[12/11/2010 Oops - I've already changed my mind - and in just two days. It might be a record! Read my edits below. ]
Over a year ago I put up a post that turned into one of the most popular articles on this blog – and it had nothing to do with paper mache. In that post I suggested a few ideas I had for creating a new artist community. The idea seem to resonate with a lot of readers, and we got many interesting comments. Of course, the actual process of creating something like that is somewhat overwhelming, so it was just talk.
But maybe it doesn’t have to be that hard….
Last night I added something to my New Year’s resolutions – I’m going to put my current house on the market (chickens will not be included…) and I’ve picked out my spot. If I can sell my house, (which may not happen, of course, considering today’s market), I’ll be moving to a small town nearby. The scenery is fabulous, there’s plenty of water (at least for now), and housing prices have come down enough to be affordable. (For me, affordable means under $70,000). There’s even easily accessed geothermal power, for someone who knows how to get to it (I don’t, but a greenhouse warmed naturally from the underground heat does sound like such a nice idea…).
I guess that means I’ll be an artist community of one, at least for a while. But if I can find an old house with a lot big enough to support more people, garden-wise, I might be able to offer space for a room-mate. (They say you can feed four people on 1/4 acre, if you garden intensively.) That would make it a community of two, right? Then more people move into the neighborhood, and we’ve got our community — no organizing, no costs for creating infrastructure, no need for a lot of committee meetings – it seems like the easiest way to go. Besides, there’s a really nice “community” of regular folks there already.
There are no jobs there, of course, and that will be an impediment for most people. Sigh – there’s always something…
View from Above the Town
With the economic news coming out of Europe in the last week, and the currency wars that are heating up, and the increasingly urgent problem of peak oil, it seems to make sense to try to find a spot where survival is possible, even without a lot of “real” money coming in. That would be true whether you like messing around with paper mache or not, of course. If all goes well and the economy picks back up, we’d still be living in an incredibly beautiful place. That sounds like a win-win situation, to me.
Of course, if I sell my house next spring, someone will probably turn my newly-created garden spot back into lawn, but some things you can’t worry about, right?
So – do you think this is crazy, or what?
Edited 12/11/10 – new remarks below:
In one of the comments below, Janis said: “I have fantasized about this idea for a very long time, but for me I think it is just fantasy, it sounds wonderful and ideal, good luck…”
The book I’ve been reading the last few days explained why so many of us have fantasized about a move like this, but never actually make the move. I’ll paraphrase John Michael Greer’s remarks about what he calls the “lifeboat ecovillage” movement. (I like that name – I’d never heard it before). Greer looks at history from the vantage point of an ecologist. He said that major social changes don’t all happen at once — and although we can see that many changes are happening now, and we can expect more changes in the future, we can’t really know where those changes will take us over time. It’s like the changes that happen in a forest when a virus kills off all of one species of tree – you can know that the ecology of the forest will change, but you can’t foresee how the forest will look in a hundred years, unless the exact same thing has happened before. The things we’re going through now have never happened before, so any guess about what the future holds is really that – a guess.
The lifeboat ecovillage idea, a planned community in a small, beautiful town or in some rural spot, may (or may not) be a good solution to a distant future that may never really come – and in the present moment, where we actually live, most of us can’t afford to give up our homes and jobs and move to a place where there’s little chance of making enough money to pay the mortgage. In other words, no matter how enticing the dream might be, we know the move would be expensive, and the risk of failure is simply too great. That means, if I moved to Cove with the hopes of being followed by creative people, (like the great people who read this blog), I would be sorely disappointed. Because you’re too practical for that.
As for H’s comments to the effect that a bunch of artists could never make a community work, I’d admit he’s probably right – but only if one assumes that we’re talking about a communal-type situation where like-minded people need to get together and actually be responsible for each other on a daily basis. The creative temperament does tend to become totally focused on a project or idea, and then, in a month or a year down the road, the focus moves on to the next project, the next idea, and may even move the artist on to another state. That focus and willingness to do something new is wonderful, but I happily admit that it doesn’t make for a stable group of people if they all need to get to the committee meetings on time.
But my vision has never been about an artists’ commune, although I’m sure I’ve never explained it very well. My ideal is more like the neighborhoods and taverns in Edinburgh during the Scottish enlightenment – where creative people from all walks of life came together over a glass of beer, (or five), and talked to each other about philosophy, economics, and probably a bit of gossip and scandal. And then they went home and wrote books that are still being read today. The arguments, rants and divisiveness would have destroyed that group of people if they all lived in the same house or if they were all counting on each other to do their chores every morning. But those same arguments helped them improve their own creative visions.
I want that kind of conversation. It isn’t easy to create, but when you find it, it can help create a new world.
Greer appears to agree with me on this issue. He says that what we need to get ready for an uncertain future is not consensus or agreement, but as many diverse ideas as we can get. Most of those ideas will fall by the wayside – at the moment it’s impossible to know which ideas will survive over time because we can’t know what kind of future we’ll have. He says we need the kind of collective mind that great artists have – the ones who are compelled to look at things in new ways and to ignore “common knowledge.”
