skuditpress
S k u d i t : P r e s s
Mixed media printmaking, bookmaking and zine publishing explorations of plant lover, amateur botanist, farmer, forager, artist and herbalist Kelly Moody. Hailing from a small town in southern Virginia, but having traveled to most of the states in the continental U.S., her work consistently explores the intersection between people and place and how it varies in particular landscapes. She is interested in how the history of a place informs the relationship people have to the land, food and 'nature.' She is increasingly curious about the ecology, farm culture, barns, spaces and life ways of her own home hills: both the darkness and lightness of its complex human/plant history. She works in a multitude of applications: her current favorite medium is botanical photography. She uses the camera to try to comprehend and understand the subtle details, similarities and differences of the natural world by using it as a tool to observe over time. She does this in the variety of places she has moved through, lived and visited. She is constantly exploring the different ways plants can engaged. She is a bark tanner, brain tanner, painter, bookmaker, papermaker, natural dyer, fiber artist, knitter, mixed media artist and printer. She is currently working on zine projects focusing on a variety of botanical themes. She did a printmaking residency at Cornmeal Press with Aimee Joyaux this past summer in Petersburg, VA. She interned at Asheville Bookworks in West Asheville, NC this past summer as well. Currently, she is traveling documenting plants during the changing seasons.
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Episode #40: Samuel Bautista Lazo on coming back to the Corn during pandemic, destructive corporate intrusion on indigenous communities in Mexico
Episode #40 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Samuel Bautista Lazo, who was a guest on Episode #1 of the podcast which aired several summers ago.
Listen to the first conversation we had with Samuel here: Episode #1: Samuel Bautista Lazo on weaving in Oaxaca, colonialism, the importance of making things.
Samuel is Benizaa (Zapotec) and lives Xiguie'a (Teotitlán del Valle), located in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Samuel, his family and community come from a long line of weavers and farmers who have been tending the same land for thousands of years. This region is considered one of the cradles of civilization. Samuel has a Ph.d. in Sustainable Manufacturing from the University of Liverpool.
I met Samuel at the Buckeye Gathering ancestral skills gathering a few years ago. On the first episode of the podcast, during an in-person interview, Samuel and I discuss weaving and natural dyes, some complexities around private land ownership in the community where he is from when the traditional way was communal tending of the land, why making things by hand is a way to combat the pressures of capitalism and more.
This time around, Samuel and I speak via Zoom due to COVID-19. We go deeper into some of the issues of continued settler colonialism and corporate intrusion on indigenous peoples and the biodiverse wild lands in Mexico, as well as focus on dynamics local to the state of Oaxaca and the native peoples who live there.
Since we recorded this conversation in early May, the world has erupted in revolution in support of Black Lives and in protest of police violence globally. Lest us also not forget the indigenous peoples of the lands we live, walk, protest and love on and the effects our capitalist lifestyles have on these communities as further reiterated by Samuel in this interview.
In this episode of the podcast, we talk about:
Samuel speaks to what life has been like during the pandemic in Teotitlán del Valle
Samuel reflects a little bit on our conversation from Lake Concow, California during the Buckeye Gathering several years ago (Listen here: Episode #1 of the podcast: Samuel Bautista Lazo on weaving in Oaxaca, colonialism, the importance of making things) and the fire that has come through since
Samuel's perspective on how the pandemic has caused the world to slow down and the land has an opportunity to cleanse and breathe
We talk about the destructive corporate energy projects trying to push forth in the state of Oaxaca and the country of Mexico, and the ways in which these projects are abusive towards the indigenous peoples of Mexico and environmentally devastating
Samuel speaks from his perspective as an indigenous person who studied industrial manufacturing (he has a Ph.d. !) about the bigger picture of needing to change our consumption and production patterns as a society, especially the U.S. which consumes more than most countries in the world
The recent murder of a biology student in Oaxaca (one of many that have occurred), due to his interest in the biodiversity of the region and his love of nature (links to articles about this in the Links section below)
Despite a current progressive president, the framework of Mexico's economy is still rooted in destructive resource extraction and development
The potentially devastating effects of Isthmus Rail Corridor Project and Mayan Train Project that are planned for the region
environmental racism
how capitalism can affect indigenous populations
Samuel speaks to how rain feeds land and spirit, and connection to self sufficiency
coming back to the Corn and the Milpa food systems
Milpa farming in relationship to wild-tending, feeding the wild animals, and definitions of agriculture, the recovery of native lands during the Mexican revolution
How colonization and western ideas of how land should be taken care of affects indigenous people's ability in Mexico to keep the land they have tended for thousands of years, because it requires them to constantly work it, even though traditionally the land was allowed to rest for long periods
how linear systems informed by capitalism that emphasize extraction, production and discarding don't leave room for cyclical land-based world views
Links:
Dixza Rugs and Organic Farm website
Samuel on instagram: @sam_dixza
Dixza Rugs and Organic Farm on instagram: @dixzarugsorganicfarm
DIxza Rugs and Organic Farm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dixzarugs/
https://www.latimes.com/espanol/mexico/articulo/2020-05-11/condenan-asesinato-de-joven-ambientalista-mexicano-en-municipio-de-oaxaca “Condenan asesinato de joven ambientalista mexicano en municipio de Oaxaca.” (news article in Spanish about the assassination of young Mexican environmentalist Eugui Roy Martínez Pérez, whom we speak about in the podcast)
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2020/05/21-year-old-biology-student-murdered-in.html (News article in English about the 21 year old Eugui Roy Martínez Pérez, young biologist and naturalist killed, whom we speak about in the podcast)
https://justiceinmexico.org/environmental-activists-under-attack-in-mexico/ ‘Environmental Activists Under Attack in Mexico’ (article in English about several environmental activists and naturalists murdered in Mexico recently or in the last few years)
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/interviews/hold-friday-mexicos-tehuantepec-isthmus-rail-corridor-unveils-more-infra-projects (News article about the Tehuantepec Isthmus Rail Corridor project that Samuel speaks to in the conversation)
https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/mexico-travel-mayan-train-yucatan-tourism-economic-development/583405/ (Mayan Train Project that Samuel speaks to in the podcast)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milpa The Milpa farming system
#oaxaca#mexico#environmentalism#assassination#biologist#weaving#Milpa#farming#environmental racism#agroecosystems#globalization#indigenous sovereignty
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Episode #39: Dan Nanamkin on the importance of indigenous led skill-share with sovereignty camps
Episode #39 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Dan Nanamkin.
