The middle of nowhere is NOW HERE.
RIPPLES
"Take me to the lakes where the poets went to die, I don't belong, and, my beloved neither do you." ~Taylor Swift, The Lake
Romantic and ethereal, bodies of water have always carried emotional, spiritual, and cultural meaning and value.
Rivers of Hope
Dear Lakes and Streams and Oceans and Seas, you are Rivers of Hope.
Many Rivers to Cross
The River
Take me to the River
Jordan
River Jordan
Ol' Man River
Orinoco Flow
Over the River and Through the Woods
Moon River
Cry Me a River
Rivers of Babylon
Shenandoah
Oh, Shenandoah
Rivers of Hope, you’ve been the subject of many lyrics, you enchanted bodies.
You host christenings and baptisms,
you receive strewn remains. You give life.
You are mystical and magical.
One day, I will see my reflection by the light of the silvery moon on the banks of the River Jordan.
Michelle Joy
Still Waters Run Deep...for now.
One morning as I looked into the still lake, the reflection I beheld was the beauty of the heart. The poet Rumi wrote in his Love Is The Water Of Life that the lips, the water of life, and the one whose thirst has been quenched are one. It's a oneness that cannot be known by reasoning. The 13th Century Afghani poet and scholar realized one thing: connectedness.
The morning's cool, crisp breeze was encouragement to walk a victory walk and dream in color. Seeing the sapphires, the teals, the emeralds, and the aquas of the lake; the sages, mauves, and ochres of the forest; the lavenders, the fuchsias, and golden hues of the evening sun was to know that the Divine is always active in everything in the world - in amazing technicolor.
All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadows." ~Leo Tolstoy
All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadows." ~Leo Tolstoy
And, then there is the nearby forest.
A place where life, death, and return to the earth are equally experienced by a feared beast and a harmless, fallen leaf.
The forest is a place where new life can arise from decay.
The forest is a place where new life can arise from decay.
A place where lore and luck lurk.
A place where lore and luck lurk.
And a place where secrets weather season after season.
And a place where secrets weather season after season.
Now Here is in the Middle of Nowhere.
Travel from Atlanta, Georgia to ArtMill Center for Regenerative Arts in rural Czech Republic would be a journey of beauty, and of dreams. Purposely traveling to "The Middle of Nowhere." A place with room to seek and find a new 'now here.' A month-long Artist-In-Residency would create space to regenerate, to retreat after a long-haul of thriving through life's challenges, and to advance toward new expression.
Now here...
Don't think for a moment that the middle of nowhere is exempt from the ripples of the world. One day after arriving to ArtMill...
one more tear in the fabric of humanity sent ripples that are still being felt across the globe. Acts of bias that go against the grain of the fabric that holds us together as human beings.
If you don’t like it, fix it.
I remember reading a quote once that said what inspires genius is not necessarily new ideas, but a person's obsession with the idea that what has already been said is not enough.
That would surely preach, given some of the recent events and the ripples that they have caused and continue to cause.
Millions of humans are being forcibly relocated because of war, civil violence and crime, expulsions, mass returns in forced repatriation and deportation, sometimes to lands that a person has never stepped foot on.
What has already been said about the way that humans are being treated is not enough. Granted, I may only be one person, but there are almost 8 billion other "I am only one persons" that share the planet, all that have their own genius and voice!
Being humane is an art. It takes seeing the beautiful and the phenomenal in the real.
Back to genius. The creative mind is hungry and borders on insatiable. Getting to know the Creative Mind can lock ignorance and confusion in a vise and drive grief and disappointment to run to a better host – a place that will tolerate uninvited guests.
So, to harvest my creative mind, I have been seeking a new pair of eyes capable of seeing bright ideas that give voice to more than what already has been said. Eyes that look for joy in all the right places: in the sunlight, in the rain, in the sky, the sea, in the earth, in my daily doing, in the food I take, in rest, and in the faces of my friends and strangers. In everything.
Everything.
Joy in the sky.
Joy in the sky.
Joy in the light.
Joy in the light.
Joy in the rain.
Joy in the rain.
Joy in my daily doing - walks.
Joy in my daily doing - walks.
Joy in the food I take. Soup, any soup for the soul.
Joy in the food I take. Soup, any soup for the soul.
Joy in the earth because ART is in the middle of earth.
Joy in the earth because ART is in the middle of earth.
Joy in an Earth so giving that a pile of dung can transform into something beautiful.
Joy in an Earth so giving that a pile of dung can transform into something beautiful.
In the Middle of Nowhere, some things are predictable, while others are not.
