Summer Vortex!

Hi everybody! I am sorry postings have been so scarce these days! This summer has certainly been crazy. Between moving out of our house in Harrisonburg (!!!), into my new office, out of our storage, and into our new house (I'll let you add that up) we feel as though we have been moving for weeks! (oh, wait, we have. oh shit.) Bruises and soreness aside, Jeremy and I both feel relieved and happy to be in our new place in Charlottesville. It really feels like a homecoming. Our new place has a huge HUGE garden plot and is a small house in a good way vs. our last place with the very small garden and the way too huge house. In terms of energy conservation, this place is much more our style... all electric utilities and just enough space for two people. Nice!

So in the midst of all of this moving stuff we have been away from computers, and don't tell my blog this, but it has been so nice. I guess when school starts we will both be glued to this thing so its really important to get out and enjoy an unplugged and truly 'wireless' life until then! In other super progressive and futuristic technology news, Jeremy and I put our cell phone in the glove box of the car (for emergencies) and got a land line. Uh huh. Call us... maybe we will answer and maybe not... We are totally living in the future. I am stoked.

This summer we have been doing a lot of planning, thinking, and talking about our garden and about becoming more self-sufficient. we had put a lot of serious thought into buying a house but after looking and talking some more, we came to the conclusion that we should save our pennies and build our own house - the way we want it. This may take a while... We were very inspired by the idea of making something truly sustainable and by the new wave of people who are trying to live off the grid without being total hermits.

Along with this realization came a new found annoyance with the fact that eco-friendly and "green" have become such empty buzzwords. This was made very clear to me while watching t.v. at Mom's house... We saw a show called "Red, Hot, and Green". Holy crap. Okay. To their credit, they did use FSC certified lumber in their construction. But they did not talk about paint (chemicals, pollution, safer, healthier alternatives) or really do anything else in the episode that we watched that could be considered, eco-friendly , "green" (except for some actual green colored paint), sustainable, ecologically responsible, or aesthetically pleasing. Maybe I am too sensitive, or being too critical, but its upsetting because these ideas are very meaningful to a lot of people. I also have to fairly point out that it is a double edged sword because I DO like that people are talking & thinking about ecologically friendly options in their homes & lives more because it is so trendy. The bottom line for me is that being responsible and taking care of the earth is something we NEED to do. It is not fashionable...its practical, it is survival. Nobody is a perfect activist (least of all myself) but I really love to see genuine effort, not just buzz. Anyhow, it has made both Jeremy and I continue to consider ways that we can recycle, consume less, and make things ourselves with safe and responsible materials.

Well, that is enough for today, I will try to be better about posting! We will be in Richmond this Saturday for the Handmake craft fair outside of Quirk Gallery, so if you are around come and say hi. We will also be having a studio sale in August - but more details on that later!

Hope everyone is well!!!

xo,
Allyson

p.s. One more thing, we have also had a lot of fun finding free food lately. If you are in VA, or probably the east coast in general, this is a great time to pick blueberries and raspberries! We picked a whole quart of blueberries in the national forest the other day and there were a million more there. Very nice indeed.

Oak Galls!

This weekend Jeremy and I visited his Mom's house at the beach. We visit there a lot and even had a garden there last year which was producing food until late September. I couldn't eat a tomato all winter because ours were so good, nothing could measure up! On Saturday we decided to plant another garden there, just for fun. We planted tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, and squash. So now whether we are at home or visiting their house we have something to tend to! We only spent $10 total! Basically we just bought the plants at the nursery up the road. We went out into the woods to collect bamboo for the tomato supports, and we collected pine straw from underneath one of the trees for mulching the space next to the garden. A very large wolf spider jumped on me and I shrieked like a little girl. It was fun. Gardening always makes me feel really good.

