Week 8 was full of academic work prepping for my final installation and recording the experiences I have had this quarter.
I began the week writing a blog on permaculture, what I through about it and some of the highlights of what I had learned at the training. I also blogged about our successful report back.
The thing I am learning most from making this installation is giving my inner critic a rest. Through my meeting with my faculty I got this advice. " You can't control the embodied experience of your viewer, the most important thing is to enjoy the process and not stress the details." I have decided to take this advice to heart and not spend my time obsessing about how all the little parts fit together. I will trust my process and enjoy crafting each piece. It feels good to make art from all natural and found materials, low environmental impact art makes me feel more connected to my neighborhood, as I watch my neighbors walk by and look inquisitively at the spiral I am crafting. It makes me feel like an urban forager finding all the stones in the alleys and asking neighbors for extra ones from their patios. I take apple branches I find in a yard waist dumpster and weave them together into a square to create a nest of sorts. I made a flyer about the installation and started inviting people this weekend.
I spent the rest of the week crafting a values statement for my and Heron's community plan. We also made a chart of the goals we want to achieve before living on the land. These were all documents that are a part of our strategic plan for intentional community. It was fun making these statements, we got to brainstorm and use exercises from the book "Creating a life Together." We were also able to see how important it was for us to start attracting members so our vision can expand beyond our two imaginations. I had a good talk with a friend this week about her ideas of having an intentional community. Through that talk we realized how much we want in common and how fun it would be to talk with others about there strategies and dreams for community. We want to start an open conversation cafe about it starting in the spring.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Permaculture
Permaculture is a systems approach to designing land and farming. This is also a way of living, looking at your whole environment and seeing how one change affects all the life forms around it. The first thing you learn are the ethics, care of the land, care of the people, and creating a fair share for all with surplus. These ethics made me see how essential I am to creating a better world. Some environmentalists see humans as a scar on the planet, sucking away resource. They believe that humans must leave land alone in order for it to heal and become "natural" again. I disagree with this. I see people as our best biological resource because we can so greatly negatively affect our environment we can also greatly heal our environment with just a few ideology changes and management practices.
Permaculture is the art of beneficial relationships I see this as helpful in putting two plants that work well together in a garden bed as well as putting groups of humans together to care for those plants and healthy communication systems to promote a happy environment for all life forms in that area. Permaculture is a way of thinking as much as a farming technique. It encourages you to see the world as animate and working together dynamically for the greater good.
This mind set is very much in contrast to our current western mechanistic society. My friends and family were mostly raised with this mechanistic thinking, I watch them as they struggle to know where they belong, travel far and wide looking for home and moving to places just because they got a job there. This kind of displacement makes people sad and depressed, the last thing on their mind is what the native bushes are in the area they live, they are consumed with popular media and longing for a true sense of belonging. The more I use animate thinking the more happy and alive I feel, I ally myself with all living creatures and know my place in the world. I want to teach the art of animate thinking to others starting with my friends and family, re-educating them to the ways of the land that our ancestors taught us.
The first thing you learn in permaculture is the art of observation. The more you observe an environment the better you can get to know it. Before you think about implementing any new design you must sit with the land and see what it needs and what it already has. What are its surplus's? What is it lacking? How has the land been compensating for that lack? What is the best way to make a simple change for the greatest effect? By observing you learn the answers to all these questions. In social permaculture I noticed a trend, being raised female in this society I find because of sexism I have trouble stating what I think. My way of trying to remedy that situation is by charging in and saying exactly what I want to un-censored, this technique works well in making me believe in myself more and to be heard but does not always work in thinking about changing a system. I found taking an observational approach teaches me about the situation before I go into it. Then, using my thinking, I choose weather I need to charge in or give space for others to be heard too.
I have used the technique of observation in doing my weekly nature awareness exercises at my secret spot. By doing this I can see so much more of what is happening in my neighborhood, I know what bird habitat we already have as well as how the trees are handling the rapid spread of English ivy. As I watch the birds and wild things I feel more connected to place and I know better ways of working with the nature around me. We have gophers in our yard, instead of exterminating them we plant more squash and cabbage then we will need to share the abundance with the creatures that call our back yard home.