Dan Nanamkin is from the Chief Joseph Band Of Wallowa, Nez Perce, and Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington State has been an advocate/teacher for indigenous culture, community unity, youth empowerment, racial equality, and peace for several decades. Prior to Standing Rock, Dan took one of the leads in helping to restore ancient canoe culture of the northwest plateau tribes, the River Warriors. This inspired him further to connect with the Water, something that led him to Standing Rock. He endured months of peaceful front line action at Standing Rock from September 2016 until March 2017. Dan has since traveled across the nation speaking with his two dogs and band, the One Tribe Movement. Dan advocates for people to be better informed, to get more involved, to resist racism and violence, and to support the movement to protect Mother Earth. He is a public presenter, musician and author who remains active in bringing forth awareness of Native culture. His mission is to connect modern day people with the traditions that are still absolutely relevant and critical to life today. Dan hopes to bring back traditional knowledge of the earth/plants/medicines and survival in a way to encourage healing, wellness and respect for balance with Mother Earth and all living things.
In this conversation with Dan, we talk about:
Dan's Sovereignty Camp skill-share project which focuses on educating native youth about traditional skills
how Sovereignty Camp started and Dan's motivations for the project
what skills are taught at the camps
why creating an educational alternative for native youth away from mainstream schooling that includes a focus on cultural education is important
the importance of indigenous led skills-shares
why land skills are important for indigenous sovereignty
Dan's visions for the future of the camps and his land project
how folks can support Dan's sovereignty camp project
Links:
Dan’s website, where you can learn more about him and Sovereignty Camp: https://www.nanamkin.com/
Support Dan and his projects via Paypal: paypal.me/warriorsong
Dan on Youtube
Dan on Instagram : @dan_nanamkin
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation via Paypal at: paypal.me/petitfawn
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial Music: ‘Our Bodies Are Water’ by Holy River (formerly Lobo Marino)
Buy their music at either of the Bandcamp pages below:
https://lobomarino.bandcamp.com/music
https://holyriver.bandcamp.com/
Hosted by: Kelly Moody
Produced by: Kelly Moody and Opia Creative
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Herbal Smoke Blend
- H E R B A L - S M O K E - B L E N D -
contains: horehound, mullein, mugwort, mint and lavender
After breaking up the herbs a little bit more, roll this blend up into a handmade smoke or brew into a tea, or both. Clear your lungs, have a relaxing moment.
All herbs harvested and dried carefully by hand.
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This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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Wild Tending Series / Dara Saville on riparian regeneration in the Southwest with the Yerba Mansa Project
This episode of the podcast features a conversation with Dara Saville out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dara is an Herbalist and Geographer with a passion for native plants, public lands, and community engagement. She is the founder and primary instructor of the Albuquerque Herbalism bioregional herbal studies program and a columnist for Plant Healer Quarterly, teaching and writing on medicinal plants, changing ecosystems, and environmental issues. She has a bachelor’s degree from New York University, a master’s degree specializing in southwest landscape geography from the University of New Mexico, and is a graduate of Tieraona Low Dog’s Foundations of Herbal Medicine Program. Additionally Dara has many years of fieldwork and resource management experience with the National Park Service and well as a long history of community volunteer service with the City of Albuquerque Open Space and the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP). She is also a board member of the Native Plant Society Albuquerque Chapter, a mother, homeschool educator, gardener, and lover of wild places.
I took one of Dara's classes that focused on ecology and climate change in the southwest at an herbalism conference a few years ago in Colorado, and I remembered the teachings in her class that day. I've been featuring conversations on the podcast that visit different ways 'wild-tending' can be interpreted and I thought it would be interesting to feature a little bit about the Yerba Mansa Project and Dara's work with the Albuquerque community restoring the local riparian corridor otherwise locally referred to as the bosque.
In this conversation with Dara, we talk about:
the origins of The Yerba Mansa Project and its connection to Dara's Albuquerque Herbalism project
how the Yerba Mansa Project is helping to repair the local riparian ecology (the bosque) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
why herbalists should also be land stewards
the bosque (riparian area in the city) as a place that brings folks together
why riparian areas, especially in the southwestern US, are at risk
how the Yerba Mansa Project aims to connect local folks to the importance of the local ecology in order to create more folks who will advocate for those spaces
some of the plants they work with or tend on the bosque as a part of The Yerba Mansa Project
why Yerba Mansa is an important plant ecologically and culturally
harvesting Yerba Mansa carefully
how wildcrafting can also mean creating stories of place, it doesn't always mean we harvest
Dara's thoughts on invasive plants
Links:
The Yerba Mansa Project
Albuquerque Herbalism
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation via Paypal at: paypal.me/petitfawn
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial Music: ‘Odd Bird (Old Man River)’ ft. January Mitchell by Damiyana
Hosted by: Kelly Moody
Produced by: Kelly Moody and Opia Creative
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Episode #36: Wild Tending series / Zach Elfers of Nomad Seed on experiential ethnobotany, propagating bioregional wild foods in the eastern woodlands and prairies
Episode #35 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Zach Elfers, ethnobotanist that lives in eastern Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River. Zach runs the Nomad Seed Project.
From Zach’s website:
The Nomad Seed Project sets out to research, document, experiment, and propagate wild, native, and perennial plants which have exceptional value to humans and their ecology as food, medicine, shelter, materials, and beauty.
