Acrylic Plus on Canvas, February 2011, 6' x 9'
My favorite childhood book "Oh The Thinks You Can Think" written by Dr. Seuss included the passage "schlop schlop, beautiful schlop, beautiful schlop with a cherry on top." It's not what comes to mind when we think about beauty, but a bowl of beans and rice has that substanitive 'i can eat even if i dont have much money' deep aesthetic that we could use more of in this day and age.
The following is a discription of the discussion panel I was invited to participate in at the confrence.
Making Food, Farming and Everyday Life More Artful Room 141
Panelists: Russell Bauer, Laura DeLind, Judy Wicks
In today's world of sound bites, fast food, and multi-tasking, we forget (and are often starved for) what art and aesthetics add to our lives. Expressive forms – language, story, poetry, music, song, dance, ritual, visual art – are not extras to be considered once the ‘real’ practical work of the day is done. Rather, they are integral to a sustaining and sustainable way of living, one that is humanly-scaled, naturally-paced, meaningful and connected. As farmers, eaters and community members, we need to take the time to reflect on and incorporate the arts and humanities – as both challenging and pleasing forms of expression – into our daily work and shared environments. This session will consider how we can make our earthwork, our food work and our place-making more thoughtful and artful.