Happy Holly Days!

Wishing you and yours a 

wonderful holiday season...

and a fantastic New Year!

Taking some time off to hibernate, 

but I'll resume posting regularly 

on Monday, January 5th.

Cheers!

Public domain image sourced from KarenWhimsy.com.

Profile in Victory: Joe Wirtheim (Part 2)

Continuing on with my interview with artist Joe Wirtheim from yesterday...

RW&G: What's been the reaction to your VGoT work thus far? Have you exhibited it much or are you mostly exhibiting online?

Joe: So far, the reaction has been very good. I mean, the story of this project also closely follows my own development as an artist and communication designer. Early on, I don't think people entirely got it, and I wrestled with going in a couple of different directions, playing with styles, techniques, and messages. Now, its finally starting to sing, and I am super excited about all the ideas I have for future posters.

I got an early edition of prints into a juried show at a gallery in Columbus, Ohio in 2007. I am looking forward to a summer 2009 show at the IPRC in Portland, Oregon. So far, I haven't solicited them for showing much, but I will be doing that very soon as the series grows.

I'm looking forward to teaming up with others. I would love to find a screen printer who would work with me to make prints, writers because I have the idea of making more 'zines, and even other designers who want to collaborate on new designs. I mean, the sky is the limit!

RW&G: Tell us about your own garden.

Joe: Oh, how I miss my garden! Sadly, I had no garden in 2008 due to being in a small apartment in Portland. My lady and I just moved here and had to take readily available cheap housing.

 
But 2009 is looking up! I moved into a fab old house in an amazing close-in Portland neighborhood. The place has a huge yard with a ready to go raised bed, and we're already plotting where the coop and chicken runs will go, talking about canning, and scoping out the nearby farmers markets. I can practically taste the tomatoes, peas, broccoli, and greens!

###

In keeping with tradition, I always give folks in the "Profiles in Victory" series a chance to plug their fave online haunts. Here's what Joe chose to highlight:

Etsy.com
Sprouts in the Sidewalk
Library of Congress Posters
Urban Edibles

Profile in Victory: Joe Wirtheim (Part 1)

Joe Wirtheim in his studio.

(Courtesy photo.)

This week, I'm thrilled to bring to you a two-part virtual interview with artist Joe Wirtheim of the Victory Garden of Tomorrow. As mentioned here previously, some of his artwork is in my home. 

RW&G: How did you come 'round to the "Victory Garden of Tomorrow" concept?

Joe: The idea just arrived in 2005 after months of reading, thinking, talking, doodling. I kept asking a basic question "Why is my neighborhood and my economy the way it is?" Now, I didn't take this on like a heavy academic research question - I followed it by just going to the things that inspired me and learning about them, following my intuition around. I went to historical museums, I went to the library, I went online finding university history class readings that were available, I looked at contemporary poster artists. I just looked, thought, talked about it to those around me.

I finally settled onto two events that inspired me in a big way: the World's Fair of 1939, and of course the Victory Garden campaigns of the 1940s. Both happened at the end of the Great Depression, a turning point in American history.

In my imagination, I saw them as two possible American futures: the "Aspiring Industrial Life," and the "Hardworking, Do Your Part" America. We basically took the industrial path at that post-war moment. People were greatly fatigued at the time from depression and war, who could blame them?

I decided to revive the messaging of the "Do Your Part" America that I feel is reviving itself today. But using the imagination of the World's Fair and all its "the world of tomorrow" excitement. Hence, the "Victory Garden of Tomorrow."

RW&G: What kind of research did you undertake to create the artwork? And, in addition to vintage posters, what are the other inspirations for the series?

Joe: Research has been important, but for me it mostly involved looking at many poster images, and doing some reading about the WWII homefront efforts. I was very inspired by The War by Ken Burns this year. Great stories from real people. They all had a great sense of camaraderie in what they were doing--they had the sense that so much was on the line.

Today, I don't want to come off as uninformed, and really I want this artwork to kind of pick up where those messages from the 1940s left off. I've looked at a lot of posters from the war-era homefront and the WPA era. They had posters in munitions factories basically saying "our tools are fighting", at the big shipyards saying "Loose Lips Sink Ships", in the neighborhoods asking "Are You doing Your Part to Salvage?", and, of course, "Our Food is Fighting, Don't Waste It". Those are just some of the broad ideas, but it seemed they all were actively talking to the viewer and demanding their effort. How inspiring is that? Today, that kind of message is rarely seen, even from the Ad Council.

Within the context of a great war effort, these kind of "rallying the people" type of messages probably had an effect. But I also realize that at the time, people wanted very much to do their part. Those at home heard the news of the fighting, and for them it was scary. Nobody had to be sold into growing a garden back then--like a seed on fertile ground, the idea grew roots quickly.