That variety of ideas will help protect us the way genetic diversity protects a species when it encounters environmental change. If you don’t know what’s coming you can’t make plans for it on a grand scale, but you can open up enough options so that at least some people and some ideas will survive to rebuild after the crisis is over.
Communes do exactly the opposite. Last year I saw an add by a planned community looking for new members. They listed the required social and political views they wanted their potential new members to have, and they specifically mentioned they were looking for “outgoing” people. No introverts need apply. Sheesh! Artists could never survive in a community like that for long – nor should we.
But there will be changes, and they may be coming soon. We just don’t know exactly what to do to get ready for them. One scenario could be that the current economic downturn soon lifts and our society realizes that we need to conserve the little oil and gas that we have left. As the cheap energy goes away we rebuild our technical colleges and put more people to work doing actual work – building stuff with our hands. In a few years, our country looks pretty much the way it did back in the 1950′s, but with more people.
Or, unpopular government austerity measures could result in mobs attacking a car that holds the future king of England. Oh yeah – that happened already — but we don’t know how that event will affect what happens tomorrow. And that’s kind of the point. To get ready for anything the world can throw at us, we need to use our creativity to find new ways to conserve the little oil we have left, to find ways to record old ways of living so that workable technology doesn’t get lost, and we need to start growing as much food as we can, right in our own back yards. If we can also have that conversion I want so badly, then that would be cool, too.
It’s highly unlikely that creative folks, like you all, will feel inclined to give up your current homes to come live in eastern Oregon, no matter how pretty it might be, since that makes little economic sense for you at the moment. Unfortunately, the Internet is a very big energy hog, so it may not last forever (and it’s vulnerable — if the Wikileaks folks’ attack on Amazon.com had been successful this week, a lot of people who put my books on their Christmas wish list would have be disappointed when they looked in their stockings on Christmas eve… 
)
If we can’t all move to a new spot and have a real-time conversation at the local pub, and we can’t count on the conversation continuing forever over the Internet machine, I guess that just means that I’ll have to turn my focus to the local community that is already here and see if I can find out where all the creative energy is hanging out. And in the meantime, I’ll keep moving my own household towards self-sufficiency, which, in the short term, is the most reasonable thing to do.
Comments?
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{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
I had no idea of your post here. I have no idea how I came across it. What I want to know is, did you sell your house and move to that beautiful plot Jonni?
I’ve just read everyone’s thoughts which of course, set me to thinking. So, I’ll add my 2 cents for what it’s worth.
A few years ago I had the luxury of dreaming a dream. I wanted to take an early retirement and felt I was at a place that just might allow me to create a path where my heart lies. (That didn’t last long)
What I had always wanted to do was to be a part of an Artistic community, an established one. Moving was never the right option for me for my children live here and I would never be happy if I couldn’t be close to them. So, I began to look a little closer at my dream’s options.
I realized I would enjoy having the opportunity to attend Artist’s Retreats. There is something so invigorating to my spirit when I’m around creative artistic people. When I looked into it, I found a few but the expense was so out of my financial realm, I could never justify the burden of it.
So…I began to look at what might be required to create my very own dream. Now that is exciting in itself. After all, what is life without dreams and possibilities of giving your dreams life?
The real estate market was just beginning it’s teeter so I began to watch it. My dream would involve a beautiful piece of land smack dab in the mountains with running creeks close on the property. I’m a mountain woman at heart BTW. A beautiful peaceful setting in the midst of nature and wildlife. No rattle snakes in my dream setting though.
What I hoped to find was a rustic cabin large enough to house maybe 10 people. The purpose being to hold those affordable retreats that I wanted so much for myself. A little spot of tranquility and nature and far enough away from busyness where a small gathering of creative, artistic people could come, eat good simple food, roam, meet others, find support, have work shops/speakers/experienced teachers and group settings over a period of a week or so. A setting to find that quiet within, get inspired and rejuvenated, be surrounded by open support and that great big creative spirit, get answers to questions (like how to get that e-book written and published from one who has been there and done that).
What I learned was that I would be on my own in this venture and I realized the possibility of bringing my dream to life was actually not impossible.
I must say, it never came to existence. My marriage was a done deal, had been but I didn’t see it clearly until I began the dreaming of dreams in my heart again so I left it and the job that had drained my spirit.
I forgot about that dream of mine until I stumbled upon your post here. Thank you for that.
My life today: I did retire earlier that I hoped but I couldn’t do otherwise if I wanted my spirit to survive. I did leave that unsupportive marriage , left the country for a little house in the city close to my children. When time is available I create my little crafty paper mache ornaments and put them for sale on Etsy to help support repair costs to this tiny fixer upper house I live in with my 4 rescue cats I brought with me…make lemon meringue and blackberry pies from the vines in my backyard. Cultivate my garden crops because I truly believe everyone should be doing that now that I have an inkling of what Monsanto is doing to our food supply. And forgot all about dreaming my dreams until I read what ya’ll had to say.
Like I said, what kind of a life is one lived without your dreams a part of it??