Imagining the world of nomadic gatherer-hunters invokes to mind a patchwork landscape with oases of human habitat along pathways of migration unfolding with the pattern of the seasons, plants, or animals. For thousands of years, humans lived in this manner. Along the way, they gathered useful plants and intentionally spread the seeds as a form of populations management. Ecology has been a co-creation alongside humankind for a long time.
Humans often acted as the legs of important plants, expanding them both in their range and abundance. It was humans who brought the pawpaw (Asimina triloba) out of the subtropics after the last ice age and spread it around the eastern temperate forests, and it was humans also who spread the sunroot or Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) throughout the continent. Nomad Seed Project is interested in ideas of assisted migration, especially in response to climate change, and as a way to protect and conserve species in the face of a rapidly changing world.
The Nomad Seed Project is a re-envisioning of this old paradigm. By gathering and planting the seeds of native, wild, perennial plants that are important to us, we as humans have the power to impact the ecosystems we are a part of in positive and healthy ways, while also meeting our own requirements for food, shelter, medicine, and materials. Neither agriculture, gardening, nor preservationism, but something in between.
It may be a long time however before we can fully sustain our lives again from the wild plants growing in nature’s garden. While prior to colonialism the presence and abundance of plant foods and medicines was much greater, our ecosystems today have been degraded, fractured, or destroyed in the wake of farming, ranching, mining, urban development, suburban sprawl, and the highway system. Now it is more important than ever that we act again as the legs to the plants that we love, helping them gain new ground, ahead of mass extinction and climate change. The Nomad Seed Project describes work that could also be called do-it-yourself ecological restoration, at the hands of citizen scientists acting according to their own conscience. By working with these native plants, with the same stroke we expand our own habitat. There is a lot of work to do, but it all starts with the power of a seed…
In this conversation with Zach, we talk about:
some natural/ethnobotanical history of the Susquehanna River watershed in Pennsylvania where Zach lives
Zach's project 'Nomad Seed' which focuses on his experimental field research with native first food plants
Zach's experience learning plants while traveling and being out on the land and how this helped deepen his understanding of his 'home' ecosystem
specific 'wild foods' / first foods plants Zach tends and his methods for doing so like Spring Beauty, Dwarf Ginseng, Toothwort, American Groundnut, Harbinger of Spring, Eastern Camas, Chestnuts, Hickories, Chinkapins
how fire-stick farming may have been a wild-tending practice in the southeast
the importance of John Hershey's farm in Pennsylvania for preserving native fruit and nut species that were possibly selected at one point by indigenous peoples and Zach's research on how he thinks this happened
the importance of prioritizing the preservation and propagation of bioregional foods
Zach's experiments with and research on controlled 'burn' gardens on the east coast
different ways one can define 'agriculture'
ethnical foraging expanded: learning the plants entire life cycle and encouraging them to become more abundant by working with the plants all year
choosing love over fear in a time of collapse
Links:
Zach’s website : The Nomad Seed Project
Zach on Facebook
Zach’s instagram @woodlandrambler
Zach’s Patreon page for The Nomad Seed Project
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation via Paypal at: paypal.me/petitfawn
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial Music: ‘Cold Horn’ by Inger S
Hosted by: Kelly Moody
Produced by: Kelly Moody and Opia Creative
#native plants#wild foods#wild tending#wilderness#camas#north carolina#virginia#appalachia#eastern woodland#prairie#controlled burns#ethnobotany#anthropology
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Episode #35: Kollibri terre Sonneblume on the Failures of Farming and the Necessity of Wildtending
Episode #35 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Kollibri terre Sonneblume, recorded in rural southern New Mexico last month in his outdoor kitchen, surrounded by friendly feral cats.
I visited with Kollibri last month, where he is currently living, gardening and writing. He gave me a few of his books to read through, and after I read much of them, we got together to record this conversation. His books and zines are well written, thought out and researched and touch on topics like colonialism, history, plants, agriculture, ethnobotany, politics and more.
Kollibri terre Sonnenblume is a writer, photographer, tree hugger, animal lover, and dissident. Past experiences include urban bike farmer, Indymedia activist, and music critic. Kollibri holds a BA in “Writing Fiction & Non-fiction” from the St. Olaf Paracollege in Northfield, Minnesota.
In this conversation with Kollibri, we talk about:
the pros and con's of permaculture
wild-tending as not just using knowledge from the past but adapting to a changing world
some connections between patriarchy, organized religion and slavery
the blurry line between gatherer-hunter life-ways and small scale agriculture
horticulture vs. agriculture
some history of agriculture, the negative impacts of agriculture on health and culture
Kollibri's various books and zines on farming, wild-tending, ‘invasive’ plants, and place-based travel
questioning victorian ideas of gatherer-hunter culture and the transition to agriculture
the importance of an interdisciplinary approach and looking at things from many angles, avoiding 'silo'ing when possible
the importance of practicing small scale agriculture with the fragmented ecology and culture we have right now
the racist origins of wilderness, national parks and public lands, and the continued racism in these institutions or ideas
what to expect from Kollibri's new podcast 'Voices For Nature and Peace'
Links:
Kollibri’s website: Macska Moksha Press, where you can buy his books, read his latest articles
Kollibri on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kollibri.terre.sonnenblume
Kollibri on instagram: @kollibri1969
One of Kollibri’s latest articles: A Question of Identity: How Much Does Queerness Matter in a Crisis?
Download the free pdf zine “The Troubles of Invasive Plants'“ here
‘The One Straw Revolution’ by Masanobu Fukuoka, mentioned in the podcast
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation via Paypal at: paypal.me/petitfawn
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial Music: ‘Thank You for Treating Me Like a Melody Drawn in the Air’ by B.E.N. and Fay Petree
Hosted by: Kelly Moody
Produced by: Kelly Moody and Opia Creative
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Episode #32: Brien Beidler and Mary Sullivan on the importance of the crafts of bookbinding and papermaking
This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with craftsfolk Brien Beidler and Mary Sullivan at the off-grid rural Idaho homestead of Jim Croft and Melody Eckroft during their summer 2019 ‘Old Ways of Making Books’ class.