RW&G: What role do you envision your work playing in propagating the Victory Garden concept?

Joe: Today, it does feel like the ground is fertile again. We can now discuss things that have been non-starters before (like the environment). Young people especially are excited about "doing their part" once again. Rather than withdrawing from society and its problems, so many people are ready to actively re-build farms, economies, neighborhoods. Its really amazing the things I hear from folks in their 20s and 30s, and many older people, too, listening and getting involved in community development, new agriculture models, even getting back into craftsmanship. I want to support those who are ready to do something.

I enjoy hearing from the leading thinkers in the "sustainable" design movement. People like Bill McDonough, Tony Frey, Al Gore, or even the writer James Kunstler and many others. As I listen to their ideas, which can be pretty far out, I keep thinking about the transformation that needs to take place in the public dialogue and the public attitude.

I suppose my intention is to take those ideas and get the public talking, thinking about what they themselves can do. The posters are like conversation starters for folks to have in their homes. Eventually those conversations could build camaraderie and a sense of purpose again.

Another thing, to me a "Victory Garden of Tomorrow" isn't just about a garden--it's a city rooftop garden, its riding bikes, its reusing, its building community. There's so much to do!

More of my interview with Joe tomorrow...until then, be sure to check out the previous profiles.

Just for Fun

I riffed on last week's post at FoodieTots.com and posted early over at the day job. See the post here.

Media & Web Watch

A bit slow this week...but here are some good garden-y and patriotic things:

• Eat the View is now one of nine finalists at OnDayOne.org. Look for more opportunities to support the initiative soon. While you wait, check out the testimonials of distinguished chefs, gardeners and other leaders who've given their support to ETV. Onward to the White House! 

• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Get Urban Farming Started in LA (OpEdNews.com, 20 Dec. 2008)

• Frontera Farmer Foundation - Regarding a project by one of my fave chefs, Rick Bayless, this page is a worthwhile read for those of us who want to protect and preserve farmlands.

 • The Skylighters World War II Christmas Card & Poster Page - This is actually part of a site dedicated to the story of the WWII 225th AAA Searchlight Battalion. The images are kinda interesting...the one in Paris is particularly cool...though be warned that some of these images may be considered offensive today because of how they treat "the enemy." Therefore, do regard them as the historical artifacts that they are.

• War Bond Christmas Poster - This image is part of the Kittleson Collection at the Minneapolis Public Library.

Check This Out at FoodieTots.com

Colleen over at Foodie Tots interviewed me! So exciting. I'm such a fan of her site.

Go see it and...and you'll find a pic of me at two, cooking with a pan, some flour and a basketball. (Yeah, you read that right.)

It's Thursday, So....

Follow me over here.

Our Garden This Week

This is a pic of our Victory Garden from last week's snow. I wish that I could say it looks better now. Actually, with the snow gone, it looks worse.

Oh, well. So much for my fantasy winter garden. 

On a brighter note, I took great delight yesterday in placing a bunch of homegrown lavender--harvested earlier in the fall--near my front door. Something about seeing it, smelling it, and knowing from whence it came made me all happy and warm.

Nature...even in the depths of winter...continues to give pleasure.

Vote! And Ask Folks You Know to Vote!

There's only a couple of days left for the On Day One contest. Eat The View--the strongest grassroots movement calling on President-Elect Obama to plant a Victory Garden on The White House lawn--is a semi-finalist

Please--if you love gardens and believe self-sufficiency is  important to us as individuals, as a united nation and as inhabitants of this planet--I want you to ask everyone you know to go vote for this initiative. 

I don't care whom you voted for back in November. For pete's sake, we need this victory to help heighten public support of the grassroots Victory Garden movement. Even if Eat The View only becomes a finalist, we'll have succeeded. Competition is heady, but gardening for self-sufficiency is a simple and elegant solution to problems ranging from hunger to obesity and beyond.

I know I've chatted about Eat the View again and again. Some of you may even be tired of hearing about it. But we are thiscloserightnow to success, and we owe it to our country to push it past the finish line!

Got your attention? Good.

Here's how to participate: 

1. Go to www.ondayone.org.

2. Click on "Climate"

3. Cast your vote for "Eat the View"

Media & Web Watch

• It's Time To Bring Back Victory Gardens to Help Environment (The Herald Dispatch, 11 December 2008) Nice last two sentences: 

"The Victory Garden can become part of the cement holding our society together and moving it in the right direction. It should again be a vital part of our government's energy policy -- a growing part."

• Flash in the Pan: Bring Back the Victory Garden (Vail Daily, 9 December 2008)

Looking for me?

I'm over here. Am thinking that I may start posting there regularly on Thursdays, focusing on regional stuff. A bit of multi-tasking. Thoughts? 

The Source of Last Night's Quiet? SNOW!

