Volume 3 • No. 12 • Full Moon • June 21, 2024

"I Consumed Fossil Fuels And All I Got Was This Lousy Death"
Screen print on wood panel • 11” x 17" • 2023
"Get Yer Wheels Outta Bed"
Screen print on French Paper • 18”x 24" • 2023
Mural for Pharmhouse Wellness
Spray paint, house paint • 18' x 30' • 2023

Nick Nortier • Old Growth Creative

an excerpt from

Pausing to Consider — A Long Memory Experience

Immediately after the event, someone asked me what I thought. It gave me pause. There was a lot to unpack. I had thoughts related to what those involved in this iteration of the Long Memory Project experienced in their initial gathering. I had thoughts pertaining to the performance and exhibition. And I had thoughts informed by different aspects of my own background, too. A bit of time and space led to the following reflection.

Credit: Up North Pride & Mariah Metzke Photography

Explaining Listener’s music is a futile exercise. It’s talk music, it’s rock and roll, and it’s spoken word. It’s an odd combo, and the band’s alright with that. They used to have a bumper sticker on the offer that said, “LISTENER. It’s For Anyone. But It’s Not for Everyone.” That’s one of the reasons why I love them. They know full well that they’ll get flak for their creative choices. The lyrics and their delivery aren’t going to speak to everyone. Not everyone will find the distortion and the noise they level pleasant. Yet they do it all the same. And for those whose hearts are shifted by their choices — it’s a deep and gratifying realignment, the best of what music offers.

That’s not entirely unrelated to last week’s Long Memory Project exhibition.

For those who might not be familiar with the endeavor, Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology’s Long Memory Project offers a venue for elders to share stories and experiences related to the chosen theme with artists. Those artists then create works that embody those stories and ensure that they’re held within the collective memory of this region through time.

This last LMP was centered on the LGBTQ+ experience, and I made it to the showcase.

After the reception and viewing of the visual pieces was over, the panel of LGBTQ+ artists and elders finished speaking, the question-and-answer session had concluded, and the poetry, spoken word, and song were a memory, I sat.

I sat, and my mind wandered. I recalled another evening gathering where, amongst dusty couches and folding chairs, I had sat for an anti-civ talk with anti-civ folks. If that anti-civ language doesn’t make sense, the language of the talk wouldn’t have made sense either.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “What in the world is Taylor writing about?” that’s just fine. Sit with it, and read on — the threads will connect regardless of whatever in-group you might be in or out of…

Click Here to Read the Rest of “Pausing to Consider” (7 Minute Read, 1,543 words)

Click Here to Listen to the Audio Version

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

|| 1 || Wisconsin-based Bizhiki, signed to Jagjaguwar, put out this song and music video worth taking in: Gigawaabamin (Come Through). The visuals and words uphold the power of gathering in person regularly, ceremony, and, frankly, just having fun outside, while the music is “a soulful dialogue between the ancient tradition of powwow singing and a contemporary musical palette.” Their new album is available for pre-order now.

|| 2 || Taking Out The Trash with Conceptual Artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles. Someone recently told me a brief story of Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ path to creating her own position as the NYC Department of Sanitation’s Artist in Residence in the late 70s. That work continues. I wasn’t familiar with her or her art, although I hear it’s at least mentioned in Jenny Odell’s How To Do Nothing, which I know I’ve seen sitting on our kitchen table.

Seeking more familiarity, I encountered this writing on Ukeles from Eileen McGinness (also linked above.) Here are three snippets:

a.) “…Ukeles widened her gaze. She glimpsed how the small, routine acts that nurtured her family and kept her household running fit into a larger, interconnected whole. Her artistic vision extended outward from the home, to the jobs that keeps our communities running, functional, living. She forged strategic alliances, broadened the circle of whose caregiving work her art would make visible. Her own labor in the home became a departure point, a node in a network connecting ‘women’s work’ with the labor of working-class men, of people of color.”

b.) “Just as Ukeles brought private domesticity into the public sphere, her art often invested public maintenance with a nurturing, even feminine quality. Although Touch Sanitation Performance had Ukeles shadowing sanitation workers in 8- to 16-hour shifts all over the city’s five boroughs, her ritualized phrase of gratitude cast their maintenance work as simultaneously intimate, individual. “Thank you for keeping New York City alive,” she told each of them. As if one of the greatest metropolises in the world were a fragile newborn, demanding daily sustenance, in need of attentive caregiving.”

c.) “Art graces us with new eyes; it hones our senses so that we can approach the world with a heightened awareness. Art is an angle onto the overlooked.”

|| 3 || LM Sacasas recently wrote a piece entitled The Work of Art. I’d be remiss not to include it here. Reading Sacasas is never the easiest thing in the world, but I’ve always found his thoughts well worth the time and attention they ask for. Here’s a bit from an older piece of his, included in this recent write-up:

“Implicit in the promise of outsourcing and automation and time-saving devices is a freedom to be something other than what we ought to be. The liberation we are offered is a liberation from the very care-driven involvement in the world and in our communities that would render our lives meaningful and satisfying. In other words, the promise of liberation traps us within the tyranny of tiny tasks by convincing us to see the stuff of everyday life and ordinary relationships as obstacles in search of an elusive higher purpose—Creativity, Diversion, Wellness, Self-actualization, whatever. But in this way it turns out that we are only ever serving the demands of the system that wants nothing more than our ceaseless consumption and production.