Hi Sharon. No, I didn’t sell the house or create a new community. I know a lot of us are thinking about it, but it doesn’t seem to go much farther than that. Perhaps the best idea is to find the few artists in our own neighborhoods and build strong connections that way – something that is easier for some of us than others. Since I’m a hermit by nature, the idea of having supportive people living right next door, where I don’t have to go out and find them myself, is enticing – but it’s probably not the way the world works. Although younger people who are primarily interested in permaculture or cob houses seem to be making a few new communities work.
That doesn’t mean one stops dreaming. The process of trying to figure out what an ideal community would feel like helps us see what we’re missing in our real communities back home. That helps us look for ways to find what we really need, right here at home. Or, that’s my theory, anyway. It does seem more hopeful than just giving up, doesn’t it?
Jonni, you know I looked all over for this post and could never find it again…until now.
This computer has the ability to frustrate me to the point of driving me to wreak mayhem and destruction. The only saving grace is that more often than not I eventually get to where I want to go….
I agree with you that looking around the place we have planted ourselves at for the things we need seems so much simpler than heading out on a BIG venture (when we are at a certain age).
I live in SC and I think this is where I will stay. I have always wanted a horse. My husband brought me one on my 65th birthday. The horse Cody only wanted my husband to ride him so I wanted to get one that would llove me like Cody does my husband. I got my Sunny – a beautiful palomino . Her bloodline is really great. One of her grandfathers was Man O War. Can’t get much better than that. We now have 5 horses and have made a committment to them. We now have 5 acres. The horses have 4 1\2 and we have 1\2. I don’t worry about my old age because I’m already in it.
I’v been reading the discussion here about the future and find it very interesting. My mind has also wandered into what is going to happen with all the change coming, I’m 70 yrs old and just getting to this age was scary. I retired 3 years ago in April and I think I was not ready to retire but here I am. The thing about being retired is that I have time for arts and crafts which I have always loved but neverd had the time. l paint and love paper mache. Jonni your paper clay is great.In 09 I made myfirst paper mache sculpture since grade school.I like to consider myself an artist. My first paper mache sculpture won 3rd place in the senior silver arts in mixed media. I would love to be retired and live among a community of artists to beable discuss art freely among others like me. As for planting and growing things just don’t seem to go with my age. Seems you get older you can’t do as much as your mind wants for your body just won’t go along with it. My sister (76 yrss) have talked about the future we both believe it will be a self containing life and not sure where or if we will fit in. She loves gardening and would love to beable to have her own chichens and a cow just the thought to beable to take care yourself makes us smile. She has many great ideas on self producing. We could do it. If our bodies would co-operate.
Jonni I will be watching the posts they are so interesting and I will pass it on the my sister.
I will send on some pictures of my sculptures soon.
Hi Judy. We would love to see those sculptures you’re making. And congratulations on winning that prize.
I’m starting to think that the best idea for those of us who are older would be a rooming-house type situation on a small acreage. That way there’s be plenty of opportunity for the gardening and farming for those who are up to it, and space for crafts and art and great conversations over the evening meal. I don’t actually know how to make that happen, though – rooming houses used to be quite popular, but I don’t see them any more.
You could always go on a vacation to a place like this… ever hear of arrowmount school of arts and craft? http://www.arrowmont.org/
They are in Gatlinburg, TN (east tn) in the smokies… last I heard you could go on a two week stay to learn or practice
Looks great. I’ll check out that website. I probably can’t afford it, but wouldn’t it be fun?
Thanks for your support, Jonni, it’s very sweet of you. I am doing pretty good now but once in a while I get a bit overwhelmed and it sneaks up on me. I hope you’re right about people wanting hairdressers and I definitely love the idea of smaller communities, it just seems like it’s healthier, I know two people who are sharing houses with family members to help with expenses and duties and to have company. It works very well and everyone benefits. I like the cob houses very much, I could see a community of cob houses on a farm that is totally self sufficient. I live in Portland where it rains a lot, I think the moss would love a cob house!
I bought the book you recommended, I’ll let you know what I think.
I have tried your PM recipe and love it, it goes on like frosting!
Have a great day.
I was thinking about what you said in your comments, and I know that no matter what happens, I will always need someone to style my hair. While things are changing, I don’t think that I am willing to give up my beauty along with everything else. I think that somethings need to remain the same, if only to the purpose of my sanity. The way I look represents how I feel, and without my hair dresser I look bad!
I have been thinking about my post all day and I think I was talking about myself. I recently went through a divorce, after 20 years of having someone take care of all of the things that men take care of I am now having to put on my big girl pants and take care of all the things that a man has taken care of for me (like supporting myself alone, cleaning the roof and gutters, figuring out what the funny sound is in the car motor, etc…..) it can be very scary and this subject really kind of scares me too. I think Kevin’s post was fine it’s just the thing that is always on my mind, “what will the future hold for me and my loved ones” trying to stay positive is how I cope with all the scary things that come up for me. I think I related to what Kevin said a lot, I am a hair dresser, will people care about hairdressing in the future? They may not care about getting their hair colored. I love all the posts from everyone keep sharing I have a lot to learn about this stuff.
Hi Janis. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot recently. All those changes coming at once can be really hard. We’ll all send good vibes your way (boy, that word shows my age, doesn’t it?)
