Micro Loan Recipients and Projects

You may remember a few months ago when we were promoting our Food and Farm Micro Loan program, inviting individuals to apply for a low-interest, 18-month term loan to use on a project that would help elevate the local food system here in northwest lower Michigan. We’re happy to announce that along with Grain Train Natural Foods Markets, we were able to give out three loans to three individuals. Read more about them and their projects below and keep an eye out for mid-project updates!

FARM MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES

Marvin Best, of Best Farm in Ellsworth, runs a vegetable and fruit farm and sells brown eggs from his free-range chickens. Marvin grows sweet corn, melons, and red and yellow watermelons. Many people told Marvin that he wouldn’t be able to grow the melons, but he succeeded!

The loan Marvin was granted will be used to purchase organic fertilizer and install drip irrigation, as well as putting a neighbor plot back into tillage, among other things. He also plans to get some repairs done on his tractor. We are happy to be able to help Marvin out with strengthening his own farm, and therefore bringing more locally produced fruits and vegetables (and eggs!) to this region. Good luck, Marvin!

Bob Struthers, of Grain Train, and Marvin Best, of Best Farm.

HEATING AND COOLING ON THE FARM

Susan Sharp, of Open Sky Organic Farm in Cross Village, along with her husband Sam, hosts an organic CSA and believes that small farming is a way to “provide wholesome food to our community and connect with people in a real and useful way.”

Sharp plans to use the loan, in addition to some grants Open Sky Organic Farm recently been awarded, to get a hoop house heater installed, as well as some coolbot materials to have a cooler area. Open Sky Organic Farm is a growing business and is in need of some heating and cooling for season extension and cold storage. We’re happy to help Susan and Sam with a financial boost to get these projects wrapped up!

Jen Schaap, of Crosshatch, and Susan Sharp, of Open Sky Organic Farm.

SEASON EXTENSION AND A TILLER OF ONE’S OWN

Lukas Hamilton runs Grass Lake Organics, a vegetable and fruit farm specializing in heirloom tomatoes—offering over 55 varieties this year! Grass Lake Organics also plans to sell eggs and hops. Hamilton grew up on an organic, bio-dynamic farm and educational center and he’s passionate about growing food.

The micro-loan Hamilton was awarded will help propel Grass Lake Organics into a higher-functioning farm, bringing more heirloom tomatoes and other veggies to our region. Hamilton plans to buy a tiller after years of renting one, and has drawn up plans to build a cold-storage shelter for season extension. We’re glad that the micro-loan could help with these very necessary and business-building expenses.

Bob Struthers, of Grain Train, and Lukas Hamilton, of Grass Lake Organics, with his family.  

Best of luck to all the micro loan recipients—we can’t wait to hear how the projects turn out!

Guilds and the Power of People

Written by Jen Schaap, Food & Farms Programs Coordinator

I love this food and farming community. Who knew that the ground work that Yvonne Stephens laid six years ago, organizing mushroom-growing and beekeeping workshops through Crosshatch for handfuls of NW Lower Michigan folks, would fruit into hundreds of people gathering in small groups in their communities around farming topics? What started out as a dozen people wanting to stay in touch after learning about a new practice has turned into 30-50+ like-minded folks showing up in one place on a regular basis to find answers and resolutions to sometimes heart-breaking challenges in what we are calling, just like in the old days, Guilds.

Some of these guilds meet-up monthly, with agendas and focused topics of discussion around things like raising northern queens to survive through our hard winters. Other guilds meet with drop spindles and knitting needles at a pub for monthly craft-focused happy hour. Guild meet-ups can even take place on a field trip, like a recent trip to a downstate flour mill to investigate how grain guild-members can grow, process, and market local flour here in our communities up north.

Guilds don’t just talk the talk, though, they walk the walk, too. Kicking off at the end of this month is the third season of Twilight Tours, which originated out of the Small Farm Guild. These tours are for and by farmers to learn from one another and share ideas on the ground. I’m particularly excited about the Workshop/Twilight Tour combo on solar and geothermal energy at Coveyou Scenic Farm, a partnership with Grow Benzie, a sister org we love. Coveyou Scenic Farm was one of the first tours we ever did, and now we’re going back to dive deeper into energy.

