Yesterday and today we are painting tires!
It’s been raining the last couple days that I went to Lashburn, so we haven’t been able to work on our vegetable garden as planned. So we changed our focus, moved indoors, and began painting tires in preparation for our tire planter garden.
But, first the students needed to learn some colour theory: primary colours, colour mixing, the colour wheel, cross-complimentary, etc
The pallet garden at JH Moore School in Lashburn is coming together. Despite the weather, we carried on in our endeavour June 6, 9, & 10.
First, we laid out the pallets on the front lawn and organized them according to colour, shape, and wood type. Then, after watching a demonstration on how to turn the pallet into a planter the students broke off into groups of four or five and began to emulate the demonstration they just witnessed. The lessons learned in this simple demonstration and reenactment were many–simple things like how to lift, how to hammer, how to measure, how to cooperate, and so on.
I’m guessing the students would say the highlight of this phase of the garden was hammering. They were thrilled to learn and ‘be allowed to’ use this hand tool. So enthralled were they with this aspect of the project that the slight hail storm went virtually unnoticed.
In terms of intangible culture, I underestimated the significance of things like hammering. A few of the students had held a hammer before, had struck a nail. Most, however, had never done such things. In terms of heritage, where would we be without ‘hammering’? Many, if not all, of the heritage buildings on our prairies (old barns and farm houses) were constructed by hand. And the early fences that shape and define this province, they too were constructed with hammer in hand.
Bearing this in mind, it gave me a strange feeling of nostalgia to watch these youth eagerly learn to hammer. To try and try again without frustration, to strike that tiny spoke of metal.
My hosts, Jan Johnston and Neil Jones join me after a fantastic home cooked breakfast and share their stories of how they came to Rockglen and their passion for presenting live music and exhibiting original art. Swift Current painter/musician Ken Christopher joins us, and Brenda Feuerstein is back!
When I tell people about the Lashburn School Garden, many ask “What does that have to do with art?” And while I do think there is an art to gardening, I divert the question to “intangible culture”.
During our Animateur Orientation, it was put forth that this year we might turn our focus to Intangible Culture — the invisible ‘stuff’ that makes up the visible, touchable ‘stuff’ of culture.
So, now the dialogue with students looks something like this:
I ask “What is Culture?”
They answer by giving me every example under the sun, but never actually define it.
I tell them they are all correct and that “Everything is Culture.”
I add the metaphor of a fish swimming in water. “Does it know it’s swimming in water? No. Just like you don’t know you are swimming in your own Culture.”
And now I further add “And how do the examples of Culture you provided come to be?” … “Who braided your hair this morning? How do they know how to braid?” … “Those home made cookies you have in your lunchbox? Who made them? Where did they get that recipe?” … “Who here knows how to ride a horse, or take care of a horse? Now how did you learn that?”
… And this is my segue into gardening. “How many of you have a garden at home?” 90% of the class raise their hands. “Who tends the garden?” They tell me. “Do they take an instruction manual?” A resounding “No.” “Well, then how do they know what they are doing? How do they walk out to garden patch and know what they are doing?”
And the light bulbs go off. I see a glimmer of understanding in their eyes…. That! is Intangible Culture.
I further this discussion with the students by telling them that for the duration of this project (and hopefully henceforth) they are going to start collecting Gardening Wisdom. They are going to start talking to the gardeners in their family and ask them for any ‘tips” that will help with the success of our garden.
I then supply a few examples from my (albeit limited) experience with gardening. I tell them about a second cousin (who is an incredible farmer) who only seeds by the moon. He suggests planting seeds on full moon, not because of the light (as most presume) but because of the full moon’s potential for drawing water to the surface of the earth. I tell them about the little old lady who took one look at my garden and asked “Where are the flowers? You need flowers so the pollinators come.” I tell them about the ‘three sisters’: how the First Nation people of Southern States have always grown corn, beans, and squash together. They do this because as the corn grows the beans wrap themselves around the stalk and flourish from the corn’s strength, and the squash spreads at the ground’s surface to protect the soil and plants from dehydration. I reiterate that certain plants like growing together and others do not. And we need to know this kind of information. So they need to ask the gardeners in their families.
We’ve started to collect these pearls wisdom on recipe cards, and I imagine that with time we will have quite the arsenal of Gardening Wisdom.
I end this conversation with the students of Lashburn by reiterating that we really are a Gardening Culture. “If I was in downtown Toronto,” I query, “how many kids would put up their hands when I ask who has a garden?” Not very many I suspect.
Although I think it is a right to be able to grow one’s own food, to have access to fresh, untampered pesticide-herbicide free food, it is fast becoming a privilege more than a right in this world. So I remind the students how important this is, that we preserve the Intangible Culture of Gardening.
Rockglen residents Jan Johnston and painter/musician Neil Jones open their home to me and invite over a dozen of their local musician friends for evening house party jam session. Share in the stories of some warm hearted folks and some great live music too!
Today
I taught 28 students how to knit.
The Grade 8 and 9 Home Ec students of Waldheim School are learning to knit and crochet so that they can yarn-bomb the trees that line the front of their school.
They are to pick a tree on school property and invite a friend and/or family member (who knows how to knit and crochet) to join them in this endeavour. These small groups of yarn bombers will be meeting regularly throughout the summer so as to practice their knitting and crocheting, and to make ‘blocks’ in preparation for yarn-bombing.
Brenda Feuerstein is a writer, yoga practitioner, and practicing Buddhist who shares a personal journey of travel, love of Saskatchewan, artistic inspiration and loss. Brenda traveled from Eastend to join me in Rockglen.
Dr. Dick Oakes grew up in Rockglen and has since returned to a very different town than when he left. But Rockglen’s history can be relived within the walls of the small train station museum and on the open trails of the Effie Mattson Nature Walk.
For twenty-two years a group of approximately 15 – 20 female Textile Artists have been gathering one weekend a year (usually in the Qu’Appelle Valley) for an Art Retreat. They call it the Shekinah Art Adventure.
This year they gathered at the Edam Hunting Lodge around the last weekend of May. I attended the Retreat on Saturday and Sunday, and spoke to almost all of the ladies about Culture Days.
Many were interested in having their artistic craft skills included in Culture Days. Further, one lady was particularly interested in collaborating as soon as possible in preparation for said event. As is often the case, this lady is not limited to one ‘art world.’ She not only is a Fibre Artist she runs the North Battleford Community Theatre. So, Kevin might be getting a call too in the near future.