Brien, Mary and I sat down at the end of a three week workshop period where we all had different roles as both teachers and students during Jim and Melody’s yearly or bi-yearly ‘Old Ways of Making Books’ class. Brien and Mary are highly skilled bookbinders who came to assist Jim Croft and also continue to learn and be mentored by him.
I’ve mentioned the old ways class on the podcast several times and posted about it on the blog over the years. Alyssa Sacora and I talk about the Old Ways class on the podcast, here. I posted a photo diary three years ago of my time at Jim and Melody’s homestead, here. I posted a recent photo diary documenting the hide tanning portion of the class from this summer, here.
From the beginning, Brien Beidler has been inspired by historic bindings, and is consistently delighted by their ability to harmonize fine craftsmanship, quirky but elegant aesthetics, and evidence of the hands that made them. Though traditionally structured and bound with integrity, Brien's bindings seek ways to create new compositions and juxtapositions of these historic precedents.
Naturally, a healthy love of the tools of the trade followed suit, and with the generosity and encouragement of toolmaking legends Jim Croft and Shanna Leino, Brien also creates a limited assortment of specialized hand tools for bookbinding and its related trades.
Over the last nine years Brien has taken and taught a variety of bookbinding and toolmaking workshops, and is an active member of the Guild of Book Workers. In the fall of 2016, he and his wife upped their roots in Charleston, South Carolina and set up shop in Bloomington, Indiana, where Brien works from his home studio with Wren, his curmudgeonly Brittany.
Some of Brien’s handmade tools:
Mary Sullivan grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and was one of those children who always seemed to be making something. After completing her BA in Fine Art from Maryville College in 2006 she worked as a designer and printer at the legendary Hatch Show Print, one of the country's oldest continually operating letterpress poster shops in Nashville, TN. After several years absorbing the history, materials, and tools of the trade she left Nashville temporarily to pursue an MFA in book arts at the renowned University of Iowa Center for the Book in Iowa City, Iowa.
Over the next 3 years she studied bookbinding, paper-making, printmaking, calligraphy, and book repair and was taught by some of the most respected practitioners in my field. Upon completing her MFA in Book Arts in 2014, she moved back to her hometown in Nashville and founded Crowing Hens Bindery, where she designs, makes, and sells everything from blank books to letterpress printed stationery, decorative papers, art prints, and tools; all made by hand, one at a time.
Some of Mary’s work:
In this episode of the podcast, we talk about:
how Brien and Mary met the bookbinder and papermaker Jim Croft and how he affected their relationships to bookbinding, printmaking, papermaking, and craft in general.
how learning about bookbinding and craft processes at Jim and Melody's homestead in northern Idaho is unique because of their land-based lifestyle
how Jim Croft's books are modeled after medieval era books, but are unique to him and the landscape of northern Idaho
the scavenge nature of Jim Croft's craft process
Brien talks about his focus on bookbinding, toolmaking etc. and his preference for making his books and tools accessible
Mary speaks on her work of bookbinding, printing, and art making; as well as her graduate school research on paper-making production
how industrialization affects the slow craft of bookbinding especially when using materials from the land and doing the process by hand and with the focus of quality books in mind
the effects industrialization has on the consumer's expectations of perfectionism, something that didn't always exist in bookbinding and paper-making historically
some bookbinding history
the responsibility of carrying on the trade of bookbinding and not losing the knowledge of how to make different styles of books
how capitalism affects our understanding and treatment of books
some talk on the value of art vs. craft in our culture
Links:
Jim and Melody’s website, where you can contact them about future classes out in Idaho (calling or writing letters is best): https://cargocollective.com/oldway
Brien’s website: https://www.beidlermade.com/
Brien’s instagram: @bhbeidler http://www.instagram.com/bhbeidler
Mary’s website: https://www.crowinghensbindery.com/
Mary’s instagram: @crowinghensbindery http://www.instagram.com/crowinghensbindery
Penland School of Craft: https://penland.org/
Friends of Dard Hunter paper-making conference: https://friendsofdardhunter.org/conference
University of Iowa Center for the Book: https://www.iowacenterforthebook.org
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation: paypal.me/petitfawn
(include your email so I can send you a thank you note!!)
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Produced by: Opia Creative
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Fall on the road in the west, Camas and Wapato planting, Piñon Pine nut harvest
(first posted on Patreon for subscribers)
The past few weeks I have been on the road traveling from Tuscon, AZ after finishing my Signal Fire Wide Open Studios trip, to Durango, Colorado. I met with a new sweetie there. We spent a week and a half canning roadkill deer meat, processing pine nuts we had harvested together a month before when we met up in the remote depths of Nevada, making apple and pear butter from local fruits, concocting batches of deer chili, rendering pork fat for cooking, making deer jerky from the best cuts, pressing medicinal mushroom tinctures for resilience and longevity, planting wapato and camas Gabe collected earlier in the year with the intention to spread their ranges elsewhere, and more. I worked on getting some pieces finished on ground shots land capsules including working on a digitally designed zine, a learning curve that still feels slow for me.
you can follow Gabe and his wild-tending work on instagram at @plumsforbums
We decided to take a trip to California to do interviews, study plants, harvest acorns and madrone berries if it’s possible, and eventually make our way back to the desert for the winter.
