The Whole Field • Volume 5 • No. 5 • New Moon • March 18, 2026
Book Cover
Meadow (Kent County, MI, USA)
Battery Townsley (Marin County, CA, USA)
Sculptural staircase (Carnisselande, Netherlands)
Ice crystals (Detroit, MI, USA)
Note from Pre-Publishing Talk
Alex O'Dell • 10,000 Landscapes • Berm Projects • 2026
What’s Worth Investing In? Notes from Crosshatch
by Taylor Reed
Originally published in Oryana's March & April 2026 Fresh Press
Over the last decade, Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology’s microloan program has awarded local food and farming ventures over $160,000 in interest-free loans, with support from key collaborators like Oryana. The program model runs adrift of mainstream financial norms. Listen to voices promoting individualist takes and excessive consumption, and you might hear that those resources could have been better positioned for maximum growth and wealth impact. From that vantage point, maybe the strategy has been a mistake. But from where I stand, I sense a wise investment in broader, yet localized, food systems and the people, places, and creatures they support.
Is that a utopian take? Douglass Rushkoff’s recent essay Borrow a Drill, Save the Worldoffers a tongue-in-cheek warning against small actions that skirt the individualist and consumption-oriented norms I mentioned above. In “if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie” fashion, if you ask for a bit of help, in this case, by asking to borrow your neighbor’s drill, you might soon find yourself trapped. You borrow the drill, and you’re then compelled to invite those neighbors to your cookout. That leads to your kid helping their kid with math. That reshapes social dynamics in the school cafeteria, and before you know it, your simple request grows into a neighborhood-wide equipment-sharing endeavor. Rushkoff’s “trapped” means becoming enmeshed in a network of care, sharing, and support. In fairness, that means obligation too, and human idiosyncrasies. Mutually-binding and mutually-beneficial relationships don’t exist without those frictions.
Beyond the article, some of the comments on the piece stuck with me, too...
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || "How do we begin to see again when our daily lives demand our attention so intensely, no matter where we are?" That question graces the preface of Alex O'Dell's 10,000 Landscapes, and guides the rest of the photos and write-ups contained within. Intriguingly, Brad's 2023 write-up of a similar title, Toward the 10,000 Stories: A Manifesto, speaks to the quandary. Kik takes cues from Gary Snyder, who took cues from a Crow elder, by sharing that a powerful tool for beginning to see again or "restore our connection to the hidden" is simply staying where we are. Further, Kik writes,
If we want to hear more, let’s first learn from those traditions that view the world through a lens of relationship built on qualities like reciprocity, restoration, humility, frugality and care.
Second, Snyder offers this testament to, again, staying where you are — and then getting to work:
To restore the land one must live and work in a place. To work in a place is to work with others. People who work together in a place become a community, and a community, in time, grows a culture. To work on behalf of the wild is to restore culture.
|| 2 || Earlier this winter, we had a ShelterLogic shed collapse in our backyard. We had picked it up used, and I only managed to get it half assembled before the snows. Unsurprisingly, the weather got the best of it, breaking and bending all sorts of joints until the thing resembled a metal skeleton jutting abstractly into the air. I finally got around to disassembling it amidst the thaw before these most recent storms.
I'm left with a question: now what? The closest thing I've found to inspiration is this—using pieces of a damaged frame to create scaffolding for a small solar setup. Ordinarily, that might not capture my interest, but I've been hearing rumblings about plug-in solar and growing legalization. These are straightforward setups that use a microinverter to convert energy supply directly from panels and plug into a standard power outlet, offsetting household electrical usage. Interesting indeed.
The Weft — News and Events
We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!
|| 1 || The Long Memory Project: Farmland. The Alluvion, TC. Opening reception, Friday, April 24th, 5pm-8pm. Find more details and register here. Work will be on display until June 6th. "The Long Memory Project’s (LMP) mission is to cultivate the passing down of our community’s stories. Not just the ones considered worthy enough to make headlines and history books, but the small acts of courage, action, good governance and community building—the songs, poems and stories that help us understand where we came from, who we are, and what we envision for our future—both regionally and beyond."
|| 2 || Crafts and Games at the GT Circuit. Sunday, March 22nd, 1-3pm. Hosted by Fernwood Neighborhood Association and Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology. Bring your own crafts and board games. No glitter please. Donations appreciated, but not required.