Through using my animate thinking, observation and beneficial relationships skills I am learning how to be a permaculturist. The key thing I learned at The Earth Activist Training was permaculture design. At the end of the course I got my 72-hour beginner certification, which allows me to work as an apprentice to a permaculturist and work on most permaculture farms. It also gives me the chance to create a permaculture design business in the future. I look forward to applying these techniques as I collectively run a small farm this summer.
Permaculture is the art of beneficial relationships I see this as helpful in putting two plants that work well together in a garden bed as well as putting groups of humans together to care for those plants and healthy communication systems to promote a happy environment for all life forms in that area. Permaculture is a way of thinking as much as a farming technique. It encourages you to see the world as animate and working together dynamically for the greater good.
This mind set is very much in contrast to our current western mechanistic society. My friends and family were mostly raised with this mechanistic thinking, I watch them as they struggle to know where they belong, travel far and wide looking for home and moving to places just because they got a job there. This kind of displacement makes people sad and depressed, the last thing on their mind is what the native bushes are in the area they live, they are consumed with popular media and longing for a true sense of belonging. The more I use animate thinking the more happy and alive I feel, I ally myself with all living creatures and know my place in the world. I want to teach the art of animate thinking to others starting with my friends and family, re-educating them to the ways of the land that our ancestors taught us.
The first thing you learn in permaculture is the art of observation. The more you observe an environment the better you can get to know it. Before you think about implementing any new design you must sit with the land and see what it needs and what it already has. What are its surplus's? What is it lacking? How has the land been compensating for that lack? What is the best way to make a simple change for the greatest effect? By observing you learn the answers to all these questions. In social permaculture I noticed a trend, being raised female in this society I find because of sexism I have trouble stating what I think. My way of trying to remedy that situation is by charging in and saying exactly what I want to un-censored, this technique works well in making me believe in myself more and to be heard but does not always work in thinking about changing a system. I found taking an observational approach teaches me about the situation before I go into it. Then, using my thinking, I choose weather I need to charge in or give space for others to be heard too.
I have used the technique of observation in doing my weekly nature awareness exercises at my secret spot. By doing this I can see so much more of what is happening in my neighborhood, I know what bird habitat we already have as well as how the trees are handling the rapid spread of English ivy. As I watch the birds and wild things I feel more connected to place and I know better ways of working with the nature around me. We have gophers in our yard, instead of exterminating them we plant more squash and cabbage then we will need to share the abundance with the creatures that call our back yard home.
Through using my animate thinking, observation and beneficial relationships skills I am learning how to be a permaculturist. The key thing I learned at The Earth Activist Training was permaculture design. At the end of the course I got my 72-hour beginner certification, which allows me to work as an apprentice to a permaculturist and work on most permaculture farms. It also gives me the chance to create a permaculture design business in the future. I look forward to applying these techniques as I collectively run a small farm this summer.
Creating a Life Together :Practical Tools to grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities
Heron and I used Creating a Life Together as a tool and reference to start making plans for our future community. This contract began with our idea, building on a 10-year plan to establish an intentional community and education center in the Pacific Northwest. My vision for the community incorporates artistic exploration with deep connection to the natural environment. I believe that nature awareness can be greatly enhanced by artistic expression. Our community will incorporate a “freeskool” (for grassroots information and skill-share), long-term permaculture farm to produce a subsistence level of food for community members and guests, long-term internships in building a sustainable society, use of local resources (wild food and medicine, water, timber, etc.), and a documentary media collective. It will be financially sustained by our work as educators, foresters, artists, and farmers, and other diverse small industries. Through reading Diana Leafe Christian's work I started to see what the practical steps were to making a truly successful community. Christian breaks down the skills you will need to start this business and a time-line for the first steps in finding members and land. Heron and I began this process by brainstorming the skills we already have for creating the community we want. After this we brainstormed the skills we will need and the kinds of people we want to live with.
