Tuesday, May 22, 2012

then & now

This blog is a bit all over the map... a place for my musings on what I find interesting, what I see and what I'm working on, be they thoughts or projects. In the past you found images of my art work, thoughts on producing, criticism mainly of local contemporary dance, philosophical rants or ramblings, etc etc. I've written little about yoga or food, which are passions of mine, but a bit about growth, be it personal or botanical. This is my first post of 2012. I'm unclear about readership (I have shared this url only rarely and when i have it has been for a variety of reasons). I wish I had written about many things over the fall / winter: homemade pizza, the effort and result of balancing action & reflection in my life, producing NYC's village halloween parade in the age of Occupy, rural vs city living, life transitions, letting go, and marking / facilitating seasonal shifts, new teaching experiences... I wish I'd publicly reviewed Everett Dace Theater's recent piece Brain Storm (my notes are still here, I still could), and shared my experience of shifting my art making focus to time based work of movement & sound. But my impetus to begin posting again is travel. I am away for nearly the entire summer and I am learning so much so fast. I want to share what I am learning and thinking about. I will post images on flicker and write here for now.

I am in the Blue Ridge Mountains (that's in Appalacchia, folks. the western part of North Carolina. More specifically, near the town of west Jefferson, in ashe county, 30 min from Boone and 2 hrs from Asheville). I am staying on Old Season Farm, the home of my former Hudson Valley roommates and their lovely baby. Teddy's long name is Theodorus, but he doesn't know that. Ted Travis has a nice ring to it, but I always fancied the idea of knowing a Theo... In any case, they have a happy home and several acres, most of which is speckled with baby orchard trees...

Short Report 1: this farm is jungly with tall grasses and wild flowers and between 150 baby hazelnut saplings. 4 sheep 9 hens and 2 roosters. my dear friends Kristen and David and their imminently walking-talking supercute yearandahalf year old have given me warm welcome. also two cats (one once ferral the other a retarded kitten), both of whom remembered me from when we were roommates, one with dread and the other with adoration. both feelings mutual! there have been onandoff thunderfests here (we are high in the mountains so it felt like a skybellyrumble) and the season's first fireflies echo it's flashes. finding my way; rhythm yet to emerge. happy. 

the resting place- hammock under a willow
Read the farm website for a glimpse into their farming techniques and philosophy. They are unique! http://www.oldseasonfarm.com/