Foraging Notes - Imagining America
Foraging is about unconventional and hard earned beauty. It is loving the maligned and forgotten. Of course, foraging is easy in the sense that we put no direct effort into the production of the food. However, the full rewards often take patience, persistence and discipline. It can feel like we have pulled a loose thread as we readily plunged into lessons on medicine, culture, history, ecology, climate, psychology and other pursuits along our journeys. - KL
Foraging challenges us to be versed in multiple ways of knowing the world and be capable of synthesizing knowledge from art, science and culture into creative work and further acts of discovery. The Westbrook Artists’ Site (WAS) is hosting spring/summer foraging excursions and projects with people from agriculture, architecture, art, extension services and other disciplines. Foraging commits us to attune ourselves to the uniqueness of place and the many layers of knowledge that is within even the most inconspicuous thing. At the center of this work are our “Foraging Notes” that will be generated from the collective experiences and multiple approaches we use to engage our sensory world. Foraging is in many ways a minimalist experience and the value of the quiet discovery is one that slowly unfolds over time and within an immersive experience. Therefore, various methods including data collection, writing, video recording, photography, installation and culinary arts will be used to tell the stories of foraging.
Foraging challenges us to be versed in multiple ways of knowing the world and be capable of synthesizing knowledge from art, science and culture into creative work and further acts of discovery. The Westbrook Artists’ Site (WAS) is hosting spring/summer foraging excursions and projects with people from agriculture, architecture, art, extension services and other disciplines. Foraging commits us to attune ourselves to the uniqueness of place and the many layers of knowledge that is within even the most inconspicuous thing. At the center of this work are our “Foraging Notes” that will be generated from the collective experiences and multiple approaches we use to engage our sensory world. Foraging is in many ways a minimalist experience and the value of the quiet discovery is one that slowly unfolds over time and within an immersive experience. Therefore, various methods including data collection, writing, video recording, photography, installation and culinary arts will be used to tell the stories of foraging.
GRR - Experiential Drawings Series (left) and WAS (W1) - Experiential Drawing Series (right) K. Lair '17
Kathranne Knight, W1 Rock Drawing from Rural Arts and Cultural Summit in Morris, MN. This is the same rock above left by Kevin Lair. These short studies are quick experiments that allow artists and non-artists to have a shared experience related to foraging. The drawing series is intended to foster breaking old habit and engaging in new ways of experiencing the land.
Best foraging is often what is consumed immediately at the time and place it is found. The art of foraging is an extended contemplation of our relationship to the land. The drawings themselves have a lingering view of something as it moves along its way.
Best foraging is often what is consumed immediately at the time and place it is found. The art of foraging is an extended contemplation of our relationship to the land. The drawings themselves have a lingering view of something as it moves along its way.
07/15/17 - WAS rocks along the Middle River.
WAS - 11/18/17 Ground Cherry growing up through the Field Chapel
Imagining American National Conference
Clark Colby (Iowa State University) Harvest from SLLC
Day 2 at the UC Davis - Sustainable Living Learning Community (SLLC)
SLLC a Walnut Grove of native black walnut species was used to develop cultivars that established the vast majority of commercially grown walnuts in California. The research began in 1971 and today you can still see those originally trees with a few artifacts of the research. This tree is labeled J. Major. The Black Walnut species in Iowa areJuglans Nigra.
Day 2 - Harvesting and Testing at SLLC.
|
|
(left) The Dome Homes at the SLLC and (right) the color and character of the SLLC is independently living. There is also a bee garden, yurt, wildlife sanctuary more with the SLLC.
Clark Colby and Kevin Lair presented a media/workshop on Foraging Notes on Day 3. Kevin's opening images features a walnut drawn in walnut ink (from foraged walnuts).
Walnut ink drawing, KLair.
Rock Drawings
Laura Youngbird W37 (Plains Art Museum)
(left) Michelle Anderson (Springboard for the Arts) (right) Mark Mappala (Bellevue College)
Christopher Taylor (Northern Arizona University)
Jon Hiskes (left) University of Washington Michael Borowski (right) (Virginia Tech)
Lauren Drakupulos (right) (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) Ashley Hanson (right) Place Based Productions
Laura Youngbird (left) Trena Novar (right)
Clark Colby showing his "cultural forager" credentials with a huge morel and a youthful grin.
Cyanotypes by Clark via ISU extension program.
Cynaotypes processing at the Des Moines Art Festival (Clark Colby)
Foraging Excursions
The first bottle of nocino has been sampled after 3 months of processing. A delightful liqueur by team Connolly and Hamilton made from foraged walnuts at WAS.
WAS 09/17 - Foraged Oyster Mushrooms cooking for pasta (left) and found it the woodland edge (right).
WAS - 09/23/17, Walnut ink studies. Walnuts harvested and pealed, and twice boiled to produce the ink. This is the third application for walnuts this year. Nocino and pickled walnuts are the other two foraged products using the walnuts. Black walnut is a highly prized, native hardwood.
WAS - 09/23/17 Poke berries collected. A lot of the poke berries have been consumed by critters but still we got a collection that could make some dye or ink. We made ink.
