Hill House Artist and Alum News

Every time we turn around, it’s time to update y’all on the Hill House artists. They come and go as swiftly and peacefully as a summer breeze, and before we know it they’ve moved on from the Hill House, back to their daily lives miles, mountains, and states away from Northern Michigan. We’re glad they come for a bit though, and we’re happy to keep you in the loop of who’s around, who’s been through, and who’s just around the riverbend. Let’s get to it.

CURRENT + FUTURE ARTIST NEWS

Leekyung (Lee) Kang comes to the Hill House from Providence, Rhode Island where she is currently working on her MFA at Rhode Island School of Design. Kang’s work deals with architectural elements to transfer our surrounds to the veiwer through installation and site-specific art. She has participated in several residencies throughout the US and South Korea. We’re excited to see what she thinks of the Hill House!

This month, we also welcomed Mimi Lipson, a writer coming here from Massachusetts. Mimi has deep family ties in Michigan, we wish her a sense of connection with the water, trees, and open skies of East Jordan. Mimi currently has a story collection, THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING, out with Yeti publishing. Her memoir is forthcoming from Bloomsbury, USA.

PAST ARTIST NEWS

Hill House alum Moheb Soliman was back in Northern Michigan to help install poetry signs throughout the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore parks. What an awesome initiative, as part of the Great Lakes Parks Centennial Poetry project. Last time we saw Moheb was this past fall when he did an installation and reading at Blackbird Arts. Come back again soon, Moheb, and keep up the stellar work!

Musician, writer, and organizer, Erik Jarvis and his band The Plain Mosaic have an upcoming album. Plus, along with his partner and bandmate Katie, his other band Pink Neighbor recently released their debut EP. Keep on rockin’ and staying busy, Erik - we’re loving the new tunes, so dance-able.

Alum Sean McConnell is on tour in Texas and Oklahoma to support his brand new record. Get your tickets here. AND! Check out his new video for “Holy Days.” 

Charming Disaster, Alums Elia Bisker and Jeff Morris have been nominated by PULSE for Best Music Artist. Get on over there and vote! Go, CD, go!

AND, OF COURSE...

Keep an eye out for news about our next Artist After Hours. These networking evenings are open-schedule, fun events with snacks, drinks, and artists of all genres. Come out, meet your fellow art-lovers, and make some new friends! 

Swappin' Skills: Good for your Soul and your Community.

Today's blog post was written by Crosshatch Co-Director Brad Kik. 

Just yesterday, I learned that the Spivey's Corner Hollerin' Contest was cancelled for 2016. Hollerin' was a way of communicating with neighbors (and sometimes animals) before the telephone. Think Tarzan's yell and you've got it. Ok, some of you kids might need it... feel free to put this on a loop. You can watch some actual hollerin' here.

But now, at least in 2016, there aren't enough holler-ers to make a hollerin' contest work. And without the contest, there may not be enough interest in hollerin' to get new folks to take it up. Folks, we could be seeing the beginning of the end of the holler.

Now, the upcoming Skill Swap isn't specific to romanticized old-timey skills, but I think that what we're doing here is like a cousin to that Hollerin' Contest. Because look, if learning how to do something was only a matter of learning how to do it, then heck, you've got YouTube and some books for that.

Instead, something interesting and important happens when you're at a Skill Swap. It's where you learn how what-you-know intersects and overlaps with what-your-neighbor-knows, and how those things live inside what-your-community-knows. When we start piecing that together, we can start answering bigger questions, like, "how do we feed ourselves while caring for our woods, wildlife and water?" or, "how can we make a living without making life miserable for someone on the other side of the globe?" These are actually very complicated and difficult questions when you set out to answer them yourself, as opposed to when our captains of politics, industry, and entertainment assure us that all answers shall be provided. 

In other words, these kinds of local gatherings—Skill Swaps, Hollerin' Contests, Twilight Tours, roundtables, work bees, group sings, kitchen table problem solving—can be a response to the madness of our national politics. And should be. They are a powerful way to put our hope back in our own hands. 

(Oh, and as a side effect, they are also a whole lot of fun. As a small extra bonus, you actually learn something too.)

The next Skill Swap is this Thursday, July 7, at Earthwork Farm in Lake City. We're keeping registration open until the end of the day today, but if you're reading this on Wednesday, we can probably work something out. If you're reading this on Friday, we'll hope to see you next year. 

And by the way, maybe next year we should figure out how to teach some hollerin'. Drop us a line if you know someone.

