Breathe Owl Breathe Concert: A Benefit

Friday, November 8, 2013, 7:00pm
East Jordan Civic Center / 201 Main Street in East Jordan

Join independent musicians Breathe Owl Breathe at their hometown of East Jordan for a special concert to benefit ISLAND, as well as Bluestem Farm's subsidized Help Others Eat Well fund. For more information, contactmary@artmeetsearth.org or call 231-622-5252.

$10 donation. Sponsored by Breathe Owl Breathe, ISLAND, and Bluestem Farm.

Buy tickets in advance here, or at the door.

Central Lake School Garden Open House

Friday, November 1st from 4 - 5:30 pm
Room 1 and 2, Central Lake Elementary School
8190 W State St  Central Lake

Join the Central Lake student gardeners as they share photos of their four-season garden in action, treats they've grown and prepared, vegetable artwork, and kid-friendly planting techniques. Weather-permitting, there will be tours of the garden. This garden represents an amazing partnership of schoolchildren, a non-profit, a federal agency, a school system, and community volunteers.

Sponsored by ISLAND and the Central Lake School system. For more information or to learn how to get involved with the school garden, contact Mary at mary@artmeetsearth.org or call 231-622-5252. 

Fall Harvest Gathering

Saturday, October 26^th from 1:00-3:00 PM
at Maple Bay Farm, located 3 miles south of Elk Rapids on US 31

What's growing at Maple Bay Farm? Pumpkins for one, along with a new program for beginning farmers!

ISLAND and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy have partnered to create a farmer residency program at Maple Bay Farm. Like an informal version of a medical residency, this farmer residency program fills the gap between entry-level farm internship experience and farm ownership, creating opportunities for young farmers to gain the technical, managerial, and practical experience necessary to operate and own an independent farm.

Joining us to celebrate will be musical guests Angelo Meli and Dave Eichenroth. While you’re there, take an optional hike down to the beach, get nature-themed pumpkin stencils to go with your very own Maple Bay pumpkin, enjoy soup, apple cider, and donuts, and take a look at ISLAND’s new kitchen on wheels, Preservation Station. GTRLC and ISLAND staff will be on hand to answer questions and help you pick your pumpkin. The hike is 1.5-2.0 miles long, traversing a gravel road through agricultural fields down a forested bluff trail out to the beach. If you are planning to hike, please dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes, and bring water.

Sponsored by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and ISLAND. Call 231-929-7911 with questions. To RSVP, click http://bit.ly/1gXn4I2. Directions and property information at: http://www.gtrlc.org/preserve/maple-bay-farm-house-management-summary/

Call for Applications: ISLAND’s Farmer Residency at Maple Bay Farm

DEADLINE for the 2014 growing season: December 2, 2013 

Are you ready to start your own farm, but don't have access to land?

We’re looking for self-driven, independent farmers that need some assistance with the initial stages of starting a farm business: land and capital access, exploring markets, honing business skills. 

ISLAND’s Farmer Residency program is a farm incubator project located at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s Maple Bay Farm. Like traditional business incubators, farm incubator projects aim to help new and beginning farm entrepreneurs establish their own successful businesses by providing specific resources and services that are difficult for start-up entrepreneurs to access on their own. The goal of the Farmer Residency program is to minimize the barriers to entry for aspiring and beginning farmers.

For full program details and online application, please visit www.artmeetsearth.org.

Join us for a Q&A session and farm tour at Maple Bay Farm on Saturday, October 26 at 10am. Please RSVP to Marty Heller at marty@artmeetsearth.org or (231) 622-5252.

If you have questions about the program, application process, or the appropriateness of your farm business idea, please don’t hesitate to contact Marty Heller, ISLAND farmer residency program manager, at marty@artmeetsearth.org or at (231) 622-5252. We’re happy to help you with the application process. 