Back when I was going through chemo, years ago, I learned the importance of reducing stress to an absolute minimum. It’s similar to your positive outlook theory – if I control as much of my environment as I can, and don’t try to control anything else, it gives me a safe place to operate from. I think it helps open up the opportunity for new ideas to float around. I can try things to see what happens, without stressing about “what happens if it doesn’t work!?”
I think that as the unemployment rate stays high and people stay out of work, an unofficial barter system will take effect. That will help all of us, I think. For instance, people will always want to look nice, so they’ll always want your services – but they might have to trade their skill as a car mechanic or their labor as a gardener, or maybe some eggs from their hens. I think you’re very fortunate to have a skill that makes so many people feel good about themselves. I also think that trading a service or product would feel more personal than handing over money, so it might help us regain the feeling of community that so many of us seem to want. Or it may just be wishful thinking…
I’ve been thinking lately that I might try to speed up this transition to an unofficial economy, just on a personal level, by taking some of my paper mache critters to the local Saturday market. I’ll stick a price on them but without the expectation of actually selling any. (I’m designing some right now that would be easy to carry.) Once I’m set up I’ll just make it known that I’d be happy to trade for produce or whatever – that way I would meet the local farmers and other artists, and it would give me a good excuse to go downtown once a week. It would be kind of fun, don’t you think? It’s one of those ideas that might work as planned, or maybe not — but it would be interesting to see what happens.
I like what Jonni says below, but I wanted to say that the process you’re describing, and the upset it’s causing you sounds like what we all might be going through, if Jonni’s Brave New World moves in on us in a hurry. We all depend on machines, commerce, transportation, technologytechnologytechnology … for so many things we take for granted. If a lot of that goes away, we’re all going to be scrambling, trying to figure out how to do things another way, or give some things up entirely.
But, like you will find for yourself – probably ARE finding, we’ll all find we’re a lot stronger than we thought; more resourceful, and more capable.
Good vibes to you, as Jonni says.
Good points, Xan. On the bright side, I don’t think our machines will go away all at once, or even very soon. Heating costs will go up, and lots of economists are saying we’ll have another recession next year (another one – aren’t we already in a recession?). The economic situation obviously affects all of us, but we probably have time to consider the way things are going and anticipate them just a few steps ahead of the crowd. I’ve lived through down-times before – haven’t we all? Last time, I didn’t have a garden. That’s what I’m preaching right now – order your seeds and plant a garden, and lots of potatoes. If you don’t have enough dirt of your own, team up with neighbors who do. Food prices are dependent on cheap oil, and international stability. That might go away a long time before our machines.
My thoughts on this issue change hourly – is it obvious?
Another prediction – the return of the boarding house.
The future is always on my mind these days, though I don’t usually talk about it to people, it’s nice to be a part of this conversation and I find myself checking my email more often to see new posts. Jonni, I read Kevins post on the website you linked us to, thank you for that, it was very interesting but I think he needs a shot of positive thinking and maybe we all do! With all of this unknown future economy stuff it is very easy to get scared and spiral down into anxiety and depression, and for sure fear is our biggest enemy! There are many books out now about the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking, definitely everyone should check this out, it’s hard to change your thoughts and takes a lot of practice but it has changed my life and I think it will be very valuable in this scary future.
I’ll get off my soap box now. I like that Kevin is exploring new Ideas about what he could do in the future and it makes me think also, I have so many thoughts about this I think I should start a journal of ideas. One I came up with is if you can fix anything you will be of great value to any community, new products are great and all and we will need them but I have noticed how so many I know are not spending more money on new things but reusing and recycling and giving the things they own new life. Also, we should all take a financial advisers advise and DIVERSIFY, a jack of all trades will have so many more options.
We can’t control the economy but we can control our place in it.
It’s interesting that you thought Kevin’s post indicated some negative thoughts. I didn’t see it – but I’ve been accused of being depressed when I talk about this subject with family members, so maybe the subject itself feels negative.
I haven’t answered Kevin’s post yet – I just got signed up to their forum, and haven’t had time to respond. I hope he doesn’t think we’re talking behind his back.
I think there’s nothing more positive than seeing a problem, because I think all art and invention begins with a problem. For a painter, the problem can be as simple as the size of the canvas. For an inventor, it might be how to build a washing machine that works in places that aren’t hooked up to electricity. I think Kevin’s right to start thinking about the solution now, while he still has time to learn a new skill.
We all seem to be coming up with some really creative ideas lately. All my ideas seem to require welding, and I’m not sure if I’m up to learning how. I’d like one of those washing machines, and a cargo trike, and a rocket mass heater in the garage to help dry my sculptures. I think one of the best ways to know what will be needed in the future is to look around our own house and ask what we’d need to do to unplug it from the grid. There won’t be a market for the things we think up for a long time, but it would be good to have the skills, just in case.
Fortunately, smart people have been thinking about this issue for at least 30 years, so anything we think we could use has probably already been invented. We just have to put them into practice to see if they actually work…
I was just rummaging around on the Internet and found this post by a young artist wondering what skill he should learn to help him contribute (and make a living) as the economy continues to change. We’re not the only ones thinking about this stuff…
Thanks for the cob home site, Jonni! My oldest son and his wife are looking into building a cob home also. They’ve done tons of research and planning. These homes can be amazingly beautiful and creative…and more functional as our silly drafty conventional homes!