Hill House Artist Updates and News

Since the last Hill House Artist and Alum News update we’ve started a new season at the Hill House. There are two seasons at the Hill House, you see, November-May and June-October. And so: we welcome a whole new crop of artists and, wow, we are excited to meet these fine folks. Keep an eye on this page, we have a feeling we’ll be sharing some pretty cool updates as these next few months go by.

FUTURE ARTIST NEWS

To wrap up the last season of the Hill House, Jenny Johnson and Paul Kruse came and went. Lucky us, we got a sneak peek into their trip through some photos they shared on facebook. Looks like they had the northern Michigan experience complete with snakes, kayaking, and—of course—Short’s brewery. We’re glad they had fun.

We were happy to welcome our next artist-in-residence, Emillia Javanica, a dancer, performance artist, and educator from Ann Arbor. Through a grant awarded to Crosshatch from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Emillia was able in bring her husband and son to be with her while in residence at the Hill House. They dove head first into northern Michigan culture by attending the Bass Festival in Mancelona on their drive north.

Next up is Jeremy Bolen, a visual artist, researcher, and educator from Chicago. Here, Art 21 Magazine interviews Jeremy, “Center Field | The Stage of Scientific Reproduction: An Interview with Jeremy Bolen” about his series of work, CERN, that, “measures phenomena invisible to the human eye.” Jeremy’s work combines a passion for science, physics, the unseen and photography. Check it out.

PAST ARTIST NEWS

Former resident and musician, Christine Khandjian, has launched an IndieGoGo project to help fund her participation in Edinburgh Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. Don’t you want to say you helped contribute to the largest arts festival in the world?? Check out Christine’s awesome project, pass it on, and help an artist out, ya heard!

Alum Max Lockwood is featured on Seth Bernard’s latest album, Eggtones for Peace. He’ll be playing bass this Saturday July 2nd, during An Evening with Seth Bernard & Friends—"Eggtones for Peace" Release Concert at the the Ark in Ann Arbor.

Review alert! Claire Chenette, Hill House alum and esteemed oboist, is now a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Recently, she was a part of Legeti Forward, a series of concerts held at the Museum of Modern Art to celebrate composer Gyorgi Legeti. The New York Times called the concerts “exhilarating.” Go, Claire, Go!

Jennifer Crighton started a piece during her residency at the Hill House in January of 2015. There, she wrote an album and created a series of video performances. She debuted some of that work in an exhibition called The Hermitess earlier this month at The New Gallery. “Composed of a film, sound, and sculptural installation, The Hermitess portrays the voice and visage of its central character as she comes to terms with her otherness, searching for a lone and impenetrable place both within and without.” Wish we could have been there to check it out, but so glad to know that the Hill House was the breeding ground for such inspiring work.

Poet Alum Brandi George has been receiving accolades for her book of poems, Gog, released in the fall of 2015. Gog won the Gold Medal in the Florida Book Awards. Golden!

AND OF COURSE…

October is just around the corner, Hatchies. Spread the word that applications for the next season of the Hill House are due October 1st. Time flies, but at the Hill House, we hear it sllooows right down. Come see for yourself!

Micro Loan Recipients and Projects

You may remember a few months ago when we were promoting our Food and Farm Micro Loan program, inviting individuals to apply for a low-interest, 18-month term loan to use on a project that would help elevate the local food system here in northwest lower Michigan. We’re happy to announce that along with Grain Train Natural Foods Markets, we were able to give out three loans to three individuals. Read more about them and their projects below and keep an eye out for mid-project updates!

FARM MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES

Marvin Best, of Best Farm in Ellsworth, runs a vegetable and fruit farm and sells brown eggs from his free-range chickens. Marvin grows sweet corn, melons, and red and yellow watermelons. Many people told Marvin that he wouldn’t be able to grow the melons, but he succeeded!

The loan Marvin was granted will be used to purchase organic fertilizer and install drip irrigation, as well as putting a neighbor plot back into tillage, among other things. He also plans to get some repairs done on his tractor. We are happy to be able to help Marvin out with strengthening his own farm, and therefore bringing more locally produced fruits and vegetables (and eggs!) to this region. Good luck, Marvin!

Bob Struthers, of Grain Train, and Marvin Best, of Best Farm.

HEATING AND COOLING ON THE FARM

Susan Sharp, of Open Sky Organic Farm in Cross Village, along with her husband Sam, hosts an organic CSA and believes that small farming is a way to “provide wholesome food to our community and connect with people in a real and useful way.”