Make Food Preservation a Party

Host a food preservation party before the season is over! You invite your friends—we provide the expertise and support staff for an instructional canning party at your home. We provide all the equipment and materials, including canning jars, lids and rings. We can use produce that you've purchased or what you've grown on site! ISLAND staff will guide you in getting the right amount and can connect you to a local farmer with fresh and occasionally organic produce if you need.  

Choose from:
Applesauce Party (5 hours - $320)
Fermentation Party (kimchi or sauerkraut - 2 hours - $250)

Please contact Jen at jen@artmeetsearth.org or (231) 622-5252 two or more weeks ahead of time with your top 3 choices of date/time and what produce you'd like to put away. 

Hill House Infographic

Fiscal Year 2013 Report

ISLAND is eight! I'm proud of the programs and partnerships that you've helped us produce over the last eight years. Looking back to fiscal year 2012-13 (which ended June 30th of this year) we are beginning to see our roots grow deeper and our many branches stronger. OurFiscal Year 2013 Report highlights our wide range of programs and illustrates how ISLAND staff make use of the funds you generously give each year.

Read on, enjoy, and THANK YOU!

Amanda Kik, Co-Director

ISLAND Supports Parent Artists

For many parents, the financial, emotional, and logistical demands of raising a family make attending a traditional artist/writer residency program impossible. —Sustainable Arts Foundation

The ISLAND Hill House Residency Program has been awarded a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation to support parent artists. Parent artists who are accepted to the program can bring up to three children and/or caregivers while in residence at the Hill House. For more information contact Yvonne at 231-622-5252 oryvonne@artmeetsearth.org.

The upcoming deadline is October 1st for residencies from December 2013-May 2014.

The Hill House supports emerging musicians, writers at all stages of their career, and non-studio artists.

Host your own canning party!

Preservation Station is an enclosed trailer that unpacks into a high-efficiency, three-season food preservation kitchen and workshop space. This lightweight trailer can be pulled onto any of hundreds of small farms and backyards at the peak of produce ripeness.

Farmers: Are you swimming in tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, beets, peaches? Invite your customers to your farm for a day of canning, and sell that extra crop.

Gardeners: Swap your bounty with your friends! Invite them over for a canning party.

Community gardeners: Wrap up the season at your community garden by harvesting and preserving your hard work and taste the satisfaction in the winter months. Share jars with fellow plot owners and get a variety for your shelf! Great end-of-year party!

Beginners: Get specific instructions and connect with other canners to get started on your journey to eat local food all year. Learn the latest canning techniques for safe food preservation.

Experts: Help pass on the art of canning to others that are ready to try!

Partiers: Consider hiring the trailer for your next event: birthdays, foodie fun, ladies’ night, or block party!

Interested in hosting your own food preservation party? Contact Jen Schaap at (231) 622-5252 or jen@artmeetsearth.org.

Now booking for fall harvest 2013 and summer 2014!

Matching Funds for Breathe Owl Breathe

At the close of their recent West Coast tour, the touring van of local band Breathe Owl Breathe were stolen. The van was full of a wide collection of rare and unique instruments.

Last week,  Bluestem Farm hosted a magical evening of music, food and silent films to help raise funds so that the Owls could replace their music gear. They have estimated that over $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen.

Just before the concert, the Begonia Charitable Foundation generously stepped forward to offer a $5,000 matching grant. If we can raise $5,000, the Begonia Charitable Foundation will match it with another $5,000. Please consider adding your support—your dollars will be doubled! All of the money raised goes directly to Breathe Owl Breathe to replace their equipment.

You may support the band directly at: http://breatheowlbreathe.com

Dedicated time and space to create new work: The ISLAND Hill House Residency Program

Application deadline is October 1, 2013 for residencies that run from December 2013 through May 2014.

For full details, visit http://artmeetsearth.org/artistresidency.html

The Hill House Artist Residency supports talented emerging songwriters, writers at all stages of their career and non-studio artists with a two, three or four week stay in a semi-secluded log cabin near East Jordan, Michigan.