In the top 10% of successful communities Christian outlines, is the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, the community Heron and I visited in California. It was great to see that we chose the right place to investigate. I remembered talking to one of the members on the day that we visited and volunteered in their garden. Michelle's advice for creating community was 1) Begin with prior relationships with the people you wish to live with. At the very least, have an extended trial period before accepting new people into the community.
2) Have an established structure for emotional process that the community has agreed upon and has employed regularly. This foundation is invaluable for avoiding emotional build-ups of resentment and miscommunication. Michelle prefers Naka Ima as a model.
3) Create a land-based culture that is a built-in bonding system for people to feel connected to the place where they live and the natural rhythms of the ecosystem. Many community-seekers were raised in the city, or in the mindset of the city, and living with natural rhythms is not ingrained; it must be harbored and developed through regular activities that connect our life cycles with the land, i.e. growing food and eating it. We must re-create the need for local knowledge by linking our needs to those of the land.
This advice seemed like a good way to think about the foundation of our community. Another tool that Christian shares is creating a vision document to state clearly why we want this community and what we will achieve in creating it. This has lead to Heron and I crafting many small vision documents to align our values so we can be sharing the same ideas when courting others to join us in community. We feel that we cannot create a true vision document till we have a good strong group of people ready to commit.
Overall I found this book to be helpful in making this process much less overwhelming. I see that I have tools and mentors in the process of making a community and that we could be a success. I will be posting some of the vision documents and brain storms Heron and I come up with in the next two weeks.
In the top 10% of successful communities Christian outlines, is the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, the community Heron and I visited in California. It was great to see that we chose the right place to investigate. I remembered talking to one of the members on the day that we visited and volunteered in their garden. Michelle's advice for creating community was 1) Begin with prior relationships with the people you wish to live with. At the very least, have an extended trial period before accepting new people into the community.
2) Have an established structure for emotional process that the community has agreed upon and has employed regularly. This foundation is invaluable for avoiding emotional build-ups of resentment and miscommunication. Michelle prefers Naka Ima as a model.
3) Create a land-based culture that is a built-in bonding system for people to feel connected to the place where they live and the natural rhythms of the ecosystem. Many community-seekers were raised in the city, or in the mindset of the city, and living with natural rhythms is not ingrained; it must be harbored and developed through regular activities that connect our life cycles with the land, i.e. growing food and eating it. We must re-create the need for local knowledge by linking our needs to those of the land.
This advice seemed like a good way to think about the foundation of our community. Another tool that Christian shares is creating a vision document to state clearly why we want this community and what we will achieve in creating it. This has lead to Heron and I crafting many small vision documents to align our values so we can be sharing the same ideas when courting others to join us in community. We feel that we cannot create a true vision document till we have a good strong group of people ready to commit.
Overall I found this book to be helpful in making this process much less overwhelming. I see that I have tools and mentors in the process of making a community and that we could be a success. I will be posting some of the vision documents and brain storms Heron and I come up with in the next two weeks.
Week 7 winter quarter
Week 7 was predominately focused on putting together the final pieces to the report back. Together and Heron and I gathered the materials to make seed balls, compost and clay and then had our interview on The Free school radio show. We discussed going to EAT and our new perspective in light of it. We were asked the question. "With the amount of environmental degradation and world market we have set up in our current system do you think it is possible to heal the land and have enough resource for everyone in the USA?" my answer was yes! and more. One thing I learned at EAT was how easy it could be to change the world just by changing your mentality to it. Instead of seeing chemically treated grass, yard after yard, imagine each green square as a garden providing most of the nutrition for the family that lives there. In cities imagine it being mandatory to install rain water catchments and food forests on the tops of buildings. There is no scarcity of land and human power in the USA to provide for the needs of all of its citizens and share the abundance with neighbors. As for the toxic soils from chemical and mono-crop farming, I learned how possible it is to restore damaged land naturally and create a diverse eco-system once again. Knowing these tools gives me hope that we can get out of this mechanistic thinking and start seeing the land and nature as alive and something we want to care for because we are part of it and we feel healthy when it is healthy.