Count on swings in the weather. A spiderweb that froze on a gate when the outside temperature dipped at night.
Count on the needle moving back to the center. In a short period of time, he frozen lattice melted and became a network of silvery teardrops.
An urgent voice is needed to move scientists, engineers, funders, policymakers, and ordinary people to ACT to reduce the risks of climate change...especially warming.
Count on a bright and full Hunters' Moon.
The Lake
Czech Republic has no natural lakes except for a few small glacial lakes in mountain areas. Some of the man-made ponds and their littoral zones have become wetlands; they look like natural lakes, and some date as far back as 900 years. This lake has a dam that directs water to a nearby stream (Nalžovský potok). In preparation for the carp harvest, the dam is shut, a stepped structure opened, water drained from the lake and diverted to another stream.
Harvest Day is anxiously awaited by neighbors and nearby townspeople because it is inextricably linked to a Czech cultural artifact: the fish become the main course of Christmas Eve dinner.
In preparation for the harvest, the dam is shut and water diverted.
In preparation for the harvest, the dam is shut and water diverted.
When the structure was first opened, the first 'drain' resembled the eye of a hurricane or black hole.
When the structure was first opened, the first 'drain' resembled the eye of a hurricane or black hole.
Lake levels declined at a more rapid pace with the opening of a second 'drain'.
Lake levels declined at a more rapid pace with the opening of a second 'drain'.
Ripples and Relocation
The 'thing' about relocating living beings for conservation or consumption, is, there will always be consequences - intended or unintended. Reduce a lake's levels drastically by diverting water elsewhere, and you can count on the amount of dissolved oxygen decreasing. The fish will literally jump out of the water in search of air, causing...
Ripples.
Humans are no different; forced migration, expulsions, encampment, enslavement, gentrification, stressed resources caused by wars, poverty, civil conflicts, and natural disasters invariably create ripples that cause populations to look for breathers, for relief.
For air.
Relocation
Hungry for air.
Small fry fish become visible during the drawdown. They are strong in numbers and can evade the traps.
RIPPLES
As Harvest Day approached, a trap and lone net were placed in the still water. The calm was only on the surface; the water was dotted with ripples caused by fish being affected by the lack of oxygen and lower lake levels.
Harvest Day
The Harvest
Fishermen form a circle beginning with first net.
Rousing The Catch
One way to relocate a population is to cause a stir where it resides.
One way to relocate a population is to cause a stir where it resides.
Ripples
The water is slapped with poles to excite the carp and drive them into the nets.
The water is slapped with poles to excite the carp and drive them into the nets.
A Line Of Onlookers Forms
Ducks in a row. The entire ecosystem of the lake is affected by the drawdown.
Ducks in a row. The entire ecosystem of the lake is affected by the drawdown.
The landscape undergoes drastic transition in the drawdown leading to Harvest Day. Submerged land is exposed and populations inhabit the space in different formations. These tracks resemble the birds in flight.
The landscape undergoes drastic transition in the drawdown leading to Harvest Day. Submerged land is exposed and populations inhabit the space in different formations. These tracks resemble the birds in flight.
Operation In Full Swing
The carp are directed into one large net, preparing to be placed on a conveyor to the truck that will transport the catch.
The carp are directed into one large net, preparing to be placed on a conveyor to the truck that will transport the catch.
The harvest is a production process.
The harvest is a production process.
The catch is sorted and conveyed to water-filled compartments on trucks that deliver the fish to market. The fish are kept alive until just before Christmas Eve.
The catch is sorted and conveyed to water-filled compartments on trucks that deliver the fish to market. The fish are kept alive until just before Christmas Eve.
Carp Diem
Now here...
The carp become the main course in traditional Czech holiday fare when it is paired with potato salad. Fish scales are saved and placed into wallets and carried around until the next harvest. The scales are believed to bring good fortune.
The carp become the main course in traditional Czech holiday fare when it is paired with potato salad. Fish scales are saved and placed into wallets and carried around until the next harvest. The scales are believed to bring good fortune.
And in the nearby stream, though relocated, there are survivors.
May the scales of the carp bring prosperity and good health.
There are roads out of the secret places within us along which we all must move as we go to touch others.
Thank you ArtMill.
ArtMill Center for Regenerative Art, lies in the heart of Central Europe, in Czech Republic in the Bohemian countryside. It is shifting the paradigm from sustainability to regeneration.
ArtMill Center for Regenerative Art, lies in the heart of Central Europe, in Czech Republic in the Bohemian countryside. It is shifting the paradigm from sustainability to regeneration.
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