It includes a well stocked kitchen, a selection of instruments and some basic recording gear, as well as opportunities for community exchange through performance, readings and workshops (only at your request, of course). The emerging musician residency also offers a small stipend to aid in your professional development.

Previous Residents

"The depth and yield of my days at Hill House stagger me. Hill House is where I finished the rough draft of a novel and where I printed and read through the manuscript for the first time. Each day at the residency was dense with thought and creation.

Journals from my two weeks at Hill House contain obsessive notes about my own novel-in-progress, dissections of the half dozen books I read while there, descriptions of walks in the woods and of Michigan’s tumultuous spring weather, recollections of meals I cooked, and memories and ideas I reflected upon. Each day, I discovered anew the rich current of work that flows from dedicated space and time."  —Ingrid Norton, writer

"...I reflected that the experience was as if we were painters who had canvas and brushes at home. We even had most of the paint that we needed. Only no red. And no yellow.

Melissa and I work hard. We often work nonstop for extended periods of time. We have agreed that it is valuable to practice balance and our nightly music making is part of how we found we can best do that. We have the tools we need to create. We have many of the elements that we need to create. We were struggling with space and time.  ISLAND and the Hill House gave us these, our red and our yellow."  —Marcus Sigh, musician

Selection Criteria

Applications will be juried by a rotating panel selected by ISLAND. Residency awards are merit driven, based primarily on the quality of your existing work, using the following criteria, in order of priority:

• the creativity and integrity of the work
• the strength of the artist’s statement and the perceived fit with the Hill House residency
• the availability of the artist in the dates still open for residents

Never applied to a residency before? Find an excellent overview at the Alliance of Artists Communities website.

How to Apply

Read further and apply online at http://artmeetsearth.org/artistresidency.html.

We are happy to help you with this process! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Yvonne Stephens (231) 622-5252 or yvonne@artmeetsearth‌.org.

ISLAND is a proud member of the Alliance of Artists Communities.

Special thanks to the Begonia Charitable Foundation for their support of the Hill House.

Breathe Owl Breathe Fundraiser and Barn Movie

At the close of their recent West Coast tour, the instruments and touring van of local bandBreathe Owl Breathe were stolen. This Labor Day Weekend, join with fans and a small farm to help raise funds to replace the items with a magical evening of new music, old movies, and barnyard noises. 

We kick off the night with an optional walking tour of Bluestem Farm, then settle in for two sets of music from Breathe Owl Breathe’s new album Passage of Pegasus, interspersed with silent movie classics from the golden age of the silver screen.

In case of rain, we’ll move the event inside the big barn. Please bring a chair or blanket to sit on, a flashlight to find your way back to your car, and wear comfortable shoes you wouldn’t mind getting dirty. Event parking is on the north side of M-32, on Adams Road. No dogs or alcohol, please. 

This event is sponsored by ISLAND, Breathe Owl Breathe, and Bluestem Farm. Donations for the band are gratefully accepted, and farm food (including goat kebabs) will be available for separate purchase. 

You can also support the band directly at: http://breatheowlbreathe.com/

September 1, 2013

7:00 – 8:30 Farm tour and goat kebabs
8:30 – 9:00 Breathe Owl Breathe
9:00 – 9:30 Charlie Chaplin in The Pawnshop
9:30 – 10:00 Breathe Owl Breathe
10:30 – 11:00 La voyage dans la lune (1902)

For more information, contact Mary at mary@artmeetsearth.org or call 231-622-5252.

Farm to Frame: Good Food, Good Neighbors

Showcasing the beauty of small farms and local food through three different categories: from the farm, from the market, from the table

Call to artists: All photographs must have been taken in Emmet or Charlevoix Counties and must not have been previously exhibited at Crooked Tree Arts Center. Jury selected photographs will hang in an exhibition at Crooked Tree Arts Center in the Atrium Gallery; cash and prizes will be awarded to all winning entrants. Top photos may be featured in Edible Grande Traverse and at Palette Bistro. Submit work online at www.crookedtree.org. 