Sharp plans to use the loan, in addition to some grants Open Sky Organic Farm recently been awarded, to get a hoop house heater installed, as well as some coolbot materials to have a cooler area. Open Sky Organic Farm is a growing business and is in need of some heating and cooling for season extension and cold storage. We’re happy to help Susan and Sam with a financial boost to get these projects wrapped up!

Jen Schaap, of Crosshatch, and Susan Sharp, of Open Sky Organic Farm.

SEASON EXTENSION AND A TILLER OF ONE’S OWN

Lukas Hamilton runs Grass Lake Organics, a vegetable and fruit farm specializing in heirloom tomatoes—offering over 55 varieties this year! Grass Lake Organics also plans to sell eggs and hops. Hamilton grew up on an organic, bio-dynamic farm and educational center and he’s passionate about growing food.

The micro-loan Hamilton was awarded will help propel Grass Lake Organics into a higher-functioning farm, bringing more heirloom tomatoes and other veggies to our region. Hamilton plans to buy a tiller after years of renting one, and has drawn up plans to build a cold-storage shelter for season extension. We’re glad that the micro-loan could help with these very necessary and business-building expenses.

Bob Struthers, of Grain Train, and Lukas Hamilton, of Grass Lake Organics, with his family.  

Best of luck to all the micro loan recipients—we can’t wait to hear how the projects turn out!

Guilds and the Power of People

Written by Jen Schaap, Food & Farms Programs Coordinator

I love this food and farming community. Who knew that the ground work that Yvonne Stephens laid six years ago, organizing mushroom-growing and beekeeping workshops through Crosshatch for handfuls of NW Lower Michigan folks, would fruit into hundreds of people gathering in small groups in their communities around farming topics? What started out as a dozen people wanting to stay in touch after learning about a new practice has turned into 30-50+ like-minded folks showing up in one place on a regular basis to find answers and resolutions to sometimes heart-breaking challenges in what we are calling, just like in the old days, Guilds.

Some of these guilds meet-up monthly, with agendas and focused topics of discussion around things like raising northern queens to survive through our hard winters. Other guilds meet with drop spindles and knitting needles at a pub for monthly craft-focused happy hour. Guild meet-ups can even take place on a field trip, like a recent trip to a downstate flour mill to investigate how grain guild-members can grow, process, and market local flour here in our communities up north.

Guilds don’t just talk the talk, though, they walk the walk, too. Kicking off at the end of this month is the third season of Twilight Tours, which originated out of the Small Farm Guild. These tours are for and by farmers to learn from one another and share ideas on the ground. I’m particularly excited about the Workshop/Twilight Tour combo on solar and geothermal energy at Coveyou Scenic Farm, a partnership with Grow Benzie, a sister org we love. Coveyou Scenic Farm was one of the first tours we ever did, and now we’re going back to dive deeper into energy.

And the Petoskey Beekeepers Guild—a guild that squeezed over 50 people into a college classroom this past winter—is partially responsible for bringing almost 2 million bees into the Emmet County area just this spring, which, by late summer will more than double in number! And the good folks in the Fiber Guild are working to plan a Fiber Fair in May of 2017 to bring back a full-loop textile system in northern Michigan. Power to the people!  

The guilds keep evolving, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. I envision a day when we have, what Ontario’s farmer group calls, Mega Days: collective work-bees where farmers travel to different farms over the course of a season and knock out big projects together. Engaged, interested and capable collaborations like this often get more farm projects done than expected. Plus, skills are shared and mutual support goes a long way for mental stamina in an already hard profession. Just ask a guild-member.

The lesson I take from all this is to start where you are. Engage with those around you. Talk through challenges and successes. At the end of the day, guilds are simply people working together, and the more people that get involved the better we’ll be — look at how far we’ve come in 6 short years since the guilds were first getting together. What’s in store for the next 6 years? Join a guild and see.

Twilight Tours are back!

Get our your calendars, Hatchies, it's time to see some farms—up close and personal. This is the third season of Twilight Tours, and every year they get more lovely and more inspiring. We've got a super exciting line-up; June can't come soon enough. 

A function of the small farm guilds, Twilight Tours are farm tours for and by farmers (non-farmers and wanna-be-farmers are welcome to come too!). Check out our Events page for full descriptions and themes of each tour. These tours are FREE and open to the public. Join us! Questions? Contact Jen. 

Hill House Artist Updates and News

Artists are humans, too. And like the rest of us, their summer is suddenly looking really busy. Check out some happenings from a few of the Hill House alums. Tours! Sales! New artwork and old friends. It's basically summer already, humans.