We stopped in Paonia, Colorado to visit a friend, Nikki Hill, who is a botanist. We recorded two podcast episodes, featuring my sweetie Gabe and Nikki together talking about invasive plant politics and science (hint, they think invasive plant propaganda is bullshit), wild-tending in the west and more. We stayed at Small Potatoes Farm, a cute tiny organic farm up in the hills above the town proper. Scotty, the farmer, was awesome and welcomed up in his tiny home to make food together, and we did some deer meat/fresh carrot trades. I got to visit Elsewhere Studios, a neat artist residency in Paonia that features some pretty unique architecture and hobbit like buildings to work within. I met up with Carolina, the other half of Piney Wood Atlas, a project featured on the podcast this past summer. Carolina, aside from co-running Piney with Alicia Toldi, is also the program manager for Elsewhere. She gave me a tour after meeting for bagels in town.
In Paonia, Gabe collected a hearty variety of almonds to replant elsewhere, a couple different varieties of walnuts to replant and eat, too. Collecting seeds and nuts to replant is a new way for me in some regards. At least as a priority right now in this semi-nomadic way I’ve been living. Gabe is really focused on the re-planting aspect of wild-tending and seed collection and eyeing places to replant by reading the landscape. I’m enjoying that new collaboration. It involves an eye for detail that surpasses the eye I thought I already had.
We then ventured to Moab, Utah and camped around Canyonlands National Park and on BLM land in the Bear’s Ears area a couple nights at a spot I’ve camped several times before. Going back to places in layers gives me time to think about where I was then and where I’ve been since, and what state of mind I’m in now. I reflect on what I was wanting in my life, and how in a lot of ways, I have what I asked for and more.
We stopped to visit Emily of Sundial Medicinals at her herb shop in Moab, who was one of the first guests on the podcast. She gave us tea, and we gave her pine nuts to munch.
We then drove to Great Basin National Park and camped three nights, cooking roadkill turkey, pine nuts in salt water, wild rice and delicata squash on the fire. The pine nuts were more abundant than when we were there in September, practically raining on the ground and the weather was divine. We enjoyed 60 degree days and cool nights by the fire. We collected more Piñon pine nuts, rose hips, juniper berries from the Juniperus communis that we found sweet like candy, up at high elevation. We were camped in a riparian area, among Mountain Mahogany, River Birch, Willow, Cottonwoods, Aspens, Piñon Pines, Utah Juniper and more. We pumped water to drink from frigid cold springs, collected firewood every evening for warmth and cooking. It was so nice to have a companion in it all, too.
We woke the morning we were to leave to snow falling and cold temperatures. We waited until the last minute to do some planting back, and did it in the snow with a traditional digging stick and trowel. We planted wild onion and camas bulbs in places where Gabe felt they would thrive. The idea is to plant gardens everywhere for futures humans, for future birds, for future bears. If we all did this wherever we went, what would our world look like? Gabe’s teacher is Finisia Medrano, whom you can learn more about here.
We ventured deeper into Nevada with the storm blowing all around us, snow, rain, swirling fog and dark clouds. We drove route 50, ‘the loneliest highway in america’ a route I have driven many times, and mostly alone.
We stopped at a hot springs at the center of the state, Spencers Hot Springs, a spot I went to the first time I drove through Nevada with my friend Hanah, and was struck then by the immense silence to the point that it made me uncomfortable. Now, I revel in it, I crave it, I’m glad to know places like this still exist.
Here we soaked in the night, with the fog, snow, and mist looming overhead, only seeing lights from cars in the distance on occasion from the highway that was 6 miles away. Silence. Eerie silence with saltbush and shadshale, desert hares, wild donkeys on the periphery of our camp.
Yesterday we drove from there to the eastern Sierras through the shock of flashing Reno at dusk. We’re currently at Sierra Hot Springs, Gabe is up planting Biscuitroots (Lomatium and Cymopterus species in the Carrot family) and Yampah (Perideridia species in the Carrot family) at a ‘biscuit scab’ we found this morning. Perhaps it is a garden that native peoples planted who once lived here by the hot springs. It is actually quite likely. The valley is full of Camas, the hills are full of Yampah, Biscuitroots, Sedges, other food and material plants. It would have been a wonderfully abundant place to live. It still could be.
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Episode #28 Tamara Wilder on wild foods in northern California, animal processing, wild tending and the importance of ancient technologies
Episode #28 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Tamara Wilder, who is based out of Ukiah, California. Tamara has been teaching various ancestral skills from wild foods preparation, primitive fire-making, hide tanning, cordage and more for several decades. She co-wrote the book ‘Braintan: The Art of Buckskin’ with Steven Edholm. She co-runs the organization Paleotechnics with Steven, who is a past podcast guest. Paleotechnics functions as an educational resource on the art of simple, ancient and universal ancestral technologies. Tamara tirelessly travels and teaches classes all over the west coast of Turtle Island every year with suitcases full of cordage samples, wild food preparations, fire-making supplies, and primitive tools to teach others how to use them, tons of books and pamphlets to share on permaculture, ancient living skills, craft and more. I’ve assisted her teaching before and she pays such great attention to detail and process. She cares deeply for sharing these skills as much as possible so others can feel empowered to participate more directly with our natural environment. She has a heart of gold and goes out of her way to help others and be in service to the land. She also facilitates conversations about IUD awareness.
We sat down outside of her straw-bale cabin near Ukiah, California this past Spring to record this conversation for the podcast.
