About Us
The Origin of the Council
The Council for the Revival of Matriarchal Arts (CRMA) was born out of an ancestral calling—a recognition that the hearth is not merely symbolic, but a living space where culture, care, and community take root. Founded by women who are deeply committed to resurrecting matrilineal knowledge, the Council is a growing circle of mothers, daughters, aunties, artists, thinkers, weavers, and cultural midwives who are rekindling the practical, spiritual, and political technologies of ancient and contemporary matriarchal societies.
We are not creating something new. We are remembering what has always been: A world woven by maternal care. According to matriarchal worldview, all life is sacred and therefore worthy of respect and care. In this spirit, mundane tasks become sacred rituals and responsibilities imbued with love and Earth-based intelligence. Economies based on gifting and mutuality are remembered and revived as the logical norm.
✦ Jennifer Eva Sirel-Pillau
Co-Founder, CRMA
Jennifer Eva Sirel-Pillau, mother of two, is a founding member of the Council for the Revival of Matriarchal Arts (CRMA). Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as certifications in Ayurvedic Practice and Craniosacral Therapy. Her interest turned to matriarchy when it became clear in her role as a healer that virtually all chronic illnesses—physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational—share root causes that can be traced to the degradation of our social and ecological fabric. She studied matriarchal societies and matriarchal theory at International Academy Hagia with the institute’s founder, Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth.
For her, the mission of CRMA represents a “deep roots” level of activism to recover what is lost in generations plagued by chronic war, uprooting, and displacement, and the resulting dissociation from the Earth, one another, as well as our innate sensibilities and creative potency. CRMA, therefore, aligns with her passion and desire to re-imagine and mend the crucial bonds of love, lineage, and wisdom among women. Her pen name is the name of her mother’s Estonian lineage.
✦ Sian Cradick
Co-Founder, CRMA
Sian has lived in Crete since 1985 and has three children two of whom are in Crete and one living in London. She feels lucky to have always been self employed and working with people, outdoors and close to nature. The Cretan traditions of sharing food and hospitality, offering without expecting anything back, have always aligned with her core beliefs. She learnt knitting, sewing and cooking from her maternal grandmother and has passed these skills and the joy of creation to her daughters. Excited to learn weaving she is looking forward to CRMA beginning lessons for local girls helping to keep the ancient traditions of weaving alive, and to making connections world wide with women weavers. She sees this as giving us opportunities to learn from other cultures, to share our knowledge, and to support younger women in learning the richness of their traditions.
✦ Kirsten Mus
Co-Founder, CRMA
Kirsten Mus was born in Denmark and has lived in Crete since 1986. She is an artist who works with the mediums of glass, ceramics and tapestries. Her greatest inspiration is from the many archaeological artefacts that Crete is full of, and in general, her life here in Crete. Her art is deeply influenced by these. She is especially interested in Marija Gimbutas’ archaeological theories. A teacher and cultural mediator for many years, being a member of CRMA is very important to her, as well as being very rewarding. CRMA gives hope that our world can be changed into a society where love, care and community are the supporting foundation.
✦ Michelle Williams
Co-Founder, CRMA
Michelle has a passion for dance, Yoga, and singing, and wholeheartedly believes that these embodiment practices are ancient human technologies that kept us connected to ourselves, each other, and the environment. Michelle teaches what she understands through the above-mentioned practices and is beginning to explore more songs with the hope of singing with the community and bringing our voices together, singing with wisdom, compassion & a sense of remembering who we are and our interconnection to each other.
✦ Claudia Welter
Co-Founder, CRMA
When Claudia came to Crete many years ago, she dreamed about living a more independent life from her previous life in Germany; to live in nature and for nature. So she concentrated her creativity and skills, specialising in making healthy foods such as Kombucha, nut bread, tofu, almond/nut milks, etc, making natural soaps out of olive oil. and also painting collected stones from local beaches – all the while looking for like-minded people. She teaches traditional and ancient wisdom dances for women here in Crete. With her partner Georgios, she founded a successful community-exchange organisation that trades and exchanges services with its own currency. Meeting so many people, she came to the CRMA eager to learn new skills like spinning and weaving, happy that this also involves dancing and singing for women and in the near future, for children. Weaving cloth has brought Claudia much closer to her vision of being independent enough to make clothes, in a circle together for everyone. She says: ‘I’m always in a learning process of new projects, feeling accepted, and this make me happy.
✦Audrey Lee Hin
Co-Founder, CRMA
Audrey is a mother, self-employed, and a passionate tarot reader. Originally from Tahiti, she moved to France where she studied social sciences and later earned a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. Very curious, she spent the first years of her adult life traveling, exploring how different cultures connect with their spirituality. She worked in the tourism industry and later as a marketing assistant before transitioning to freelance work. She moved to Crete to settle and raise her family. She joined the CRMA to deepen her connection to women’s ancestral wisdom and take part in a movement that places care and community at the heart of society.
✦ Konstandina Mastrantonaki
Weaving Instructor
My name is Konstandina Maetrantanaki or Dina Mas. I was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Creating is my passion; it’s how I make sense of the world around me and each & every one of my creations whether it be painting, DIY or weaving is made from love and care. I am of Cretan descent and my grandmother had a huge wooden loom in her house as most households at that time. I believe I inherited the gene for weaving, for creating cloth with all fibers and colors. I try not to limit myself with which yarns, textures and colors I use for my fabrics. I create at that moment. In the moment when my loom speaks to me, I follow the flow and let the weave show me the way.
✦Anna Draus
Co-Founder, CRMA
Ania is a passionate community builder bringing women together across cultures and generations. She spent four transformative years in Crete, living close to nature. The island became for her a source of life-changing energy and a new path. Ania is committed to creating workshops, circles and spaces for real connection. She co-founded Women of Crete, Oi Gynaikes Tis Kritis in 2022, a vibrant community of international and Greek women. Returning to Poland in the late summer of 2025, Ania wishes to continue weaving bridges between women as she started in Crete.
✦ Marta Churas
Co-Founder, CRMA
My name is Marta, I’m Sophie’s mom, and I am a proud member of the Council for the Revival of Matriarchal Arts (CRMA). My journey to Crete was a search for a new chapter in my life, and what I’ve found here has exceeded all my expectations. This island has revealed a wealth of creativity to me and allowed me to discover new talents.
Today, I passionately support projects like CRMA that strengthen our community and help traditional arts, like weaving, flourish and enrich our lives for generations to come. My passion for authentic marketing is my way of expressing myself and promoting these valuable initiatives, so they can reach a wider audience and inspire more people.