The Little Artshram

Feeling the summer growing speed picking up and the to-do list doing the same. Seedlings are begging for transplant, so I do the early morning garden work and quick run the transplants–basel, snap dragons, lobella, more snap dragons, morning glory starts up to Char's greenhouse. Char is my generous neighbor who is sharing her greenhouse space so that we can get a bunch of seedlings going for the Art-Farm Camps and have them ready to produce a bounty for our fall harvest. She has the works—-tables, extra flats, a watering system which taps into our fish fertilizer. WOW–what a good deal.

Picking up my dear daughter Allison today who will be employed by Little Artshram for a week or so, helping take care of the business tasks that my grubby, garden hands can't manage. Thank my lucky stars that I have a daughter who has always liked to do the administrative and office work—-and is good at it! She's folded lot's of Little Artshram newsletters and helped my dinosaur brain more than once with the computer.

Here's a lovely quote by a person I admire. His name is Kiko Denzer and he knows how to play in the mud. He's published several books about natural building and has worked with many folks building amazing works of functional art out of cob…

These words come from the front page of his book called Build your own Earth Oven:

Talking is teaching.

Listening is learning.

Education is sharing.

Experience is a seed,

and even the bitterest seed will grow.

Culture is the fruit of common experience–

a common responsibility, and

our common wealth.

If work is love made visible,

then love is everywhere you look.

Here's a shared announcement about a chance to join a beautiful project….COMMUNITY GARDENING in Traverse City….along with contact information for, Linda Carps, who is the Rolling Centuries Farm Community Gardening coordinator…there is plenty of information for any of you to consider joining us in ourthree months–more or less– of green, growing, summer fun.

Little Artshram has 7 of the Community Garden plots reserved for our Summer Art-Farm Camps. DeDe and I were at the garden site yesterday, checking this glorious green space—right in the middle of Traverse City and beginning to make plans for our gardening adventures with kids and their families….We are looking very forward to our earth work and food growing.  This Saturday, we meet Tiller Tom at our garden sites to begin the turning over soil prep.

…I don't know HOW you can resist getting in on this fun! If you don't want to tend a plot yourself—join our Art-Farm Camp crew. (more info. below–posted May 22)

If you don't know much about gardening and would like to—join our Art-Farm Camp crew. We are always looking for volunteers and extra pairs of hands. We'd love your company and will surely have lot's of veggies, herbs and flowers to share—providing we get that deer fence up!

Community Garden Plots Available! Located at the proposed Rolling Centuries Farm, on the grounds of the Grand Traverse Commons and adjacent to the historical Cathedral Barns, the garden area has a rich history of farming and food production.

If you want some space to grow vegetables – while helping support this wonderful site’s preservation – consider joining us at the Community Garden. For $25, you can work the soil and plant your seeds in a garden plot that measures approximately 24’ x 30’, although there are a few plots that vary in length and / or width.

The Garden is sponsored by the proposed Rolling Centuries Farm whose mission is to become a reality: where the buildings and land of the former Traverse City State Hospital again become a vibrant working farm for the cultural and educational enrichment of our community.

For information about leasing a garden plot, please contact Emmy Lou at rcfbarns@charter.net or Linda at 946-8726.

We thank the Citizens of Traverse City and the Charter Township of Garfield for creating the Recreational Authority that purchased the barns, outbuildings and surrounding land in preservation for the community. Rolling Centuries Farm is a fund of the Grand Traverse Community Foundation.

Writing in the morning agrees with me.

It can be an epic experience in one-sided communication. And then what do I do with it? Sometimes, I send letters to my family. The most recent are a series of Sister letters to my dear sisters and my parents. They complain about my handwriting–especially when the letter is five pages long, and so I've taken to emailing it. Or, printing it out on the computer. I heard my Dad breathe a sigh of relief, when I sent my first computer-printed letter. It was a BIG sigh (he lives 180 miles south of me). I had no idea my handwriting had gotten so bad…

It is true though. My handwriting has fallen on the wayside. I used to faithfully write to "My dear-self" in a journal–a method of saying everything I needed to say to everyone or no one in particular. Just stuff that needed to be spoken or written. A good clean out of my head at the beginning of the day, in order to begin the day. Occaisionaly I still use my journal—but my mode of writing has changed, is changing.

In January,while I was in California at a second round of Earth Activist Training (www.earthactivsttraining.org), my room-mate, Hughthir had DSL installed. This is a BIG deal. the first part of the BIG deal is that we live off the grid, on wind and solar power. Having high speed internet in the roly-poly, North West Michigan sand-dunes is a pretty new concept.

The second part of the BIG deal is that one year ago, Hughthir was disgusted with all the computer geeks who send emails instead of real, handwritten letters. He muttered and grumbled when his mom and I set down at the computer to send out an email. Then he got involved with a local radio show (www.radioanyway.org), writing and producing radio stories. And, now he's about to take a computer class, so that he can better understand how to operate Adobe audition.

So, while I reflect on the amazing needs and techno changes in communication–I remember Mrs. Hodges, my business and typing teacher at Laingsburg High School, who would be proud that I've finally mastered the keyboard.

The need to sort and clear out words that are tumbling around spills over into my daily work teaching, drawing pictures, making art, gardening, my on-going studies with permaculture, feeding the chickens, making cappucino's at Gemmas' in Empire, etc.

I've always believed that I draw better pictures than write words–but a few years ago, I faced my fear of words and those who have the title as designated "writers" and decided since there seemed to be millions of words all around that I ought to be able to harness a few and write out my bumbling thoughts. I had a good talk with myself. It's a free world. I profess to be a free thinking revolutionary type, so why not? Yes, it was a liberating moment.

I went on a poetry-like writing binge. It seemed a good place to begin. Just grabbing twenty-five or fifty words at a time to get out my inner yearning and word/thought yoga out into the big, wide world. I even put up an art exhibit at my favorite diner the Golden Harvest, called Small Paintings of Big Places with a gathering of wordage posted near each little painting.

Now I'm in Northern Michigan, dreaming-up, organizing and "directing" a non-profit which I named Little Artshram and find myself in need of a mode of communicating and thought sharing.

I've been told that I need an editor. That I'm a little bit, too twisty-turny. That in order to communicate effectively with others, I need to understand how they communicate and speak in their language. Now that seems like an epic journey.

A kind person emailed me last week to inform me of the possibility of having a web-log for Little Artshram. Another realization is that I don't use proper email ettiquette. Darn my rule-breaking ignorance. Too many colors or different fonts…not good. What's a picture-drawing—word mongering yakkity type like me to do?

Blog it.

I'll do it! If anyone wants to read it they will. Perfect!

Well, here goes.

My words about an art-filled return to a healthier, earth-peace-loving existence.

Communicating. Letter-synthesis.