In this conversation with Tamara, we talk about:
defining 'ancient technologies' and how many are universal and how others are regionally specific
the importance and abundance of wild foods in northern California
bay nuts, madrone berries, manzanita berries, acorns
how eating the wild foods around us connects us deeply to the land
'mast years' with certain wild foods, including this past year's huge bay nut crop
the importance of acorn processing to the cultural identity of many indigenous folks in northern California
how Tamara went from punk rock vegan to teaching about animal processing
the ancestral relationship many folks have around the world historically to consuming animals
legal issues around picking up roadkill, why there are laws making it illegal in some states
how abalone is poached and over-harvested
the historical wild management practices of indigenous folks in northern California like controlled burns, and the importance of these practices to ecological health
how overpopulation affects the ability for humans to live in balance with the land
Tamara's teachers: Jim Riggs, Margaret Mathewson, Melvin Beattie
fiber and cordage as pandemic technologies and Dogbane's importance as a superior fiber plant that grows across turtle island
Links:
Paleotechnics website: https://www.paleotechnics.com/
Paleotechnics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/paleotechnics/posts
Paleotechnics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paleotechnics/
Paleotechnics Blog: https://paleotechnics.wordpress.com/
Tamara on Instagram: @wilder_tamara https://www.instagram.com/wilder_tamara/
Buckskin book: https://www.amazon.com/Buckskin-Ancient-Braintanning-Steven-Edholm/dp/0965496554
‘Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources’ by Kat Anderson: https://www.amazon.com/Tending-Wild-Knowledge-Management-Californias/dp/0520280431
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation:paypal.me/petitfawn
Our website with backlog of episodes, plant profiles, travelogue and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Insterstitial Music: ‘On my Knees’ by Mother Marrow
Produced by: Opia Creative
#hide tanning#wild tending#wild foods#northern california#manzanita#madrone#botany#animal husbandry#paleotechnics#roadkill#fiber#cordage
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teaching hide tanning at jim croft's 'old ways of making books' class
hide tanning ///
This past summer, I taught hide tanning at Jim Croft’s ‘Old Ways of Making Books’ class. Jim is a medieval bookbinder who teaches how to make books from ‘the ground up’ in the old world European medieval style. I posted about this class a couple years ago on the blog, with a photo diary that you can find here.
Skins were an integral part of books at one time, and these days of mass industrial process practically absent of life, the use of skins in books is rare. If it is done, likely the books are made with commercially tanned leather using harmful chemicals. Natural tanning processes use brains, scrapers of bone or metal, smoke, tannins extracted from plant matter, water, wood. The process of transforming skins from the state right after an animal’s death to something that is preserved and filled with the lightness of a new form, is a magical one. This blog post features a few scenes from the tanning portion of the class, and I’ll be posting other parts of the class in more blog posts in the coming months.
I taught brain-tanning (we actually used egg yolks, since we couldn’t get ahold of brains!), bark-tanning leather using Hemlock bark from Jim and Melody’s land, hybrid techniques of brain-tan and bark-tan, and parchment making grain-on (though historically it was usually grain-off). We mainly tanned deer skins, but we did start a goat skin for bark-tanning that came from Adam’s herd who was also on the podcast last year. Listen to his episode, #10, ‘Adam and his goats’ here. The goat’s name was Bucky. We affectionately had names for each hide we were tanning to keep them all straight— like ‘Mr. Stiffy,’ ‘Mr. Softy,’ & Bucky.
Folks from the class took turns working the hides during the parts of the process that required scraping, wringing, and softening. We also harvested bark from a down Hemlock on the land, that fell during a windstorm only a few weeks before. The class helped pound the bark, gather firewood to boil the bark in a cauldron Jim made from a metal water tank cut in half, collect punk wood for smoking the hides, and more. The collective energy and enthusiasm around the tanning was exciting and added to the magic of the swirl of processes we were all juggling at once.
I released a podcast episode with Steven Edholm of Paleotechnics and Skillcult where we discuss in detail the process and philosophy of bark tanning leather. Listen here.
Despite our very busy schedule, everyone went away with buckskin, parchment and leather they could use in their books — and with the knowledge of how to do the process. I really believe that learning happens best through ‘doing’ and using our bodies to act out processes. That’s how we know the skills intuitively.
Why tan? Why get involved in skills like these? These skills bring us closer to the voice of the land, in better relationship to our involvement with death and the materials we use everyday.
Handling death throughout life too prepares us for our own eventual death, and gives us examples of how to honorably ‘let go' and really witness what it means to see something that has passed on transform to another form. Death is not an ending, but a new form of being.
Steven and I talk about this a bit in our Ground Shots Podcast conversation, linked above, or found anywhere you download your podcasts.
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Episode #23: Steven Edholm of Skillcult on bark-tanning leather naturally
Episode #23 the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Steven Edholm who homesteads outside of Ukiah, California.
Steven co-runs an educational land skills project called Paleotechnics with Tamara Wilder and a skills-based YouTube channel called Skillcult which focuses on axes, fruit trees, grafting, hide tanning, primitive fire making, making lime for the garden, among other topics. Steven has been researching and teaching self-reliance skills for several decades.
Steven Edholm and Tamara Wilder co-wrote a book on brain-tanning buckskin. The book is currently out of print, but they hope to get the popular guide reprinted soon!
I housesat for Tamara Wilder for a short stint this past Spring. While on the homestead she shares with Steven, he and I sat down and recorded a conversation about bark tanning leather. It's a topic I'm really interested in and a skill I have shared and taught with others a little bit over the years. So, it was a treat to chat with someone I consider an expert in the craft and ask them questions.
In this conversation with Steven, we talk about:
a little bit on how natural bark tanning methods fell out of mainstream commerce
why naturally tanned bark tanned leather is superior to chemically tanned leather
Steven's history with various forms of hide tanning and reasons for getting into ancestral skills
the basics of how to bark/vegetable tan leather using plants (we get super geeky here!)
examples of possible plants to use in the leather making process
some botanical tannin science
troubleshooting bark tanning issues that come up
ideas for a sustainable closed loop natural tannery network that integrates the garden
why care about bark-tanning animal skins and other similar processes?
philosophy: we were made to interact with the natural environment – what is it to be human?
the importance of reviving old world craft processes
accepting that we are nature too, and being involved with handcrafts gives a sense of deep satisfaction
Links:
Steven Edholm's website: http://skillcult.com/
Paleotechnic’s website: https://www.paleotechnics.com/
Skillcult on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SkillCult
Steven's free Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZ-LGULm1gGhd3uOjiZr-A
Lotta Rahme, Swedish author on bark-tanning leather mentioned on the the podcast: http://www.lottasgarveri.se/English.html
info on sudden Oak death, a disease inflicting Oaks currently with possible devastating effects ecologically, mentioned in the podcast.