Deadline: September 12, 2013.

For more information call (231) 622-5252 or jen@artmeetsearth.org.

Awards reception October 22, 5pm to 7pm at Crooked Tree Arts Center

Exhibition October 22 to December 16 at Crooked Tree Arts Center

Traveling exhibit at the Charlevoix Library in January 2014
 

---

Many thanks to our sponsors:

Beards Brewery
Bill’s Farm Market
Bluestem Farm
Boyne City Farmers Market
Coveyou Scenic Farm
Crooked Tree Breadworks
Farming For Our Future’s Petoskey Community Victory Garden
Freshwater Gallery
Fustini’s
Harbor Springs Farmers Market
Julienne Tomatoes
Mackinaw Trail Winery
Maple Moon Family Sugary
Pond Hill Farm
Toski Sands
Two-Acre Farm

Introducing: Preservation Station

Preservation Station is an enclosed trailer that unpacks into a high-efficiency, three-season food preservation kitchen and workshop space. This lightweight trailer can be pulled onto any of hundreds of small farms and backyards at the peak of produce ripeness. Help us break in Preservation Station and join us for an upcoming food preservation party!

Come learn about canning or fermenting; or if you know how, come join in the fun. Veggies, canning jars and lids will be provided. Each participant will prepare food hands-on, and take home a share of the jars at the end of the workshop. Events are tentative and dates subject to change based on the season. Pre-registration required. For more information contact Jen Schaap at (231) 622-5252 or jen@artmeetsearth.org.

Pickles and Dilly Beans
Thursday, August 29 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
at Birch Point Farm, 7506 E Birch Point Rd, Traverse City
$35-$45 sliding scale

Tomato Canning
Sunday, September 8 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
at Wells Family Farm, 9490 Elk Lake Rd, Williamsburg
$35-$45 sliding scale

Fermented Cucumber Pickles
Tuesday, September 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
at Bluestem Farm, 4218 M 32 (at Adams Road), East Jordan
$25-$35 sliding scale

Kimchi
Tuesday, October 8 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
at Bluestem Farm, 4218 M 32 (at Adams Road), East Jordan
$25-$35 sliding scale

Host your own canning party!

Farmers: Are you swimming in tomatoes? Invite your customers to your farm for a day of canning, and market your abundant produce.

Gardeners: Share your bounty with your friends! Invite them over for a canning party.

Community gardeners: Wrap up the season at your community garden by harvesting and preserving your hard work and taste the satisfaction (wow) in the winter months. Share jars with fellow plot owners and get a variety for your shelf! Great end-of-year party!

Beginners: Get specific instructions and connect with other canners to get started on your journey to eat local food all year.

Experts: Help pass on the art of canning to others that are ready to try!

Partiers: Consider hiring the trailer for your next event: birthdays, foodie fun, ladies’ night, or block party!

Interested in hosting your own food preservation party? Contact Jen Schaap at (231) 622-5252 or jen@artmeetsearth.org.

Building Cisterns

Cistern Building Techniques: Introductory Talk
Thursday, August 8 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 
at the Bellaire Community Hall, 202 N. Bridge St., Bellaire

Experienced cistern builder Keith Johnson will give an introductory talk about the cistern building technique that will be used during the weekend's workshop. Workshop participants are strongly encouraged to attend this talk, and the event is open to the public. Please RSVP to Jen Schaap at 231-622-5252 or email jen@artmeetsearth.org

Cistern Building Workshop
Friday through Sunday, August 9 - 11 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm 
at the Kiks' residence-to-be, 2550 Orchard Hill Rd, Bellaire