P.S. Got all my ingredients ready to make your newest PM clay recipe! Even bought a mixer, as I didn’t have one! (can you tell I don’t cook? lol) Will keep you informed on my progress! Thanks for sharing your wealth of experience with us!
You’re welcome Robin. I hope we get to see what you make with your PM clay and your new mixer. And that you’ll send us photos of your son’s house when they get it done, too. Wouldn’t it be fun to create such a huge work of art, and then get to live in it?
Another interesting site, about the place of the artist in society, sort of: http://www.theworkofart.org/
Ooh! Looks juicy! Thanks for that link, Jonni.
I just found this site – this is art combined with practical application, beauty and function. http://www.firespeaking.com/
Cool. I love creative or small houses/buildings. Having lived several years in wood-heat, haul your water, and kerosene-lamp cabins, I’m fully aware of both the charms and the draw-backs (not enough light to do art by, for instance!) of rustic living. Putting this kind of creativity into making an off-grid home more comfortable and practical, not to mention beautiful and idiosyncratic, is neat to see.
Yes, the hauling of water, the chopping of wood – sounds a lot more romantic than it really is, but some of my best memories are of the few times I “roughed” it. Right now, my house is heated with a furnace that won’t work if a storm knocks out the power. I’d love to find an inexpensive emergency backup system that won’t burn the house down or fill the house with carbon monoxide. And that won’t require 10 cords of wood (my neighbors fill their garage with hand-cut wood, but I’m getting too old for that). If I could, I’d build one of the cob houses, and add the mass heater, but I doubt that will ever happen. I just like the idea of creating such a large thing – art on a huge scale. But where on earth do you build one, without getting into trouble with the authorities? (The cob cottage people say you can build a tiny house for less than $1000 – I could go for that. Except that I don’t happen to have any money at the moment, and no place to put the house. Details, details….)
Yes, one can have fond memories of things that happen a few times, as opposed to making a lifestyle choice. Like camping. Which is not to say I don’t have fond memories of hunting for wood, of stoking and then enjoying a warm fire, of bathing in our wood-heated, plexi-walled shower house (once we’d finally gotten it built!), looking through the redwoods, of using a big cook-stove, with all that varying heat real estate to fine tune my various dishes, of spending evenings playing games or reading to each other in the lamp-light. As for dealing with authorities, um, yeah, well, er, I knew a lot of people living in houses the authorities either were not aware of, or felt were not worth bothering with. And this on real estate you and I cannot afford to buy, nowadays, even without access to utilities or water.
I have enjoyed reading about cob building. Looks very do-able, given willing help, access to an expert, etc.. One landlord I had was an architect/artist/major hippie. His homes reflected his mood at the moment he happened to be working on that bit, or what material was handy or intriguing him at that time. Totally off-grid. Poop-in-the-woods “plumbing”. Definitely an artist of living spaces, our Sam. He never did try cob building. Probably because he’d have had a pretty short building season to get it done between rainy seasons, and he did pretty much all the work himself.
Your Sam sounds like an interesting fellow. I recently read a book by Nick Rosen that included some really interesting interviews with folks who helped drive up the property values in northern California. I had no idea the off-grid solar industry in California was given it’s start back in those hills. Gives a new twist to the term “lighting up the joint…”
*Snicker*
You can wander around the woods out there, and stumble suddenly on present or former “gardens”. If they’re active presently, you better get on out as fast as you can, if they let you! Totally off-topic, but man, those people …. They would haul all this stuff out into the woods; pipe, water cans, fertilizer in jugs, fencing, tools, and then just leave it out there after harvest. Just trashing the place up. All that effort, all those materials, and what for? Money, of course. Stupid.
Don’t you just love finding unexpected treasures while researching a completely different topic? Well my dear Jonni, I have just had that wonderful experience when I ran smack dab into your “sharing your dream” page!
I too have a dream…of having a place for artist to “commune”. Not a commune but a place “to” commune. I am so excited for you and your “dream”. After speaking to many about this… I believe this is a “signal” of sorts across the grid of like-minds that is telling us to start getting prepared!
When we had the Y2K “scare”…. some of us fell for it hook-line-and-sinker! (took several years to use up all those beans!…but I digress…) But what happened to me as an “artistan” was almost unbearable! I could not imagine what my “purpose” would be in a world of chaos! I grieved over this so much and wasted so much useful energy…fretting! I tell you all of this because, I too am finding myself wondering what the future may hold for us…again.
But this time is different. I have a stirring that whirs inside me… a creativity that cannot and will not be squelched by rumors of a failing society. I believe you are spot on when you say the creative folk will be the ones to run to for the practical help and ideas on how to keep things going…if need be. (Heaven forbid it would ever be so tragic.) But there seems to be this heartbeat, per se, that is running through many minds right now…almost seeming as if it is a random thought…but…is it so random? I think not.