While in the yard we found an oak gall. Oak galls, like walnuts, have been used in ink recipes for centuries. They typically produce a blue-blackish ink. This ink can be highly corrosive, eating through paper (which looks really lacy and amazing but is an conservator's nightmare) and metal nibs. Jeremy and I made some of this ink in graduate school, and it was beautiful. Unlike walnuts (which you pretty much just boil the heck out of and strain), galls need to be soaked for a few days and they need some sort of iron oxide to further the color. We used rusty scraps of metal to get ours going. Walnut ink is definitely more accessible & easier to make. But its really interesting to research old inks and understand how they were made. Many of these old inks have unique recipes that sound a lot like making beer or moonshine where the ink would sit for months and 'brew' until it was the proper color. So... go look outside, you might have an oak tree or a walnut tree in your backyard - free art supplies waiting to be made! I know we need to make a new batch of our own walnut ink soon!

xo,
Allyson

p.s. If you are wondering how Galls are made:

Galls are irregular plant growths which are stimulated by the reaction between plant hormones and powerful growth regulating chemicals produced by some insects or mites. Galls may occur on leaves, bark, flowers, buds, acorns, or roots. Leaf and twig galls are most noticeable. The inhabitant gains its nutrients from the inner gall tissue. Galls also provide some protection from natural enemies and insecticide sprays. Important details of the life cycles of many gall-makers are not known so specific recommendations to time control measures most effectively are not available.

Gall makers must attack at a particular time in the year to be successful. Otherwise, they may not be able to stimulate the plant to produce the tissue which forms the gall. Generally, initiation of leaf galls occurs around "bud break" or as new leaves begin to unfold in the spring. (from the University of Kentucky Entomology website)

Who's Your New Professor?

Please congratulate Allyson when you get the chance... she is now an Assistant Professor of Art at James Madison University. This is a big deal. She is now on a tenure track and has some job security, health insurance, an office, and a real computer! It is a really great job and she got this job in a really tough economy and in a very competitive field. Give her the thumbs up and tell her to take a bow.
Love, Jeremy

ORGANIC MOBILE GARDEN

Today seems to be the first day of spring. We were psyched out in April with a stint of 80 degree days. The past 3 days have been in the 40's/50's during the day and 30's/40's in the evening. It has felt more like the tail end of winter, and it has definitely been a tricky time to start a garden. We have wanted to start an organic garden like last summer but with our current living situation we will be moving at the beginning of July. On Monday we built some small wooden boxes to house our new mobile/moveable garden. Today we painted the boxes with Zero VOC wall paint and planted our new organic garden. We are growing Tomatoes (Mr. Stripey, Cherokee Purple, Black Prince), Broccoli, Cabbage, Squash, and Zucchini. Right now we only have 2 tomato plants, 4 broccoli stalks, 4 cabbage heads started and in boxes. We plan on building one more box tomorrow with recycled wooden palettes for the squash and zucchini. We are trying to make this garden pay off. Currently we have invested $20 in lumber, $10 on plants (purchase from local growers), and $15 on dirt. I hope this garden will be productive enough to cover our expenses. The time is pleasure for us as we are bored out of our minds in Harrisonburg. This town is pretty boring if you are not a mennonite or a person who enjoys the smell of dog food and likes shopping at walmart (or shopping at all). The town goes through somewhat of a transformation after school gets out... about 14000 people leave the city, traffic gets better... but it is so beat. We are trying to find a cure for our boredom and stay positive as long as we are in H-burg proper. We are looking forward to finding a place to live in Charlottesville (or surrounding areas) and lay down some roots (ours and our garden's). It will be extra nice next year because although we will be commuting a little ways to JMU, we will feel like we are in a community at work and where we live (instead of just at work).

