“Emergent Field”

Oil on wood • 14" x 18" • James Morse

In This Issue: Brad Kik shares the origin story of the new Crosshatch performance space The Alluvion, which has its roots in an older Crosshatch program. Further reflections on the role of art and artists fill the Warp, and of course a calendar of great May events fills the Weft! Read on!

Three Stories about Seventeen Artists

First Story: May Erlewine, Laurel Premo, Anna Gustavsson:

It started when May Erlewine was helping her friend Laurel Premo find a venue. This was sometime in 2016, when Laurel was releasing a project titled I Walked Abroad—a masterwork collaboration of fiddle music from both American and Swedish traditions, in partnership with Swedish nyckelharpa player Anna Gustavsson.

What happened is pretty simple: Premo and Gustavsson were looking to bring their music to Traverse City and asked May—a beloved and well-connected local songwriter—to hunt down a venue for them. After thorough considerations of all the available options, May called Laurel to admit defeat.

This is not to say that Traverse City lacks incredible places to experience live music, nor even to say we should be ranking these venues on some kind of scale. No, the best strategy—as with species of any wild animal, types of peppers both sweet and hot, varieties of prayer, and names for any kind of weather and any kind of love—is abundant diversity. In this case, what May was seeking in the Traverse City musical ecosystem was what we’ve taken to calling a “missing middle”—a not-so-big venue, small enough for intimacy and immediacy, absent the din of a bar, professional enough to present a program that matches the skill and intention of the artists, and just large enough to ensure that performers are paid a fair wage.

Read the whole essay (2200 Words)

Listen to the audio of this essay on YouTube

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

|| 1 || I used to collect Rules for Art Making on a Pinterest page. I was reminded of it when I recently rediscovered “24 Pieces of Life Advice from Werner Herzog,” which includes “9. Carry bolt cutters everywhere” and “20. A badge of honor is to fail a film theory class.” It’s worth a look.

Here are some others I love: Some Rules for Students and Teachers by Sister Corita Kent (popularized by John Cage). My favorite is from 6: “There is no win and no fail. There is only make.”

And this advice from one of my favorite humans, Holly Wren Spaulding, which includes “Take the time it takes” and, most importantly, “Give up the myth of the solitary genius.”

And the many short essays from Rob Walker on The Art of Noticing. I love this piece on revisiting—committing to a long-form study of a place or an idea.

Finally, Wendell Berry’s How to Be a Poet (to remind myself) includes one of my favorite ideas: “There are no unsacred places; / there are only sacred places / and desecrated places.”

|| 2 || Did you notice? Depending on where you read/hear the essay (the original in the Boardman Review, the version on Medium, or the YouTube audio version) you might hear three stories about 16 or 17 artists. That’s because I neglected to include Matt McCalpin on the artist list in the first go-round. Matt is the operations director at the Alluvion, and he’s also a gifted musician. It’s worth listening to the YouTube version just to hear the funk tribute to Isaac Hayes he added in there.

Or, come see Matt play live, every other Monday at the Alluvion with his band Funky Uncle. You definitely won’t regret it. These guys grooove.

|| 3 || You know about Art Nouveau and Art Deco, but do you know Art Academia? The key motifs of this aesthetic are “admiring art pieces, staring at statues, books, painting, drawing, sketching, jotting down notes, poetry, art museums.” (as in, being seen doing those things, or portraying those things in art.)

Maybe you’ve heard of Normcore or Cottagecore but did you know Adventurecore? Animecore? Barbiecore? Christcore? Dazecore? Feralcore? Glitchcore? on and on it goes. Lose track of your day over at The Aesthetics Wiki (not entirely SFW).

|| 4 || Hopefully you’ve seen this already—Mathematicians discover a single shape that can tile forever but never repeat; what’s called “aperiodic tiling.” The best part is that they are based on a hexagon divided into sixths; not at the points but at the midpoints of the line segments. This means they should be easy to make for carpenters and other DIY folks. Anyone want to bring a couple hundred over?

The Weft — News and Events

|| 1 || Edible Trails—Public Orchards and Community Forestry Information Session and Volunteer Day. May 13th at DeYoung Natural Area, from 11am-1pm. All are welcome for spring season plant maintenance and new planting of perennial edible plants. Some edible and climate-adaptive trees are available to take for planting at home until they run out.