So bless you, Jonni! For not keeping this to yourself… forboldly sharing your passion… for sharing your hopes and dreams for a better future! You, are now one of my newest unexpected jewels that I will safely keep upon my heart!
Cannot wait to watch this part of your life unfold for you!
Blessings…
Robin
Well! Your comments make me think of so many books, experiences and conversations! I think the arguments and explorations you talk about wanting ARE happening, in the big Pub currently called the internet. If, as you say, it’s not sustainable, we had better pay close attention while we can. It’s an invaluable way to communicate across huge populations, for better or worse. If it were gone tomorrow, many artists would really have to go look for “real” jobs the next day, myself included.
That’s kind of a mash of ideas. Hm. I should read the books you mention. Think they’re out on audio so I can listen while I slave away over my internet-marketed artwork?
I’ve lived in a small, rural community where creative people converged, like you’re describing. While I lived there, it was pre-internet-as-we-know-it, and we did gather in coffee shops, the theater and the local art center, and have our far-reaching discussions, read each other our poetry, showed our art, performed our acts and plays and music. I don’t know that we did anything very lasting there, but it was a wonderful time and place. Most of us also worked 3+ jobs to make a sort of living (I cleaned houses, ran coffee shops, colored comic books, painted signs, did catering, worked in the post office, designed gew-gaws …). That’s not necessarily a bad way to live, but not very sustainable as one gets older. There’s no retirement or health benefits in odd-jobs, that’s for sure.
As far as this congress paying artists to do anything other than their official portraits, I’m sure you’re right! But we might look to those models ourselves to find inspiration for ways to practically enter the work force.
I’m completely rambling! I should have waited ’til morning to respond. Ah well. Now I’ll have interesting dreams, anyway.
Other than the financial difficulties, do you miss those times, and those hours in the coffee shops?
I had a hard time staying focused on the book because so many ideas kept popping into my head. For instance, I’ve been wishing that I could use the ancient buried clay pot irrigation system in my garden. It would be useful here in the semi-arid region where I live, especially if one used the “modern” version mentioned in the Solviva book. But who would make the pots? I might be able to afford to import from Mexico, of course, but that’s an option that will only work while transportation is still cheap. And how many people know that drip irrigation doesn’t require plastic tubes?
It may be time to try to learn how to build our own low-tech kilns, perhaps using the new rocket stove technology or using technology still in use in Africa. Could the resulting irrigation pots or tubes be sold profitably now? Probably not. But a book explaining how to do it might get some interest, and at the moment the distribution system for books has not yet broken down.
This idea popped into my mind when Greer mentioned that the Roman empire had master potters and huge factories that distributed high-quality pots throughout the empire. When the empire broke down, the potter’s wheel technology disappeared. We do have a master potter here in town, but can he make pots when the electricity gets turned off?
And you’re right, of course – I’m way too old and lazy for the odd-job routine, although that’s probably what the 80-year old greeter at the local WalMart thought, too…
There are kick wheels for potters that take no electricity, all manual, but what about a windmill to power it? I heard, a couple of years ago, about a company called Mariah, they make small windmills you put in your yard and it just brings down the amount of electricity you use, I guess it won’t take you off the grid but could be a good start. I was interested but couldn’t afford the $5,000. it costs. They were designed for a small space and to look like a piece of art. Maybe I’ll start saving my money, being green is not cheep. Also there are many non-electric kiln ideas out there, take a look on Youtube, you can learn how to do almost anything on Youtube!
I was thinking kick-wheels and alternate energy sources, too (bicycle power?) The article you linked to does also say conventional clay pots (planters?) can be used with the holes blocked. What a neat idea. Might have to give that a shot in the garden this next spring.
Kilns good enough to fire these pots might include raku pits, which are very low-tech. I’m not a potter, so I don’t know if raku-fired pots would work like this, but probably, right? Kind of fuel-intensive, and small-scale though, I think. I’m curious about the other methods you mention.
Yes, I really do miss those hours in the coffee shops (though not so much the housecleaning!) The financial tightness really didn’t bother me; I had enough. The worry was for the future, since it turns out I’m not getting any younger. Well, heck, that still worries me! The Walmart greeter is out there, getting contact, feeling like a human being, which is great, but s/he isn’t doing a lot of heavy physical work, which “un-skilled” folk like myself might find ourselves having to do if art was not an option. I have no degree. My official work experience is spotty and mostly in the service industry. Taking that back into the work-force, competing with younger, more experienced, more highly skilled workers … keeps me awake some nights. But, hey, that’s the risk involved in dedicating one’s life to one’s artwork. Right?
Your artwork and your talent may be just the skills that the new economy needs. I can imagine a graphic novel that teaches kids how to grow food, or how to capture rainwater, etc. (What would we call the rainwater-collecting superhero?) It may not pay the bills, of course. In the very near future, I think most of us are going to be living without a whole bunch of stuff we always took for granted and you know how to make that work, and how to enjoy yourself while doing it. That’s a skill that matters.