Learn how to construct a ferrocement cistern while helping to build one at the future residence of Brad and Amanda Kik. Experienced cistern builder Keith Johnson will lead this hands-on building workshop. The cistern will be 10,000 gallons in size, or 16' diameter by about 7' high. The building technique can work for tanks large and small. We need 6-10 hard workers to help construct and finish the cistern. Please note this workshop takes place over the course of 3 days. There is no cost to attend, though donations of and for food are appreciated. We'll make sure you are well-fed throughout the weekend. For more information and to RSVP, call 231-622-5252 or email jen@artmeetsearth.org

Permaculture Design Principles for
Home & Landscapes
Saturday, August 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
at the Bellaire Community Hall, 202 N. Bridge St., Bellaire

Keith Johnson of Permaculture Activist Magazine will give a talk and slideshow walking-tour of his home. Keith will illustrate many permaculture design principles, and will certainly inspire anyone looking to incorporate permaculture design into their own homes and landscapes. Free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Jen Schaap at 231-622-5252 or emailjen@artmeetsearth.org

Your vote counts. Name the food preservation trailer!

The food preservation trailer is an enclosed trailer that unpacks into a high-efficiency, three-season food preservation kitchen and workshop space. This lightweight trailer that can be pulled onto any of hundreds of small farms and backyards at the peak of produce ripeness.

Thanks to the Oryana Community Grant that ISLAND was awarded in April, we have been working to customize a cargo trailer with stainless steel counters to create an efficient workspace.

The finalists:

• PreserveBot 3000
• Kitchin’ Camaro
• Preservation Station
• Curbside Cannery
• The Pickling Station
• Kitchen on a Hitch

What should we name it? Vote on your favorite name by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/trailer_name_vote.

Deadline: August 2, 5pm ET. Thank you for participating!

Live at the Hill House: Sean McConnell

Sunday, July 28 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm 
at The Hill House, 1610 Autumn Lane, Mancelona, MI

Join us for an intimate house concert with musician in residence, Sean McConnell. Wine, beer and light appetizers will be provided.

Sean was born into a family of full-time musicians. Growing up in the coffee houses of the Boston folk scene, Sean watched his parents playing songs written by Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, David Wilcox, Shawn Colvin, Harry Chapin, CSNY, James Taylor and others of the like. Unknown to him or his parents, Sean was soaking it all in and locking it away somewhere inside. Unaware of it, Sean was enrolled in the most important class of his career.

Now in Nashville, Tennessee, Sean divides his time between writing and touring.

Sean says, “At the risk of sounding like a hippie on a soapbox, music is still powerful and holy and sacred to me. You can turn it into a product and a business, but you can’t start it that way. To me the genesis of a song has to be honest and unassuming... When I write songs, I like to focus on the fact that we are all the same and we are all just searching for answers and trying to make sense of everything. It's about exploring life and celebrating truth when you find it.”

Preview Sean's music here: http://coldcountry.bandcamp.com/
and here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sean-McConnell/82718640343

The ISLAND Hill House Artist Residency Program supports talented emerging songwriters, writers at all stages of their career and non-studio artists with time and space to create new work. Learn more at www.artmeetsearth.org.

Free. Space is limited, so please RSVP if you would like to attend.

For more information call (231) 622-5252 or email yvonne@artmeetsearth.org

ISLAND’s Summer “A Place of Art and Farming” Challenge

We're almost there! Help us meet our goal!
ISLAND’s Summer “A Place of Art and Farming” Challenge

A generous donor has offered to triple your contribution if you give before July 31st.

Food, farming and art are at the heart of great community. Help ISLAND raise  $15,000 to invest in the small places where we all live.

First, your contribution supports the brand new Farmer Residency Program. This is a prototype farmer incubation program, currently hosted by the Maple Bay Farm. Similar to a medical residency, the Farmer Residency helps to close the gap between basic farmer training and full farm management. Graduates of the program will gain the agricultural experience they need to tackle farming as a lifelong career. ISLAND is honored to be working alongside the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and a host of other food and farming organizations who share our passion for seeing this sorely needed program take permanent roots in the region.