Hierarchy of Plants

Allyson and I weeded the flower beds today.  I am feeling bad about killing all of these plants which seem to more useful and beneficial properties than the holly bushes and hostas in our front yard which seem to only have a primary function of decoration.  Since this is our landlord's house and weeds do kill other plants... we decided to remove them. The first species which I regret killing were the scallions (I killed about 200 of these things today). Scallions are a highly nutritous food plant. One cup of scallions contain, 30 % of our daily  intake of vitamin C, 20% of vitamin A, 7% of our calcium, 8% of iron, 200% of vitamin K ( a vitamin that alot of Americans are difficient in), 16% of folic acid, and 2g of protein. It  also contains micronutrients like important amino acids and small amounts of B vitamins and vitamin E. One of the most overlooked aspects of  scallions are the anti-inflammatory properties of the food. Scallions contain quercetin a potent anti-inflammatory and vitamin C also an immune builder. In combination they act to reduce inflammation related to allergies, asthma, and arthritis. I do not think that it is a coincidence that these "weeds" or should I say important foods grow in the spring. When allergies, moisture, and flu are most prominent scallions have a tendency to grow. The second species I killed today were premature garlic bulbs. As we may know garlic is an antimicrobial, antiviral, and good for healthy cholesterol. A half a cup contains 35 % of our daily intake of vitamin C, 13% of our calcium, 6% of iron, 84% of vitamin B6 and 4g of protein. It also contains micronutrients like important amino acids and minerals such as magnesium (100% RDI)), copper (20% RDI), manganese, selenium and phosphorus which we could not get from ritz crackers. The third species we weeded were our beloved Dandelions. (roots, greens, and flowers) I remember trying to eat the flowers as a child they were bitter. The greens on the other hand when cooked can be quite nutritious and tasty. I still probably would not have liked them as a child. But they pack a nutritious punch as well. One cup of cooked dandelion greens contain, 30 % of our daily intake of vitamin C, 140% of vitamin A, 15% of our calcium, 10% of iron, 749% of vitamin K ( a vitamin that alot of Americans are difficient in), 13% of vitamin E and 2g of protein. It also contains micronutrients like important amino acids and small amounts of B vitamins. Dandelions are also known as a liver and gallbladder cleanser. Again I do not think it is a coincidence that these grow in spring and summer as our residual winter lives require our bodies to cleanse of toxins. We also pulled up some spearmint that was intertwined in yellow clover. Spearmint is good for digestion. Overall it sounds like this would be a great springtime lunch. Cooked Dandelion greens with garlic, Miso soupwith scallions, and a cup of mint tea. Mmmm Refreshing. Iam sure you are wondering why we composted these nutritious plants? Well our land lord laid down this nasty mulch in the flower beds which was probably imbued in some sort of petroleum based pesticide. Not to mention our basement has an arsenal of paint and pesticides. So we are pretty certain the bed are laden with "Round Up". Whoever said that these plants were bad? Why do we kill them for aesthetic reasons? I will never figure this one out. An anal retentive invention from the suburban country club goers. UGHH I wanted to eat those tasty greens, scallions, and garlic:(
XO A&J

Awesomeness

  Jeremy made this video out of a flip-book that I drew while I was at UVA! He has the powers of greyskull. (or something else awesome like that where you hold up a sword and lightening comes out)

Happy Spring everybody!!!

SPRING IS HERE

Spring is here and the semester is almost over. We both cannot express how glad we are that this semester is almost over. We always feel like summer is a cleansing period for us, as we spend a great deal of time working on personal projects that we want to get done and spend a great deal of time winding down from the relentless and busy work year. We also have big plans this summer to finish our book. The book was initially designed to be a smaller handbook and it is turning into a BOOK. Our goal is to have it printed before the SPXPO in the Fall. Allyson will be part of the Cinders Goffo Installation At the NEXT ART FAIR in Chicago. If you are in Chicago please go and see her new works.  Jeremy is currently in a show at Lump Gallery called "Heroes" that runs till May. If you are in Raleigh please check out his work. He is also working on a new video for his  solo show at Cerasoli Gallery in August.  Other projects for the summer include one collaborative porcelain figurine, collaborative oversized drawings, and finding a permanent home.

We are looking forward to a summer of recuperation from the tumultuous winter of sickness and sadness! YAY SPRING! YAY SUMMER! YAY OCEAN!