09/09/17 Elizabeth Walden. Cyanotype print Milkweed burst (foraged plants, printed on-site)
|
09/09/17 K. Lair. Cyanotype print Wild Rye (foraged plant, printed on-site)
|
08/31/17 - Chicken of the woods growing on a Honey Locust stump.
07/17 (left) and 08/17 (right) ":Wild Apples." Uncultivated, non-sprayed, hand-picked foraged apples. Three kinds on the right. One "jelly apple" are quite small but very plentiful on the tree and the two larger varieties are next to each other yet very different fruit. A highly recommended ready on the apple is in Michael Polan's, "Botany of Desire." We eat some apples picked but most go into pie. They tend to have fail the grocery store test in appearance but make great eating still.
Ground cherries along the riverbank. (08/17) Despite all the fruit pods they often are empty and thus a bit of a challenge to make for productive foraging.
08/19/17 - Harvested a small portion of the Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus cincinatus) at the base of a Bur Oak. Cooked it up in a pan very simply. I admit that often people mean well by providing interesting recipes but I find them an obstacle for shake and bake types. Keep it simple!
08/10/17 - Out of their brine (left) and darkening in the light. First batch of pickled walnuts in the jar.
08/11/17 - Sumac-aid starting to steep and ready to drink. I used the coffee filter to strain after steeping... a mild and refreshing quality.
(07/24/17) Wild petunia still in bloom and eastern gamma grass. We have cultivated gamma grass in what was originally wetlands. Slowly, the we have found new bunches of gamma grass here and there on the property.
Prairie Plot cyanotype prints (07/23/17) KL
Clark provides instruction from his workshops on making cyanotypes for quick exploration. Collections from the small lower prairie field and prairie plots (4x4) providing diverse range of subjects including mint, gamma grass, bluestem and ironweed (shown) executed by Kevin (07/22/17)
07/21/17 - Foraged plant cyanotype printing project. Clark Colby mixing cyanotype chemicals to create light sensitive layer and rinse basin.
07/17/17 - Poke weed blossoms. Poke weed berries make a good dye so we have started to let them have some space.
(07/26/17) - The walnuts have emerged from their brine prep. We didn't have sun today so they have yet to blacken.
07/17/17 - Walnut tree. This is an off year for walnuts. We have dozens of black walnut trees that some years leave many barrels of walnuts on the ground but this year very limited produce. The benefit was needing to seek out more of the trees rather than just go to the most conveniently located.
07/16/17 - Over 100 green walnuts ready to be pickled. They are now soaking in brine for 8 days.
07/15/17) Pollinators are a fundamental part of foraging. In the purist sense, introducing European honeybees could be viewed as cultivation. The bees are co-foragers and foraging partners in our book. The bees are new to WAS and hence we are hoping to be able to see positive outcomes in the coming years. (Eric and Andrea bee mentors)
The ground left bare after cutting out burdock.
07/15/17 - Wild Black Cherry and Burdock (07/12/17). While Burdock is often hailed as a good foraging plant with lots of nutritious parts. However, it also can be very invasive and hard to remove. It covers the ground obliterating all other plants and produces highly annoying burrs.
Team Nocino (Henry chopped green black walnuts for his special blend) and Jeanne and Henry's mixes steeping for the next 40 days. (images JCM, 07/14/17)
07/06/17 - Jeanne finding mulberries among the walnut trees. The "artist's" batch of nocino (no-chee) is blending for the next 40 days. The green walnuts have been quartered and covered in Hawkeye vodka (apparently made in Missouri but close enough for this one).
07/06/17 - Henry foraging green walnuts for nicino. This year appears to be down year for walnuts and despite our ample supply of Black walnut trees the nuts were limited.
06/26/17 - Mountain Mint and Bergie (Bergamot) Bergamot is also a member of the mint family and will soon produce light purple flowers. Mint smells great and Bergamot has many applications including bug repellent.
06/27/17 - Common Milkweed clustered. This year we have a strong and growing stand of Milkweed to boost our pollinator profile.
06/27/17 - Hickory nuts (left) and wild raspberries. The raspberries are abundant at WAS but there are some special plants that produce a distinctly superior berry. We have not yet determined the factors that are produce the better berries but are making closer observations this year. One obvious issue is pollination. However, we have begun to address pollination directly with the start of two honeybee hives. The hickory nuts will also be abundant but take a lot more work to enjoy that a good raspberry shrub.
06/29/17 - Central Iowa roadside with stand of Chicory (Chicorium Intybus). Chicory is non-native to North America. There are many uses for chicory but the main one is using the root to create a coffee substitute. The plant lines gravel roadside in Iowa and along WAS with rich bloom of color. We have yet to make the chicory coffee/tea but is on the list. Starbucks could go under if people decided to simply harvest the plants along the roadside.
06/30/17 - Mulberry tree. The Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) is the only mulberry native to Iowa. There are numerous other species that have been introduced. Identification of each species of the mulberry trees at WAS has not been done (currently assuming they are red.) Next up is the the making of Mulberry BBQ sauce the Weedeater style.
07/01/17 - Mulberries ready to be a BBQ sauce star. The end result is ready to enjoy. Some modifications to the original Weedeater recipe but pretty close.