Second, your contribution invests in the Food Preservation Trailer, a mobile three-season educational canning kitchen on wheels. Currently under construction, the trailer will allow for up to a dozen people to gather on local farms at the peak of produce ripeness, to learn, upgrade their skills, hang out and turn food preservation from seasonal drudgery to a party. Plus, this trailer connects the dots between putting food by and our local farm economy, adding more value and resilience to our small places.

Finally, your contribution supports the Hill House Artist Residency, supporting the time and space for gifted musicians, writers and artists to create new work. Now in its fourth year, the Hill House hosts artists from as far away as Hong Kong and Paris, as well as a regular stream of some of our best Michigan talent. The Hill House connects the ecology of our local community to the power of artmaking. 

Your dollars make all of this happen. Will you meet the challenge, triple your gift and join our generous donor? Help support sustainable agriculture, the arts and ecology in these great places we call home. 

Three easy ways to give:

• Donate online at www.artmeetsearth.org.
• Become a sustaining member! Sign up for a subscription contribution to automatically donate every month. Online at www.artmeetsearth.org.
• Send your check to: ISLAND at 5870 Cottage Drive, Bellaire, MI 49615

PS: There are only a few short weeks before our July 31 deadline. Your gift will be
matched two to one. Please give today!

Name the food preservation trailer!

The food preservation trailer is an enclosed trailer that unpacks into a high-efficiency, three-season food preservation kitchen and workshop space. This lightweight trailer that can be pulled onto any of hundreds of small farms and backyards at the peak of produce ripeness.

Thanks to the Oryana Community Grant that ISLAND was awarded in April, we have been working to customize a cargo trailer with stainless steel counters to create an efficient workspace.

What should we name it? Post your ideas on our Facebook page or send your ideas to Amanda Kik at amanda@artmeetsearth.org. The winning name and three runners-up win a free ISLAND t-shirt!



ISLAND staff and board are part of this community brainstorming process, and will ultimately decide on the final name of the trailer. Deadline: July 12. Thank you for participating!

ISLAND’s Summer “A Place of Art and Farming” Challenge

A generous donor has offered to triple your contributionif you give before July 31st.

Food, farming and art are at the heart of great community. Help ISLAND raise  $15,000 to invest in the small places where we all live.

First, your contribution supports the brand new Farmer Residency Program. This is a prototype farmer incubation program, currently hosted by the Maple Bay Farm. Similar to a medical residency, the Farmer Residency helps to close the gap between basic farmer training and full farm management. Graduates of the program will gain the agricultural experience they need to tackle farming as a lifelong career. ISLAND is honored to be working alongside the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and a host of other food and farming organizations who share our passion for seeing this sorely needed program take permanent roots in the region.

Second, your contribution invests in the Food Preservation Trailer, a mobile three-season educational canning kitchen on wheels. Currently under construction, the trailer will allow for up to a dozen people to gather on local farms at the peak of produce ripeness, to learn, upgrade their skills, hang out and turn food preservation from seasonal drudgery to a party. Plus, this trailer connects the dots between putting food by and our local farm economy, adding more value and resilience to our small places.

Finally, your contribution supports the Hill House Artist Residency, supporting the time and space for gifted musicians, writers and artists to create new work. Now in its fourth year, the Hill House hosts artists from as far away as Hong Kong and Paris, as well as a regular stream of some of our best Michigan talent. The Hill House connects the ecology of our local community to the power of artmaking. 

Your dollars make all of this happen. Will you meet the challenge, triple your gift and join our generous donor? Help support sustainable agriculture, the arts and ecology in these great places we call home. 

Three easy ways to give:

• Donate online at www.artmeetsearth.org.
• Become a sustaining member! Sign up for a subscription contribution to automatically donate every month. Online at www.artmeetsearth.org.
• Send your check to: ISLAND at 5870 Cottage Drive, Bellaire, MI 49615

PS: There are only a few short weeks before our July 31 deadline. Your gift will be
matched two to one. Please give today!