And the Petoskey Beekeepers Guild—a guild that squeezed over 50 people into a college classroom this past winter—is partially responsible for bringing almost 2 million bees into the Emmet County area just this spring, which, by late summer will more than double in number! And the good folks in the Fiber Guild are working to plan a Fiber Fair in May of 2017 to bring back a full-loop textile system in northern Michigan. Power to the people!  

The guilds keep evolving, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. I envision a day when we have, what Ontario’s farmer group calls, Mega Days: collective work-bees where farmers travel to different farms over the course of a season and knock out big projects together. Engaged, interested and capable collaborations like this often get more farm projects done than expected. Plus, skills are shared and mutual support goes a long way for mental stamina in an already hard profession. Just ask a guild-member.

The lesson I take from all this is to start where you are. Engage with those around you. Talk through challenges and successes. At the end of the day, guilds are simply people working together, and the more people that get involved the better we’ll be — look at how far we’ve come in 6 short years since the guilds were first getting together. What’s in store for the next 6 years? Join a guild and see.

Twilight Tours are back!

Get our your calendars, Hatchies, it's time to see some farms—up close and personal. This is the third season of Twilight Tours, and every year they get more lovely and more inspiring. We've got a super exciting line-up; June can't come soon enough. 

A function of the small farm guilds, Twilight Tours are farm tours for and by farmers (non-farmers and wanna-be-farmers are welcome to come too!). Check out our Events page for full descriptions and themes of each tour. These tours are FREE and open to the public. Join us! Questions? Contact Jen. 

Hill House Artist Updates and News

Artists are humans, too. And like the rest of us, their summer is suddenly looking really busy. Check out some happenings from a few of the Hill House alums. Tours! Sales! New artwork and old friends. It's basically summer already, humans.

FUTURE ARTIST NEWS

Last week we said goodbye to David Vayo, a big-hearted, super-talented composer from Chicago. Among his many accolades, there have been over four hundred performances and broadcasts of his compositions: in Mexico, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Spain and at Harvard University, Ohio State University and the universities of Wisconsin and Iowa, the International Trumpet Guild festival, the International Trombone Festival, the International Double Reed Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and three World Music Days of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Bam! He composed new music while at the Hill House, cooked himself some decadent meals, and took a leisurely bike ride down Graves Crossing Road.

David’s departure makes room for the arrival of writers-in-collaboration, Jenny Johnson and Paul Kruse. Jenny and Paul hail from Pittsburgh, PA -- we hope they enjoy the newly popped green leaves of spring. May the chipmunks and squirrels inspire writing worthy of the woods.

PAST ARTIST NEWS

Jean Rohe, singer-songwriter extraordinaire, is heading out for a solo tour. Starting in Brooklyn TOMORROW, she’ll then be up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. Check her out if you find yourself in that green, magical part of this earth!

Alum Skye Livingston has spent the last 11 months as an artist-in-residence at Arrowmont. And just like that, she’s on the move and having a studio flash sale on her way out the door. Check it out and score some really good goods!

Lucas Harrison Oswald is doing really great stuff with his band, Shearwater—like playing David Bowie’s Lodger album from start to finish in front of a film crew. Check out this video put out over at AV Club of the Hill House alum’s band! You’re not gonna wanna miss this. And if that wasn’t enough, Shearwater has a European tour scheduled for next month, too.  

Michigan native and Hill House alum, Loren Nosan, has work in a new show called Body Politic. The exhibit is at Academic, a contemporary art gallery in Long Island City, NY, featuring emerging artists and curators. Go, Loren go!

Katie Vota, sculpture and installation artist, has a new website up and running. It’s so pretty you’re gonna wish you could stick your hand right through the screen and touch it. We regret to inform you this is simply not possible. Maybe someday!

Alum Esteban del Valle is working on an exciting piece for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. Enjoy, sweet kiddos!

AND OF COURSE…

June 1st begins the next season of Hill House residencies. Keep an eyeballs open for a newsletter about all the incoming artists. We can wait for you to meet them!

May, You Have My Attention

A blog post by Artist Residency Coordinator, Yvonne Stephens. 

A senior in high school, I distinctly remember asking to leave class, escaping to the restroom, where I sat down, laid my head on the roll of toilet paper, and hung there thinking, "May is mental health month. This is May. Am I depressed? Do I need help? Is this normal? It sure feels normal for me..."

May being named Mental Health Month was an inlet for me, a way for me to start thinking about my relationship with my mental health, how mental wellness or illness impacts our lives, the lives of those we love, the overall health of a person, a community.