“If the point is to care and to love and to keep faith,” I concluded, “then what is to be gained by outsourcing or eliminating the very ways we may be called upon to do so?”

And if my admission that LM’s work isn’t the easiest to read, but it’s well worth it, doesn’t make a lot of sense—here’s Why an Easier Life is Not Necessarily Happier.

The Weft — News and Events

We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!

|| 1 || Introduction to Holistic Management® Land Planning @ Hatchquarters—Tuesday, June 25th, 6-8pm. After a brief discussion of land planning steps, participants will be guided in a team process to offer creative ideas about land use considerations. We will brainstorm ideas emerging from the Crosshatch vision to develop a 50-acre property into a nonprofit headquarters, an ecological farmstead, an artist residency program, and a community space for small gatherings. Free, but registration required. Find more on the event here.

|| 2 || Farmstay Roundtable—Thursday, June 27th, 3-4pm. An opportunity for farmers who offer farm stays through platforms like Hipcamp, Harvest Host, Airbnb, etc. to share their experiences with others interested in doing the same. Join in person at Grow Benzie in Benzonia, MI, or online. More info and registration here.

|| 3 || The Alluvion is Hiring. Do you have the chops for development and sponsorship? How about an abiding love of art and music? Learn more about joining the A-team, and apply, here. Applications are due June 23rd.

|| 4 || Natural Building with Straw and Clay—A Bear Lake Wall-Stuffing Party. Work, learning, and celebration over two days, June 21st-22nd, 9am-5pm. Find more details and RSVP here.

|| 5 || People of the Dune Book Release Party—Wednesday, June 26th, 7-9pm at the Alluvion. Join us in celebration of Jim Olson's new book "People of the Dune." Live readings, live music, snacks, cash bar, and more. Free, please register here.

|| 6 || Save the Date! The Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference, now in its 25th year, will be coming to Benzie County August 11th-12th. Keep an eye out for more on the farm tour-centric, Grow Benzie-hubbed happenings. More information, tickets, and additional ways of getting involved are available here.

|| 7 || Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology, Up North Pride, and MiGen Present: The Long Memory Project. Work created through the project will be on display at Commongrounds from June 8th-July 15th.

|| 8 || The Lively NeighborFood Market in Empire is opening soon—Find details on the launch of the neighborhood-based food hub here, and check out the schedule for the Summer Sun Sets at Livelylands here.

|| 9 || The Anavery Farm Store is Now Open. Find pasture-raised meats, local cheeses, pastured eggs, organic flour and more Tuesday-Saturday, 1-6pm at 6071 Secor Road, Traverse City. They’re also hiring for multiple positions ranging from web/marketing assistance to hands-on farm work. Find more on Anavery Fine Foods and contact information here.

|| 10 || The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance’s ISKN (Indigenous Seed Keepers Network) is offering 2024 Spring Grower funds. Find more on the one-time $2,000 stipends, intended to be used in any way the recipient needs to support their seed access and sovereignty work, here. App closes June 21st, 5pm.

|| 11 || NDN's 2024-2026 Community Self-Determination grant is now open. The program awards up to $250K over two years for Tribal Nations, Tribal Communities, Indigenous-led Organizations, and Grassroots Movements working to Defend, Develop, and Decolonize across Turtle Island and related Island Nations. Registration to apply closes July 15th. Find more information here.

|| 12 || Summer Ag Container Recycling—June 25th. Rinsed agricultural containers will be accepted for recycling at locations in Ellsworth, Williamsburg, Traverse City, Bear Lake, and Sutton’s Bay. Contact Lauren Shaffner, MAEAP Technician at the Grand Traverse Conservation District for more information.

|| 13 ||FACT Grants for Farmers—A bundle of resources, including grants, conference scholarships, and opportunities for networking and mentorships, all geared towards pasture-based livestock and poultry farming is available at the Food Animal Concerns Trust website.

|| 14 || The Water is Life Festival will be held on Saturday, August 31st, from 12-9pm. Find out more and register for the family friendly, free celebration of water and connection on the Petoskey waterfront here.

|| 15 || The Alluvion Summer Line-up is Out Now! Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: the Ellen Rowe Octet, Funky Uncle, “People of the Dune” Book Release Party, Summer Stand Up Comedy: Mike Geeter with Greg Sharp, Marti Johnson and Joshua Paul, Eli Kahn of After Ours, Funky Uncle, DJ Ras Marco and Super Nuclear.

Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.

|| 16 || Marqueetown Road Tour—the 100% Made in Michigan independent film hits the road. Portraying the fascinating history of motion pictures through one iconic screen - and featuring dozens of Michigan locations and characters—Marqueetown is a true story of chasing your dreams, redefining failure and success, and reembracing the enduring magic of cinema. Find upcoming dates and venues here, or check out the trailer here.

The Whole Field • Volume 3 • No. 12 • Full Moon • June 21, 2024

an excerpt from

Pausing to Consider — A Long Memory Experience

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

The Weft — News and Events

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