I spent the rest of the week imaging more ideas for my art installation and gathering materials for building the labyrinth. My goal for next week is to create a flyer to invite people to see it and start crafting the sprouted figures for the center of the installation. After watching many art 21 video interviews I have decided to take some inspiration from Kiki Smith's work and create something in honor of the witches that burned in Europe during the witch trials. I think that this is very relevant to my work at EAT and is an honor to my elders and mentors in earth based spirituality. The piece is not quiet done in my head but I think it will be a good start to a greater idea.
I spent this weekend at the "Wilderness Re-Wilding Skill-Share" In Bellingham Washington. This was a camp out on a friends land where 50 people taught each other skills related to living simply with nature and learning different ways of connecting to the land. It was a fun weekend of doing sensory awareness exercises, playing games, learning how to identify winter twigs, I will take this knowledge back to my secret spot and I.D. the trees and shrubs there, making fermented food for preservation, tracking, making fire with a bow drill and trapping. Overall I had a sweet time being there and feeling like I have the skills to live a simpler life in connection with the land. I felt especially empowered by the bow drill workshop, this technique allows you to make fires with materials you find in the woods and not use matches. I want to practice this more when the weather warms and I can start camping again.
I spent the rest of the week imaging more ideas for my art installation and gathering materials for building the labyrinth. My goal for next week is to create a flyer to invite people to see it and start crafting the sprouted figures for the center of the installation. After watching many art 21 video interviews I have decided to take some inspiration from Kiki Smith's work and create something in honor of the witches that burned in Europe during the witch trials. I think that this is very relevant to my work at EAT and is an honor to my elders and mentors in earth based spirituality. The piece is not quiet done in my head but I think it will be a good start to a greater idea.
I spent this weekend at the "Wilderness Re-Wilding Skill-Share" In Bellingham Washington. This was a camp out on a friends land where 50 people taught each other skills related to living simply with nature and learning different ways of connecting to the land. It was a fun weekend of doing sensory awareness exercises, playing games, learning how to identify winter twigs, I will take this knowledge back to my secret spot and I.D. the trees and shrubs there, making fermented food for preservation, tracking, making fire with a bow drill and trapping. Overall I had a sweet time being there and feeling like I have the skills to live a simpler life in connection with the land. I felt especially empowered by the bow drill workshop, this technique allows you to make fires with materials you find in the woods and not use matches. I want to practice this more when the weather warms and I can start camping again.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Reflections on the Earth Activist Training Report Back
One lunar eclipsed full moon evening we organized an event to share our learning and experiences at The Earth Activist Training. With 25 attendees we opened the space with introductions and a song. We moved on to explain permaculture design basics through stating the ethics: care of the land, care of the people, and fair share to all plus creating surplus by design. This lead into a meditation using the first of the 27 principals that one uses in designing permaculture spaces, observation. People closed their eyes and imagined they were in a spot in nature and looked for the patterns in that spot. It was about using all their senses as well as working with the phrase "I wonder" as they imagined moving through that natural environment. We then had them open their eyes and look at the shapes in front of them, see what patterns were in the room. We wrote these patterns down on a white board and talked about what patterns one might use in designing a permaculture space.
The observation time lead to a slide show exemplifying our experience and highlighting the rainwater catchment gray water hand washing station we built as well as the cob and waddle storage shed we began building. We rounded out the evening with a hands on ritual workshop in singing and making seed balls. As we rolled together the clay, compost and native wild seeds Heron described the plants many uses and the no till method of the seed balls. People put energy for the world they wanted to live in by singing over our finished product, a pile of tiny balls ready to repair degraded land and beautify a piece of earth with their medicinal and flowerful qualities.
As a co-creator of this report back I felt quiet happy with the results. I felt that all our hard work and advertising payed off. It was fun to see a large group of people including people we did not know gaining new insights and asking so many questions. It was hard to choose what to focus on; this training covered so many topics so to choose how best to present it was challenging. In the end I am glad we stuck to teaching only three key things and just sharing our experience for the rest of the time. We had report back forms and it was good to get a lot of appreciation and some constructive criticism. I feel that in time my teaching skills will get even better, especially in transitioning from one topic to the next. I liked helping to lead people in ritual that had never or very rarely experienced it. In the feed back form we asked people directly what they thought about the ritual and most agreed that they did not usually do this sort of thing but were happy with the relaxed atmosphere and how they could choose to participate or not.