I should mention that Greer doesn’t say you shouldn’t move to a small town, or to Hawaii – in fact, he and his wife moved to a small town themselves. He just implies that you should not go if the success of your venture depends upon other people choosing to go with you, because it’s most likely that they won’t. I moved to my present location believing that a good friend would move here too, close enough to share some pet-sitting and gardening chores. She did get her home sold fast enough to get her equity out before the housing bubble burst, but she then she couldn’t risk giving up the job she’d hated for the last 15 years. She found something that works better for her, as we all need to do. My experience here would have been far different, though, if she’d been a bit more willing to take the risk – but most people don’t make their living from the internet like I do, so risk-taking isn’t as easy for them as it is for me. At least for now….
However, I should also mention that I think anyone who has been thinking about moving to a place with a larger bit of land and more food security should be doing it now. A lot of economists are predicting a second recession beginning soon, and house prices are expected to drop another 10% next year. If you wait until all the stars line up just right, you may never get the chance.
The best way to approach the garden irrigation idea would be to try it on my small lot, (and your larger lot if you want) using imported Mexican pots with the holes filled in as you mentioned in your comment. If it turns out that it actually works, (and not just a good idea that might work), then it would be time to see how the idea could be expanded so the neighbors could do it too if they wanted. (I want a bike-powered washing machine, and a cargo trike. I wish I knew how to weld – maybe that’s the next thing I need to learn how to do…)
OK, now I’ve had time to think about it a little more. I think you’re currently doing exactly what artists are supposed to be doing – you have already created a garden, so you have more food security than most people in the US. (If anyone reading this hasn’t already started their garden, now’s the time.)
More importantly, your portraits are a way of capturing the way you feel about dogs, how you see them through your eyes, as only you can. It’s especially important because this may be the last generation when ordinary people can afford to keep large carnivorous pets (cheap dog food will disappear along with cheap oil and the corn subsidy). Someday, a child will look at the family heirloom framed on their wall and she’ll see, through your eyes, an animal that she may never have the chance to see in the real world.
In other words, you’re acting as a witness. That’s the primary job of artists, isn’t it? Someday in the future it may not pay the bills, but for right now, you should paint as much as you can. We all should.
Your two comments above had me thinking, and sort of imagining this new world, and an artist’s place in it. And leading up to it, too. The function of witness, or mirror, is important for some artists. Most of my commercial work is more about comfort and joy than otherwise, but that’s an evolving thing even now.
Thanks for sharing all these thoughts on this, Jonni.
As for the pot irrigation, I do want to try this, come spring. Our water table is pretty high, here. I wonder if much water will need to be added. It will be interesting to compare your results and ours.
The view of your new town looks like a dream, and the thought of being able to sustain yourself from the land sounds wonderful too. I hope to some day have as much crourage and vision as you to be able to move to somewhere so calm and beautiful.
I believe that we are at a turning point in our society. Things are going to change, they have to if things are going to get better. I just don’t know what our role will be in this new economy.
Before you sell your home think about how much you are going to be able to get for it in this market. You yourself said that prices keep dropping. Will you be able to make enough to over the cost of your new place?
Thanks Edna. It does look beautiful, doesn’t it? But, sigh, after reading long into the night I discovered that I’d changed my mind. The author explained why so many of us dream about making the move, but so few of us actually do it – it’s simply because it doesn’t make the most economic sense right now. I’ll be updating my post to reflect what I learned last night – after I’ve had time to digest it for a while.
Finding our new role in whatever may come has got to be our most urgent priority – I have some ideas along that line, too, and I’ll share some of them later today.
Hey, I was initiated into the Druids in the redwoods of northern California! Your author and I are fellow Druids! (I was promised a ride on a billy goat, but it turned out to be a joke on initiates. I was SO disappointed!) I have a feeling this guy takes the whole thing a lot more classically druidic than the small town social club (average age; 67) I joined.
Anyway, I’ve bookmarked his blog to see what he’s on about. From the reviews on Amazon, it should be an informative, if not fun, read. Don’t let his vision kill your dreams, though! Your dream might be stronger than his.
I’m up to page 206, and so far Druids have been mentioned only in passing. Sorry about the goat thing… I intend to go check out his blog as soon as I’m done with the book.
As far as the dream thing, I’m finding that his reasoning makes total sense, and that it might make things both easier and more interesting. In other words, there may be a better way, and I’m open to that. I’m reading the book with the specific intention of finding out where we, as artists, might fit into the changing paradigm, and I’m finding lots to think about. I hope more people read it so we can have a nice lively discussion. I will write up some of what I’m learning as an edit to the post – perhaps later today.
But right now I’m going to let my brain relax by working on my rhino
.
You’re making me curious, with your vague references to “things” that might be “easier and more interesting” his way.
I was talking to H about the artists’ community discussion, and his response was (yes, he’s an artist) that it couldn’t work (I’m paraphrasing) because, well, you know, *artists*! His suggestion was to have a sponsor, a patron, basically, but historically that has been a tough one to balance. Not to mention finding anyone rich enough and crazy enough to support a bunch of artists and their families!
Finding a practical way to use our artistic skills and talents is a worthy goal. They did incorporate artists in interesting ways in the Works Projects of the great depression. Might have to look back at some of that.