|| 3 || The Ship Yard: Grass Napkins and Vertical Limit. Tuesday, April 7th, 5:30-8:30pm at The Alluvion. Ship Yard is a community artist program supporting emerging local musicians. Be among the first to experience our region’s rising talent and support their journey as they set sail as artists! Find more on the evening and featured artists here.
|| 4 || Mushroom Log Inoculation Workshop. Presented by Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology and hosted by Wagbo Farm and Education Center. East Jordan, Saturday, April 18th, 10am-1pm. "Join Robert Kraemer for a hands-on mushroom log workshop. This workshop will answer all your questions regarding the mushroom log process, from when to cut your trees, what species of trees can be used, what tools you need for the job, and finally, how it's done! You will get a chance to do each step of the inoculation process with your own hands. All tools will be provided, and all questions are welcome. Participants will take home confidence to inoculate mushroom logs as a by-product of managing their forests, and will have the opportunity to take home a shiitake log." Find more info and sign up here.
|| 5 || Mark your Calendars and Apply to Speak! The 2026 Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference is coming to downtown Bellaire, Oct. 4th-6th. Theme: "Culture Keepers". Find more details on the theme, and the call for speakers here.
|| 6 || Traditional Cooking Series - A Seven-Week Anishinaabe Foodways Journey with Cam Stott. Blandford Nature Center, Grand Rapids. Sundays, March 22nd-May 17th, 11am-2pm. "Guided by traditional teachings from elders and knowledge keepers, this seven-week series reconnects participants with traditional Anishinaabe foods, preparation methods, and the cultural knowledge carried through our foodways. Sessions blend cooking demonstrations with Cam Stott, storytelling, and community dialogue, with guest traditional teachers." Find more details, including the schedule, and register here.
Note: If this is too far away, consider similar workshops at Mshko'Ode Farm in Brutus.
|| 7 || NWMI Art & Culture Summit - Against the Current. May 14th-15th. "Through inspiring keynote sessions, practical workshops for arts workers, live performances, hands-on experiences, and structured opportunities to build real relationships, you will find meaningful exchange across disciplines and counties." Find more details and register for the Traverse City gathering here.
|| 8 || Michigan Good Food Fund and MSU Center for Regional Food Systems' Emerging Farmer Learning Series. "Not only must farmers juggle soil health, growing seasons, and pests, but they must also manage many facets of running a business. This free, 7-week webinar series explores key business skills for Michigan growers... These virtual sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 12-1:30pm, March 4-April 15, 2026." Find more details on the session topics here and/or register here. Bonus: Crosshatch will host group viewings for this series at our Commongrounds office space (414 E 8th Street, 2nd floor, "The Grove" in Traverse City). Come for free coffee, no tech setup to worry about, and in-person connection with other farmers and farm supporters in the room.
|| 9 || NW Michigan Small Farm Funding Workshop and Opportunity Fair. Thursday, March 25th, 10am-1pm, Petoskey Library. "Are you a farmer looking to strengthen your business, invest in new equipment, or access the capital needed to grow? Join Crosshatch, Michigan Good Food Fund, and Venture North for a hands-on workshop and resource fair designed to help you navigate funding opportunities and prepare your farm for investment and long-term sustainability." Registration available here.
|| 10 || Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit. April 6-8th, at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing. Find details on the gathering, co-hosted by Michigan State University & University of Michigan, celebrating "Indigenous food systems, cultural resilience, and community-driven solutions for food sovereignty" here.
|| 11 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Fieldinclude: Branford Marsalis Quartet - Belonging, The Jeff Haas Trio with Lisa Flahive, Kombos Collective’s Uproot & Malis/Novotny Duo, Big Fun, The Jeff Haas Trio with Lisa Flahive and special guests: The NMC Jazz Lab Band directed by Josh Wagner and student vocalists, Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar Masterclass with Hiroya Tsukamoto, Hiroya Tsukamoto, The Alluvion Big Band, and Funky Uncle.
Find more information at thealluvion.org.
sponsored by:
Desmond Liggett Wealth Advisors is a mission-driven, fee-only wealth management company with a simple purpose: to generate exceptional value for the individuals, families, small business owners, and non-profit organizations they serve. Desmond Liggett Wealth Advisors believe in and adhere to triple-bottom-line analysis for portfolio investments, ensuring that they review how a company’s environmental and social values impact its long-term resilience and, consequently, value.
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