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Support the Ground Shots Project with a one time donation: paypal.me/petitfawn
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial music: ‘Strong Like Sinew’ by Pterodactyl Plains
short film featuring Jessica Gilroy, one of the musicians behind Pterodactyl Plains, and a glimpse into the process behind the album ‘Creek Sessions’ from which ‘Strong Like Sinew’ comes. The album features sounds from open lands and natural soundscapes, while communicating the need for their protection. https://youtu.be/ypOPRjsf8AQ
Pterodactyl Plains on bandcamp : https://pterodactylplains.bandcamp.com
Produced by: Opia Creative
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Episode #22: An evening in Santa, Idaho with Alyssa Sacora of the Patchwork Underground on The Ground Shots Project, travel, trauma, love, old ways of making things, connecting to the land
This episode of the podcast features a conversation with Alyssa Sacora of the Patchwork Underground, who lives near Asheville, North Carolina.
This episode of the podcast features a conversation with Alyssa Sacora of The Patchwork Underground, who lives near Asheville, North Carolina. Alyssa came out to northern Idaho to take Jim Croft's 'Old Ways of Making Books' class held every other year on the homestead of Jim Croft and Melody Eckroft, where I taught the leather, parchment and brain-tan buckskin portion of the class.
Alyssa makes books and paper, weaves baskets, works with natural dyes and homesteads on her small property.
We met back in 2012 when we both attended the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine's in-person summer immersion program which at the time was held out of Leicester, NC. It was sweet to catch up with Alyssa, an old friend. We decided to do something different for this episode, where we chat informally and candidly about life, my project, our motivations for things and generally processing our shared experiences being at the class together in Santa, Idaho. This episode gets extra vulnerable for me, and you hear a lot more about my process and experience doing my work on the road. We have some guest mosquitoes buzz by the mic!
In this conversation with Alyssa, we talk about:
some of my own personal stories around trauma, travel
what is love?
Alyssa reflecting on her experience at the 'Old Ways of Making Books' class
exploring what it means to make things for your life
linear vs. non-linear ways of teaching and learning
the nature of acceptance and letting go, leaning into vulnerability and discomfort
how we can plant seeds of inspiration for one another
trusting in the mystery of the process
Links:
Alyssa Sacora's website: https://www.thepatchworkunderground.com/
Alyssa Sacora on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatchworkunderground/
Interstitial music for this episode is ‘Pretty Polly’ played by Marisa Anderson
Marisa Anderson on Bandcamp: https://marisaanderson.bandcamp.com
Jim Croft's 'Old Ways of Making Books' class in Santa, Idaho where I taught hide tanning and visited during the month of July 2019. This is where I mention I edited and recorded the intro/outro for this and the next few episodes of the podcast: https://cargocollective.com/oldway
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Produced by: Opia Creative
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Episode #21: Alicia Toldi on promoting accessible artist residencies with the Piney Wood Atlas project, spoon carving and post-permaculture training reflections
Episode #21 of the Ground Shots Podcast
This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Alicia Toldi, who currently lived in Oakland, California. Alicia co-runs the Piney Wood Atlas Project.
According to their website:
"Piney Wood Atlas is a collaborative project between citizen artists Alicia Toldi and Carolina Porras and was formed out of a desire to help spread the word about the magical world of artist residencies.
Through a series of regional road trips, we travel across the country unearthing small, emerging and unconventional artist residencies. Visiting is essential in absorbing the atmosphere, embedding into the space as if we were residents ourselves. We share meals, conversations and experiences with facilitators and artists. So far, we have visited around 45 residencies across 15 states and plan to visit the whole country in the next two years, representing alternative residencies through annually printed regional guidebooks, online content, and workshops.
Alternative residencies offer individual character, personalized experiences and room to experiment. Featuring these kinds of spaces allows us to connect creative thinkers with places where they can become visionaries, unlocking fresh ideas that only come from being in a new environment, and thus engaging in a symbiotic relationship between the artist, the residency locale and the outside world.
Piney Wood Atlas’ intention is to bridge the gap between residency databases and word-of-mouth, ensuring that attending a residency is an attainable, productive, and fun adventure for all."
We did this interview in Alicia's art studio in Oakland, California this past Spring after we both completed a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Occidental, California. I first met Alicia when I stumbled upon Piney Wood Atlas online. We have communicated online about the project over the past couple years and both decided to sign up for the Spring PDC at OAEC without realizing the other had also. It was a sweet surprise to finally meet Alicia. She hosted me a bunch this Spring as I came through the Bay area for interviews and meet-ups with folks. I appreciated being welcomed by Alicia and her partner and able to fit my big truck camper home in her tiny driveway by the freeway in the heart of Oakland.
In this conversation with Alicia, we talk about:
a little bit of the story of how Alicia co-found Piney Wood Atlas
the nature of artist residencies and how they can be designed in many ways, including their ability to be accessible to everyone
some of Alicia's favorite residencies featured in the PWA zines. So far the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest zines are out, and the Midwest themed zine will be out soon
adventures in road-tripping for the PWA project
Alicia's personal story of living in different places as an artist on the east and west coasts, and coming back home to the Bay area
a few of our post-permaculture training reflections
Alicia's relationship with spoon carving and making things
We're giving away one copy of the Piney Woods Atlas 'Southwest' zine to a Ground Shots Project Patreon subscriber. Comment on the post for the giveaway to be entered, here.