Somehow I can’t imagine the current Congress handing out money for artists to paint nice murals — although, of course, I think they should. Maybe some of the corn subsidy could be diverted…
I edited my post. This book is really getting some ideas churning, but I can’t write them all down. Read the book – tell me what you think.
I probably should give an idea for the type of ideas I’m talking about in my edited post. When I read Off the Grid, by Nick Rosen, the most interesting chapter (to me) was about a Mennonite farm/workplace that was completely powered by machines that contained no internal combustion engines. It was amazing what they could accomplish with very sophisticated machinery that was totally independent of the power grid or the local gas station.
If someone tried to make and sell the same machines on a large scale today they would probably go broke, because oil and gas aren’t expensive enough yet. However, is someone built a small craft business making toys based on the same mechanical principals, they might make a few bucks now and keep the technology alive. Then, the knowledge would be available down the road when the society as a whole really needs it. That could be next year, or next century.
Ah, the community discussion!
I can’t seem to put down roots here in the PNW. I lived in Oregon for a few years, but even in my 20s, the weather was just too depressing for me. I surely understand your attachment to family, and to your valley, but if you ever get tired of winter, look me up in the sunshine! (Once I get there, that is!)
Xan, I live on the dry side of Oregon. But it is quite dark today, I must admit. The islands do sound nice, though – I may be moving next door to you someday down the road – you never can tell, By the way – some people are predicting that real estate has not yet hit bottom – you might want to hurry up your timetable just a bit.
Oh, I DO want to hurry up my time-table, a LOT! But, there are lots of considerations, so we’ll just be working towards the goal for awhile.
Meanwhile, it’s actually sunny between the clouds here, and a balmy almost-50′, so I should shut up and enjoy it!
Do what you feel its close to your heart. My only concern: are you going to have Internet in this new bucolic place?
Yes, I would never move somewhere if I couldn’t stay hooked up to the Web. I make my living on the internet, after all…
Jonni, I have fantasized about this idea for a very long time, but for me I think it is just fantasy, it sounds wonderful and ideal, good luck and being an natural Oregonian it really caught my attention (didn’t know you were in Oregon), I’m not sure where Cove is but I know I’ve heard of it. I have followed your blog for a few months and enjoy it very much, your sculptures are beautiful. Good luck in your endeavor and I’ll be watching your progress.
Janis
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.
I’m starting to think that artists will soon need to convert much of their creative energy into designing things that local people can actually use – if the economy continues to contract, we may be more in need of artisans than artists. I don’t see that as a problem, but as a wonderful creative challenge. I’ve always been fascinated by the energy that comes when people come together with their ideas, and brainstorm and share – much like we do here on this blog, but perhaps with a beer in hand. If we put that dynamic energy into designing new products for a local economy, wouldn’t that be exciting? Of course, there are organizations dedicated to helping that happen…
Yes!!! I thought I was the only one thinking this! I agree with you, I feel a change coming but don’t know how I will fit into this brave new world. I’ve always had a need to make useful art and have worked in almost every medium possible. OK… I won’t get into that but thanks for the info about organizations working on this, I will start researching this for myself.
Be sure to let us know what you find out!. (I’m in the middle of reading The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak World but I haven’t reached the practical part yet. So far it’s a very good read.)
Follow your dream…with the money from the sale of your house to purchase another structure (don’t be straddled with a mortgage – of course, you would buy within your means) . If your health is good then preparing a new garden would be a joy…new plans, etc. From what I’ve read above, you don’t get too attached to some things, so change would be easy for you. Wish I had the courage to do this – I will support you from a distance but be there in my Heart.
Then, Jonni I can humbly say that you have the soul of a Teacher, a Master. Someone without inhibitions who carries her Temple within. Your craftsmanship and true concern of preserving this precious form of Art fulfills your resourcefulness. Your words are the kind of sources I always look to bring to my classroom. ” the making of them that’s exciting, not the possession of them afterward “.
Thank you.
I would reconsider the idea. Unless financially is absolutely unavoidable, do not sell your “HOME”. You just mentioned already missing your newly created garden. Nostalgia might be good for inspiration, at least for a while. Yet, those thoughts will never become that warm temple which have been shaped almost to perfection by your most treasured feelings. And that’s “HOME”. You have given it its form. It is a process that takes time, and care. Attachment is one of an artist worst habits, but also his/her best indicators that cares for each piece of art. Your “Home” is your best creation.
Talent and Heart are virtues obviously strong in you. Your temple nurture them to bring the best out of you.
William, your comments are well worth considering. However, I don’t seem to feel the same way about houses that many people do. I do have a very strong attachment to “place,” such as this valley I live in. But the house itself doesn’t have a strong hold on me, and a new garden is easy to build.
I think about houses and gardens the same way I think about my sculptures – it’s the making of them that’s exciting, not the possession of them afterward.
Go for it! Where i live in No. VA – outside Washington DC, $70,ooo is not even a possibility. That would be a kitchen and bathroom renovation. So considering all the positives it sounds like a win-win situation. Good luck selling.
BTW I am working on an elephant bust and a black swan who are keeping each other company on my kitchen table.
Will send pix.
Barbara Kaplowitz
Thanks for the encouragement, Barbara. And I can’t wait to see that elephant and swan -