I like learning how to be a teacher, how to make things fun and dynamic as well as packed with information. I also liked the process Heron and I had to go through to lead this together. It was hard choosing who would do what tasks. We both ended up working independently of each other a lot and there was a feeling that we could not rely on the other for help. We were able to communicate this and work it out so that we could collaborate when it came time to lead the report back. I feel like this is one of the many lessons I am learning in working collectively. These are great steps towards being able to live in an intentional community.
The observation time lead to a slide show exemplifying our experience and highlighting the rainwater catchment gray water hand washing station we built as well as the cob and waddle storage shed we began building. We rounded out the evening with a hands on ritual workshop in singing and making seed balls. As we rolled together the clay, compost and native wild seeds Heron described the plants many uses and the no till method of the seed balls. People put energy for the world they wanted to live in by singing over our finished product, a pile of tiny balls ready to repair degraded land and beautify a piece of earth with their medicinal and flowerful qualities.
As a co-creator of this report back I felt quiet happy with the results. I felt that all our hard work and advertising payed off. It was fun to see a large group of people including people we did not know gaining new insights and asking so many questions. It was hard to choose what to focus on; this training covered so many topics so to choose how best to present it was challenging. In the end I am glad we stuck to teaching only three key things and just sharing our experience for the rest of the time. We had report back forms and it was good to get a lot of appreciation and some constructive criticism. I feel that in time my teaching skills will get even better, especially in transitioning from one topic to the next. I liked helping to lead people in ritual that had never or very rarely experienced it. In the feed back form we asked people directly what they thought about the ritual and most agreed that they did not usually do this sort of thing but were happy with the relaxed atmosphere and how they could choose to participate or not.
I like learning how to be a teacher, how to make things fun and dynamic as well as packed with information. I also liked the process Heron and I had to go through to lead this together. It was hard choosing who would do what tasks. We both ended up working independently of each other a lot and there was a feeling that we could not rely on the other for help. We were able to communicate this and work it out so that we could collaborate when it came time to lead the report back. I feel like this is one of the many lessons I am learning in working collectively. These are great steps towards being able to live in an intentional community.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Week 6 winter quarter
I spent week 6 focused on the report back next week and on gathering more inspiration for my art installation. I rented a PBS series called "Art 21," interviews with artist in the 21st century. These DVDs were incredibly helpful in gaining perspective and guidance surrounding the work I am creating. I was especially enchanted with Ann Hamilton's work. Her use of natural materials and multimedia presentations exploring the idea of spirituality excited me. I was also enthralled by the works of Kiki Smith, her sculpture, especially about the witch trials was a fascinating way to make history relevant and in your face. I liked the reminder of how political art is a way of creating beauty and healing in a tense and destructive environment. As a multi-media artist I also appreciated how the interviews were shot, few face on shots and mostly showing the artist as they created their work. You really got a sense of the process and energy put into each piece.
Heron and I crafted a slideshow and presentation for the report back as well as took a look over our timeline and decided what were the most important things to cover. We have been publicizing the event widely and will be doing a short interview on the radio about permaculture and the report back. I think it will go smoothly and be very dynamic, a true expression of our experience at EAT.
I have been keeping up with my Body and Earth nature awareness exercises and notice new things each time I go out. I find myself craving to go to my secret spot in the mornings. I feel as though I am fully honoring the spring this year by watching it slowly unfold in my neighborhood. This week we were focused on the brain and visceral experience in the body. I did yoga on Saturday and had an even more illuminated experience when noticing my visceral body and brain during the practice.
Heron and I crafted a slideshow and presentation for the report back as well as took a look over our timeline and decided what were the most important things to cover. We have been publicizing the event widely and will be doing a short interview on the radio about permaculture and the report back. I think it will go smoothly and be very dynamic, a true expression of our experience at EAT.