FUTURE ARTIST NEWS

Last week we said goodbye to David Vayo, a big-hearted, super-talented composer from Chicago. Among his many accolades, there have been over four hundred performances and broadcasts of his compositions: in Mexico, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Spain and at Harvard University, Ohio State University and the universities of Wisconsin and Iowa, the International Trumpet Guild festival, the International Trombone Festival, the International Double Reed Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and three World Music Days of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Bam! He composed new music while at the Hill House, cooked himself some decadent meals, and took a leisurely bike ride down Graves Crossing Road.

David’s departure makes room for the arrival of writers-in-collaboration, Jenny Johnson and Paul Kruse. Jenny and Paul hail from Pittsburgh, PA -- we hope they enjoy the newly popped green leaves of spring. May the chipmunks and squirrels inspire writing worthy of the woods.

PAST ARTIST NEWS

Jean Rohe, singer-songwriter extraordinaire, is heading out for a solo tour. Starting in Brooklyn TOMORROW, she’ll then be up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. Check her out if you find yourself in that green, magical part of this earth!

Alum Skye Livingston has spent the last 11 months as an artist-in-residence at Arrowmont. And just like that, she’s on the move and having a studio flash sale on her way out the door. Check it out and score some really good goods!

Lucas Harrison Oswald is doing really great stuff with his band, Shearwater—like playing David Bowie’s Lodger album from start to finish in front of a film crew. Check out this video put out over at AV Club of the Hill House alum’s band! You’re not gonna wanna miss this. And if that wasn’t enough, Shearwater has a European tour scheduled for next month, too.  

Michigan native and Hill House alum, Loren Nosan, has work in a new show called Body Politic. The exhibit is at Academic, a contemporary art gallery in Long Island City, NY, featuring emerging artists and curators. Go, Loren go!

Katie Vota, sculpture and installation artist, has a new website up and running. It’s so pretty you’re gonna wish you could stick your hand right through the screen and touch it. We regret to inform you this is simply not possible. Maybe someday!

Alum Esteban del Valle is working on an exciting piece for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. Enjoy, sweet kiddos!

AND OF COURSE…

June 1st begins the next season of Hill House residencies. Keep an eyeballs open for a newsletter about all the incoming artists. We can wait for you to meet them!

May, You Have My Attention

A blog post by Artist Residency Coordinator, Yvonne Stephens. 

A senior in high school, I distinctly remember asking to leave class, escaping to the restroom, where I sat down, laid my head on the roll of toilet paper, and hung there thinking, "May is mental health month. This is May. Am I depressed? Do I need help? Is this normal? It sure feels normal for me..."

May being named Mental Health Month was an inlet for me, a way for me to start thinking about my relationship with my mental health, how mental wellness or illness impacts our lives, the lives of those we love, the overall health of a person, a community.

Mental illness is common. It affects 1 in 5. I'm a big fan of the movement to talk about it. So let's talk about it. No need to suffer shame. We are all on this spectrum together, of mental health.

Here are some other movements I am a big fan of:

NAMI The National Alliance on Mental illness. They are a tremendous resource... you can start by signing their stigma free pledge.

Mental Health First Aid. Find a training course near you:

Collaboration. Crosshatch is collaborating with North Country Community Mental Health on a series of three events entitled, “May is Mental Health Month: An Evening of Understanding.” The events take place in Bellaire on May 13, Petoskey on May 17, and Cheboygan on May 25.

This dynamic two-hour program will feature poetry and prose readings, and a documentary screening. Local poets and writers Terry Wooten, Gerry Sell, and Ellen Whitehead, and other local poets (myself included) will be reading. These poems and prose aim to capture the life story of individuals who have spent time in or lived their whole lives in institutions. There will also be a screening of the 30-minute documentary, Through Our Eyes, - Living with Asperger's, produced by and with youth with Asperger's. Come and join us for an evening of understanding.

Find out more about the events here. 

Over the past 18 years, my mental health journey has led me to a deeper understanding of the way my brain works and what I need to do to take care of it so I stay stable. Self care is a priority for me now. And so is advocacy. I love my brain, my mind, and I intend to use it to increase understanding about mental health and illness. I hope to see you there.

Download for $1 here.

#XHbenefit

Co-founder Brad Kik designed this rad poster for our 10th Annual Benefit Concert happening on May 7th. Mark your calendars, Hatchies, it's time to have some fun!