Mental illness is common. It affects 1 in 5. I'm a big fan of the movement to talk about it. So let's talk about it. No need to suffer shame. We are all on this spectrum together, of mental health.

Here are some other movements I am a big fan of:

NAMI The National Alliance on Mental illness. They are a tremendous resource... you can start by signing their stigma free pledge.

Mental Health First Aid. Find a training course near you:

Collaboration. Crosshatch is collaborating with North Country Community Mental Health on a series of three events entitled, “May is Mental Health Month: An Evening of Understanding.” The events take place in Bellaire on May 13, Petoskey on May 17, and Cheboygan on May 25.

This dynamic two-hour program will feature poetry and prose readings, and a documentary screening. Local poets and writers Terry Wooten, Gerry Sell, and Ellen Whitehead, and other local poets (myself included) will be reading. These poems and prose aim to capture the life story of individuals who have spent time in or lived their whole lives in institutions. There will also be a screening of the 30-minute documentary, Through Our Eyes, - Living with Asperger's, produced by and with youth with Asperger's. Come and join us for an evening of understanding.

Find out more about the events here. 

Over the past 18 years, my mental health journey has led me to a deeper understanding of the way my brain works and what I need to do to take care of it so I stay stable. Self care is a priority for me now. And so is advocacy. I love my brain, my mind, and I intend to use it to increase understanding about mental health and illness. I hope to see you there.

Download for $1 here.

#XHbenefit

Co-founder Brad Kik designed this rad poster for our 10th Annual Benefit Concert happening on May 7th. Mark your calendars, Hatchies, it's time to have some fun!

Hill House Current and Past Artist News

Some seriously exciting news from the Hill House alums this month. It’s so fun to hear what these creative cats are up to out there in the world. Thanks for sharing your stories and inspiring us all to dream big. You all are it.

FUTURE ARTIST NEWS

David Gwaltney, a Hill House Alum, returns to the Hill House next week. He is a multi-instrumentalist solo musician playing cross-genre, focusing in both folk rock and electronic/hip-hop music, often experimental music. David also plays in a band called thecitylights*. Sounds pretty cool, right? Find out more about David here, or come see him in person when he plays at the 10th Annual Crosshatch Benefit Concert with a whole slew of Hill House alums!

PAST ARTIST NEWS

Christa Couture has a new album and is heading out for a Cross-Canada tour! The album, Long Time Leaving, can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp (CD or digital, along with other perks like postcards and posters) or iTunes. Either way you'll get an instant download of the first single "That Little Part of My Heart." Long Time Leaving officially comes out April 15th on Black Hen Music. The tour will take Christa from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia, from April 2nd to May 7th, and you can see full tour dates on her site or in this Facebook event.

Charming Disaster released a song that they wrote at the Hill House! Ellia explains, “We wanted to capture the essence of our surroundings, so it includes not only the Hill House piano and the curious shaker that lives on top of the piano, but also the pot lids that make that beautiful gong sound when you hit them together, and a pot full of water, and the rim of a wineglass traced with a finger, and the whistle of the teakettle.” Amazing.

Jean Rohe will head to National Sawdust on April 27 to perform songs from The Odysseus Agreement, “an in-progress performance memoir in song that tells the story of a young woman on a single-minded quest to learn about the life and tragic death of her grandmother and namesake.” If you’re in Brooklyn, this sounds like a must-see to us.

Scott Hocking will be at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) on April 16th for their TEEN COUNCIL series to discuss his artistic practice, influences, life and more. Check it out!

Jordan Geiger has been working on a new project with his band Hospital Ships. Here's a taste: “I asked Thor Harris and his new band Thor And Friends to create a song in B-minor and film it. I then adapted ‘Oh My Light’ to it and recorded myself singing and playing along. After a little editing, this video is the result.” From Substream Magazine. 

 

AND OF COURSE…

Have you heard? The Tenth Annual (TEN YEARS!) Crosshatch Benefit Concert at Short’s Brewery is just around the corner! Mark your calendars: May 7, 2pm until late. This all-day party features a number of Hill House alum playing music so y’all can listen, celebrate, and dance. Come one, come all - bring your good cheer and some dollar bills for our spirited raffle of themed gift baskets!

Crosshatch is Hiring!

Event Coordinator Internship

OBJECTIVE

To gain hands-on experience planning and executing the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference as well as food, farming and art events. This internship offers an opportunity to organize many different kinds of events throughout Northwest Lower Michigan, for six people up to 1,000.

