
Tending Shrines, Keeping the Flame
From The Ashes is more than a sacred art gallery, and a place to connect with ancestral healing. It is a node within a constellation of stewardship, bridging continents, cultures, and communities.
Each individual and organization within this intentional mycelial network, has a unique purpose, expression, and gift to offer the world. What we share, is a devotion to the sacred, a desire to build a better world, and a creative impulse to let spirit lead the way.
We are one of many expressions of the Dagara lineage of Diviners, stewarding this ancient tradition in the West. Through active partnership with Zangala Foundation, we ensure that a portion of all revenues directly benefits Dagara wisdom keepers and youth in Burkina Faso.
The profiles below include those individuals that have been instrumental to the emergence and refinement of this project, the artwork, the vision, the digital presence, and the continuous improvement of what we are building.
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![A man with long brown hair and a goatee, smiling, in an outdoor forest setting, wearing a beige button down collar-less shirt, and a colorful kimono jacket with red, yellow, and black african art patterns, and a black and blue accent lapel.]()
Tylor Middlestadt
Tylor is Founder of From the Ashes and a stick medicine Diviner in the Dagara lineage.
He owns and leads consulting companies, non-profits, and small businesses in the US and Indonesia that all share a mission to Build a Better World.
He’s also a musician, spoken word artist, medical intuitive, and a life-long learner passionate about Buddhism, Spirituality, Ancestral Healing, Regeneration, and the Art of Sanity in an age of chaos.
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Oumarou Traoré
Oumarou is the artist and visionary that created the Dagara Collection artwork in Burkina Faso.
A community leader, art teacher, and champion of the Dagara culture. For 20 years he has helped thousands of Dagara youth to learn and celebrate their traditional culture.
Oumarou is a prolific artist and collector of West African sacred relics. Our private collection of rare one-of-a-kind items are available only to serious collectors!
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![A Filipina woman with glasses, pink lipstick, and a crescent moon painted on her forehead holds a dreamcatcher in front of a colorful background with vibrant, artistic mural with mythical and animal themes, and she is wearing a pink flower crown.]()
Carmen Leilani de Jesus
Carmen is a muse, change artist, and force multiplier.
She is an advocate for collective liberation, personal sovereignty and equitable, regenerative futures. She empowers others by sharing the Wheel of Consent® framework, Hypnotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Guided Imagery.
Her many talents includes initiation into the Dagara Divination lineage of Earth and Ancestral Connection.
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![A woman in a black dress with gold geometric line designs, looking over her left shoulder, holding a decorative asian-style fan covering her left shoulder, in a dimly lit, rustic setting with wooden beams and vibrant orange and red accents.]()
Natalia Filatova
Natalia is co-creator and artist of the Infinite Vine: Tarot Awakens tarot deck and co-founder of Infinite Vine Design Group along with Tylor.
She is the visionary artist and designer behind all of the From the Ashes and Zangala Foundation graphic design, branding, and website UX/UI.
She brings creativity, artful impact, and joy to all she does. She is a capoerista, loves to dance, and is inspired by traveling to new lands!
Collaborations
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Zangala
Zangala is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the Dagara culture and ancient spiritual traditions.
Founded in 2007, the organization has provided more than $350K USD in funding over the years to sponsor an annual Dagara cultural festival, and other initiatives.
A portion of all profits at From The Ashes are donated to Zangala to support their life changing work in Burkina Faso and beyond.
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Innovative Learning and Living Institute
ILALI is a social ecosystem and nonprofit organization stewarding regenerative and equitable futures.
They support place-based initiatives, collective sense-making, and resourced decision-making across communities and bioregions.
ILALI’s work is multidimensional. It blends research, reflection, and creative practice in ways rooted in real places and communities.