Links:
Alicia's personal website: http://www.aliciatoldi.com
Piney Wood Atlas' website: http://www.pineywoodatlas.com
Alicia on instagram: @t0ldi
Piney Wood Atlas on instagram: @pineywoodatlas
Email Piney Wood Atlas: [email protected]
Sierra Nevada College low-residency interdisciplinary MFA program and where PWA received a grant
Elsewhere Studios in Paonia, Colorado
The interstitial music for this episode is 'Mojave' by Marisa Anderson
Marisa Anderson on bandcamp: https://marisaanderson.bandcamp.com/
Jim Croft's 'Old Ways of Making Books' class in Santa, Idaho where I taught hide tanning and visited during the month of July 2019. This is where I mention I edited and recorded the intro/outro for this and the next few episodes of the podcast: https://cargocollective.com/oldway
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Additional Music: 'Mojave' by Marisa Anderson
Marisa Anderson on Bandcamp: https://marisaanderson.bandcamp.com/
Produced by: Opia Creative
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Ground Shots zine 'Pace in Place' on the road spring 2019
The Ground Shots zine ‘Pace in Place’ features snippets of writing from traveling in Hawai’i, northern California and Oregon Spring and early Summer 2019. The artwork in the zine includes collages utilizing pieces of paper found on the road, trash, or leaf litter camping during that journey.
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Summer 2019 Ground Shots land capsule
A monthly nomadic art + medicine mail project for almost two years now, the Ground Shots land capsules are now transitioning to seasonal packages featuring carefully curated and collected work from studying plants on the road.
The Ground Shot land capsule for summer 2019 will include
4 of the herbal medicines listed mindfully wildcrafted from abundant stands or harvested from the gardens of friends on the road:
St. John’s Wort oil - for sunburn, massage, viral infections, winter blues
Heart Holding elixir - wild rose, hawthorn and tulsi
Calm and Chill tincture - of california poppy, peach leaf and fruit, lavender, pedicularis, passionflower
Lung Vitality elixir - Spikenard, Elderberry berries and flowers
Yerba Santa elixir - for colds, allergies, lung congestion
Turmeric Elixir - to aid in taming inflammation due to diet, the environment, or acute injuries
Desert Salve - for fungal infections, wounds, and sunburn. featuring Creosote bush, Cottonwood buds, Yarrow, Pine sap, Sagebrush
A Ground Shots zine - featuring writing, photography, and art from the road in the west.
a handmade bone or wooden button made by me without electric tools
pamphlet (s) on the plants featured in the medicines included in the package
letters from the road
and more to be added as the season moves along.
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Episode #20 Freddie Mango Roots on Korean Natural Farming in Hawai'i, growing up in the deep south, culturing culture and a Kaua'i Food Forest plant walk
Episode #20 of the Ground Shots Podcast.
This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast was recorded at the Kaua'i Food Forest on a volunteer day one Saturday in May 2019. Freddie Mango Roots is one person in the core volunteer collective that tends the food forest on the island. He utilizes Korean Natural Farming techniques at the food forest as well as at his own gardens at home. We spend some time together going into Freddie's personal story, and venture into philosophy about our culture and the choices we make to work with the earth. We end the conversation with a recorded plant walk through the Kaua'i Food Forest.
In this conversation we also talk about:
Freddie's stories of living in the wilderness for many years on the island of Kaua'i including a story about a helicopter crash
more on plants and the food forest in addition to the sharing Paul Massey and Rob Cruz did on episode #17
being a product of your upbringing and a certain environment
growing up in the deep south
fermenting in the garden and kitchen
how microbes are our ancestors
Korean / Hawai'ian natural farming ferments
the importance of cultural and ecological diversity and symbiosis
the lessons of the garden for life – accepting constant change and shifting
Make sure to check out the photo diary of the Kaua'i Food Forest on the project blog page to see what some of the plants look like that Freddie mentions on the audio plant walk.
Links:
Freddie Mango Roots on instagram: @f.m.roots
Kaua’i Food Forest facebook page
Kaua’i Food Forest’s website: http://www.kauaifoodforest.org
View the Kaua’i Food Forest hashtag: #kauaifoodforest
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Additional Music: "Pepeiao Cabin' by Lisa Schonberg and Secret Drum Band, of the Hylaeus Project
Check out Secret Drum Band's music here
Check out the Hylaeus Project here, a creative study of the endangered native Hawai'ian Hylaeus bees
Produced by: Opia Creative
#permaculture#food#agr#agroforestry#korean natural farming#farming#gardening#hawai'i#kaua'i#fermentation#the south
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Episode #19: Hannah Smith on hut caretaking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, writing as an act of noticing, giving care to a dying earth
In this episode of the Ground Shots Podcast, I chat with Hannah Smith, a writer, naturalist, hiking and climbing guide who lives seasonally working outdoor jobs or doing artist residencies in different parts of the country. I interviewed Hannah while we camped together in Big Sur, California early April 2019. Hannah and I studied papermaking and printmaking together at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina a few years ago.
Since our time together at Penland, Hannah has continued to write, make artwork, and also work in wilderness settings while incorporating her creative practice in those places. In this conversation, we touch on a few big experiences she has had in the past few years. Hannah also reads some of her poignant and thoughtful poetry commenting on a dying earth, our 'disconnection' from the land and history and the relationship between our human body and the earth body.
In this conversation, we talk about:
Hannah's meditation practice in relationship to the land
observing intuitive plant information
how 'watching' is the heart of it
writing as an act of noticing and medium for connecting to the land
giving care to a dying earth
working as a climbing/hiking guide in Switzerland with the International Girl Scouts
Hannah's job working on a storytelling project in Alaska
Hannah's thoughts on making the outdoors and land accessible to all physical abilities
working as a hut caretaker and naturalist in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club)
Links:
Hannah's writing site: https://imaginedlanguage.wordpress.com/
Hannah's Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/blueskypress
Hannah on instagram: @hannahbluesky
International Girl Scouts : https://www.scout.org/
Story Works Alaska : https://storyworksak.org/
Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.
Our Instagram page @goldenberries
Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project
Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Additional Music: 3 Free by Jacob Cohen
Shoutout to Joshua Milowe for connecting me to Jacob's music.
Produced by: Opia Creative
#writing#hiking#climbing#new hampshire#wilderness#switzerland#international girl scouts#intuitive plant medicine#poetry#meditation#penland
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