INTERNSHIP

40 hours/week including some evening and weekend work, from 30 to 50 weeks. Crosshatch does not have a central office, so the intern will work remotely, coordinating with other Crosshatch staff. Parts of the experience will require excellent teamwork, while others require high levels of autonomy. Performance expectations are high and on-par with the best entry level jobs in this field.

Our service area runs the coasts from Manistee to Mackinac, with major areas of impact centered in Bellaire, Traverse City and Petoskey. The Event Coordinator Intern can live anywhere in this region, though a central location is advantageous. Travel throughout the region is a regular requirement of the position. Similarly, excellent telecommuting skills are required, including texting, email, phone, Basecamp, social media and other internet communication technologies. Start and end dates are somewhat flexible depending upon program requirements.

COMPENSATION

$10 per hour, mileage reimbursement.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist with planning and executing the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference
• Answer and return phone calls related to the NMSFC
• Communicate with volunteers to complete the many tasks that make the NMSFC run smoothly
• Data entry
• Participate in NMSFC planning committee meetings
• Assist with planning and execution of food, farming and art events
• Prepare materials for events
• Manage set up and onsite operations at events
• Attend staff meetings
• Act as an ambassador at events, introducing the organization and our work
• Poster
• Write thank you notes
• Manage speaker logistics and hospitality

QUALIFICATIONS

• Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from an accredited college or university
• A working knowledge of the major themes in sustainable agriculture, environmental concern and the arts at a local, state and national level
• Strong writing skills
• Flawless attention to detail and impeccable personal organization skills
• Exceptional verbal and interpersonal communication skills
• Self-motivated and professional demeanor
• Expertise in Google Drive, MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint, email, Mac OS
• Excellent organizational skills
• Strong ability to manage multiple tasks and projects at one time

TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit the following application materials via email to Amanda Kik,

CoDirector, at amanda@crosshatch.org:

1. An exceptional one page cover letter
2. A resume tailored to this position
3. List of professional references

This position will remain open until filled by the right candidate.

ABOUT CROSSHATCH

Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology builds strong communities through the intersections of art, farming, ecology and economy. Over the last eleven years, we have organized hundreds of workshops, serving thousands in our community. Our service area is the 10-county region of Northwest Lower Michigan. To learn more, please visit www.crosshatch.org.

Hill House Current and Past Artist News

Another month has come and gone, Hatchies. How did that happen? Spring has (sort of) sprung in these parts and we're feeling excited about the magic and madness that's happening all around us.  

Current/Future Artist News

This week we say goodbye to Sioux Trujillo, who—along with her son Shaun—stayed for two weeks at the Hill House. Sioux was the 2009 Kresge Artist Fellowship recipient and has worked in the Detroit art community for 20 years as an artists, and an administrator for 10+ years. She was one of the founding directors for community+public arts: DETROIT, an initiative that brings community-driven public art projects to six underserved Detroit neighborhoods. Sioux is also the recipient of the 2012 Whole Thinking leadership development retreat. This retreat draws upon practices such as deepening connection the land, relationship building, working with and across difference, creativity, story, dialogue, and awareness practice. We were glad to have her downstate energy up north for a little while. 

We get to say 'hello' this week too, to artist-in-residence Latham Zearfoss. Latham is an artist and cultural producer living and working in Chicago. His artwork often centers on reclaiming historical and mythological texts, and revising them to incorporate radical notions of love and sex, possibility and probability. Latham will be in the Hill House for the next few weeks as we transition from winter to spring. We wish him squishy walks and rainy inspiration!

Past Artist News

Russell Brakefield has a poem featured in an anthology called The Michigan Poet.

Gabriel Birnbaum has a song on the latest Esopus Magazine compilation. Very cool!

Thais Beltrame is having a solo show for the month of April in Rio de Janeiro. Check out her intricate and inspiring work here. 

Ben Good released a couple songs he wrote at the Hill House. Let the log cabin energy wash over you as you listen. Check them out here and here.

Charming Disaster are on tour this April! Are they coming to a city near you? See the tour poster below!

 

And of course...

Are you an alum with updates for us? Contact Yvonne. Do you want to someday be a Hill House alum? Check out our residency page here for more information and instructions on how to apply. Next deadline is April 1, so put a spring in your step!