I have been keeping up with my Body and Earth nature awareness exercises and notice new things each time I go out. I find myself craving to go to my secret spot in the mornings. I feel as though I am fully honoring the spring this year by watching it slowly unfold in my neighborhood. This week we were focused on the brain and visceral experience in the body. I did yoga on Saturday and had an even more illuminated experience when noticing my visceral body and brain during the practice.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Week 5 Winter Quarter
This week began with a fit of inspiration. I spent Monday morning delving into heavy art books in the library containing images to awaken my creativity and spring forth-new ideas for my art installation. Through reading Janine Antoni's Slip of the Tongue I was able to think up new ways of visualizing my body as a part of the installation. Her use of her mouth, hair and even eyelashes as tools to manipulate her work gave me a new foundation for how to make my piece even more interactive. This study went along well with my readings in Body and Earth. I am learning about evolution by being present with its existence in my body, I am noticing how I came to be an up right creature. By doing movement exercises in the book I stay connected to this somatic experience. I am really enjoying doing this course of study and like how it influences my art installation.
I have decided the basic structure of my installation. I plan to present it week 10 as an art event in my neighborhood with my installation outside and local small films being shown inside.
I will construct an art installation in my backyard. Building a cocoon like structure that visitors will be invited to enter with the beat of a drum outside. As they come into the space they will be greeted by a small stone labyrinth and dry tea bags (harvested form the many cups of tea drank at EAT) hanging from strings that they will have to duck from hitting as they walk the spiral of the labyrinth. Attached to the tea bags will be words from a poem by Rosario Murillo that starts with the line "I am going to plant a heart in the earth." As the visitor walks the labyrinth they will read lines from the poem and end in the middle. I imagine this as a way for the visitor to connect with there body in the space. There will be a worm bin in the middle of the spiral with a heart made of sprouted turf on top of it.
This installation will be a way for me to share some of the knowledge I experienced at the EAT and also a way to symbolize the ritual I do as a part of my earth based spirituality practice. All things I use for this installation will be crafted from natural and found materials except the worm bin which I will be constructing and using for my house and garden. I plan to use my body as a tool in crafting some of the structural elements of the installation. I am still thinking of different ways I want to conceive of this somatic practice in the making and experiencing of the installation.
Heron and I had another good seminar discussing our readings from the book Creating A Life Together as well as discussing the curriculum for the EAT report back. We came up with a general outline of what we wanted to focus on then went through each thing and discussed who would lead it and what information was the most important to share. This will be a well-planned report back exemplifying the holistic approach to learning we gathered at the EAT.
I have decided the basic structure of my installation. I plan to present it week 10 as an art event in my neighborhood with my installation outside and local small films being shown inside.
I will construct an art installation in my backyard. Building a cocoon like structure that visitors will be invited to enter with the beat of a drum outside. As they come into the space they will be greeted by a small stone labyrinth and dry tea bags (harvested form the many cups of tea drank at EAT) hanging from strings that they will have to duck from hitting as they walk the spiral of the labyrinth. Attached to the tea bags will be words from a poem by Rosario Murillo that starts with the line "I am going to plant a heart in the earth." As the visitor walks the labyrinth they will read lines from the poem and end in the middle. I imagine this as a way for the visitor to connect with there body in the space. There will be a worm bin in the middle of the spiral with a heart made of sprouted turf on top of it.
This installation will be a way for me to share some of the knowledge I experienced at the EAT and also a way to symbolize the ritual I do as a part of my earth based spirituality practice. All things I use for this installation will be crafted from natural and found materials except the worm bin which I will be constructing and using for my house and garden. I plan to use my body as a tool in crafting some of the structural elements of the installation. I am still thinking of different ways I want to conceive of this somatic practice in the making and experiencing of the installation.
Heron and I had another good seminar discussing our readings from the book Creating A Life Together as well as discussing the curriculum for the EAT report back. We came up with a general outline of what we wanted to focus on then went through each thing and discussed who would lead it and what information was the most important to share. This will be a well-planned report back exemplifying the holistic approach to learning we gathered at the EAT.
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