Expect individual conversations and questions regarding community efforts for forest health, climate resilience, and perennial edible plants with people connected to Edible Trails Project, Salix Community Forestry Collective, Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, and Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology. Educational materials will be available to take-home, and Ellie Johnson, District Forester for Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Benzie counties, will also be on hand to talk trees.

If you plan to assist with plant upkeep and transplanting, please wear sturdy shoes and pants. Tasks will include applying mulch to plants and paths, weeding, and transplanting new sapling trees and shrubs.

All are welcome and encouraged to bring food for a picnic lunch for noontime enjoyment (only water will be available, bring your own picnic or food to share). More details are available here.

|| 2 || Go find Taylor at the Bellaire Farmer’s Market and Community Yard Sale! The Bellaire Summer Farmer’s Market season begins anew Friday, May 19th, from 8am-1pm (8am-12pm, the rest of the season). The grand opening also coincides with the community yard sale, both of which are located at the ASI Pavilion.

|| 3 || Beekeeper Guilds. The Grand Traverse Beekeeping Club meets regularly on the first Thursday of the month at the Traverse City Senior Center at 6:30pm. Their May meeting is being rescheduled, and includes discussion on bee pests, testing and treatment, so keep your eyes peeled for further information and updates on their Facebook group here.

Find more information on the Little Traverse Bay Beekeepers Guild, including more details on the following apiary-hosted May events here.

May 7th Demonstration on Making Splits - Hill Valley Farm Apiary, Charlevoix
May 20th Demonstration on Making Splits - Forest Apiary, Alanson

|| 4 || May Happenings at The Alluvion. Balance (Jazz Duo), Saturday, May 20th, and Full Cord (Bluegrass) Friday, May 26th. This is in addition to the Jeff Haas Quartet, Funky Fun Mondays with Big Fun and Funky Uncle, and all the other Alluvion events listed here.

|| 5 || 2023 Michigan Climate Summit. Reserve your tickets and find more information on the following events here. The registration deadline is Friday, May 12th.

Thursday, June 1st: Kick-off the summit with "Tales from the Heat island," a special climate-themed storytelling performance at Pontiac's Crofoot theatre.

Friday, June 2nd: Join hundreds of fellow Michiganders on the campus of Oakland University to strategize, celebrate, and move forward toward a just clean energy world.

|| 6 || If you have the means, please consider supporting the Pierce family. Tim, Stephanie and Hazel experienced a tragedy: Their shop—a place of craft, care, and creativity—was destroyed by fire. Please join us in supporting them as they recover from this loss. Aside from being a lovely family, Tim has led workshops for XH in the past. Find their Gofundme here.

|| 7 || You might be wondering what’s happening with the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference. There’s too much to detail here, but we’ll share this snippet—August, Antrim County, ten to fourteen farms and other facilities, hands-on and classroom workshops, travel from farm to farm, and social time. We’re excited. Click here to follow along, and watch for more news in upcoming months.

|| 8 || Veterans Inspiring Veterans Art Show ‘23. The Veterans Inspiring Veterans Art Show will be held on June 24th, at the Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg. Applications from veterans to show artwork are being accepted through May 11th. All proceeds from artwork sold go directly to the artists. Find more information on applying, or attending the show, here.

|| 9 || Inland Seas Pier Party. Welcome the ISEA’s newly acquired schooner Alliance to Suttons Bay on Saturday, June 24th, from 11am-3pm, as it sails in with Inland Seas. Enjoy an afternoon of deck tours, music, and food while celebrating the schooners that inspire people of all ages to be curious and passionate about protecting the Great Lakes. Find more information and RSVP here.

|| 10 || Farming is a highly unpredictable, hazardous, and stressful occupation, and this is why Michigan State University (MSU) Extension is committed to supporting agricultural professionals. These professionals face tough decisions that affect their families, livelihoods, operations, and farms.

MSU Extension has a team of over 20 dedicated professionals who combine expertise in farm business management with mental and behavioral health. They provide innovative resources and support, such as teletherapy, financial services, free online education, and community presentations. These tools are not limited to farmers but are also available to farm workers, local farm organization chapters, veterinarians, Farm Bureau members, county commissioners, and other key stakeholders in agriculture and agribusiness. To learn more, click here.