Shameless Plug: New Country Lifestyle Magazine Bloggers

Putting on my editor's hat for a minute:

I'm pleased to announce that The Bicycle Garden's Susan Tomlinson has joined the Country Lifestyle Magazine team as a regular blogger. Her first post went up yesterday. See it here and say "howdy!"

Also up at CLM is a post by Texas Locavore's Beth Goulart, who shares a divine recipe for Sweet-Hot Spiced Texas Pecans. You'll want to incorporate it into your holiday repertoire, I think.

Finally, get a look at Redneck Mother's Casey Kelley Barton's introduction. In it, she sums up how many of us feel about Central Texas winters.

Holiday Season Stream of Consciousness Post

I'm sitting here on my duff looking at our newly decorated Christmas tree while a cold, wintry wind blows outside. I put the tree up in less than an hour--lights and all. In previous years, before I had to worry about sharp objects and things that break rather than bounce, I'd have spent an entire evening on the project. For twenty years I've collected ornaments on two continents, continuing a tradition started by my mother decades ago. To display them all, I have to use two trees (plastic, alas, as this household has folks who are allergic to the real thing). For this year's tree, the only ornaments I'll see are some cheap plastic balls that I purchased last year at Target. Not a molecule in them is eco-friendly. Not one. The colors are more akin to a Mexican fiesta and would probably look better on a pinata than a tree. (Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it clashes with our decor. What was I thinking?)

In the next room, the Argentine Senna plant's branches are scratching the window. I expect a frost come morning. Tater Tot crashed long ago. He got to skip his bath when he fell asleep (!) on the tub mat. Hubby is working. 

So, it's quiet in my living room.

Yes, quiet.

Quiet in a way that only people who relish solitude--but are kept from it by familial obligations.

Quiet in a way that can only happen at a particular time of year. (Doesn't cold make quiet more quiet?)

Quiet.

Farmers Market Video

Leon Springs FM Interview Mario Rodriguez from P.Price on Vimeo.

If you're following along with me on Twitter.com, then you've seen a link to this. But I just had to share it here. I made it using my new Flip Mino HD.

The only real drawback to the device is that, for now, it's not interactive with YouTube.com. The other Flips will work, however. Just the high definition version is incompatible.

But for the money--and the fun--I give it two thumbs up!

Trouble viewing? Try it here.

Media & Web Watch

Pick of the Week:

Photos of the Chihuly installation at the Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix)

from Skippy's Vegetable Garden

(Just because it's really cool!)

Mainstream Media:

• Maybe Victory Gardens Can Save U.S. Again (Kennebec Journal, 5 December 2008)

• Iowa Man Applies to Be White House Farmer (KCCI Des Moines, 4 December 2008) - Kinda cool. Related material here. 

• Found an older Nightline video about the Dervaes family. It's on YouTube.com, but they appear to have gotten permission to use it. I'll just link to it rather than risk copyright infringement on my end. 

Blogosphere:

• Freakish vintage Movietone Movie  (You Cannot Eat Lilies) over at City Farmer.org. You have to see it. So...odd.

• Hoe, Hoe, Hoe! A Victory Garden Wish List (The Ethicurean, 4 December 2008)

• Organic Kitchen Garden at the White House (ComPost Confidential, 5 December 2008)

I won?

Okay, I'm seriously out of the loop...How'd I miss this bit of news? 

I was still waiting to hear something. I thought I had signed up for the American Farmland Trust newsletter (guess not!)...or that I'd hear about it on Twitter. 

Well, that's awesome...if a few weeks old. The information must have been released about the time I went on vacay and then started working again.  Clearly my head has been elsewhere!

Thanks, readers for your help! Woo hoo!!

A Note from Roger Doiron of Eat the View!

Some of you may have already received this, but just in case:

A message to all members of Eat the View!

Thanks for joining our citizen-led campaign to put an organic garden on the White House lawn. While I’m optimistic about our chances, we’re going to need to pull together to put this on the Obama administration’s busy agenda.

One effective way of doing this is through two competitions currently under way that will generate a small group of winning proposals that will be submitted to the Obama team. I’d like to ask your vote in each.

1) OnDayOne.org

This competition has been running since the beginning of the year and now entered the finals. Eat the View is among the 81 finalists that will narrowed down to 9.

You can vote for it by going here:
http://www.ondayone.org/contest

And clicking on “CLIMATE” at the top of the blue box and then clicking on “vote” next to Eat the View.


2) Change.org

This competition has recently been launched and is still in the first stage of idea selection.

You can vote for Eat the View by going here:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/plant_a_large_organic_victory_garden_on_the_white_house_lawn

and clicking on “vote”

Cooperation: Sesame Street Garden

Y'all know that I like to end the week with a video. I found a cute one on YouTube.com, but the embedding has been disabled.

S'alright...go see it...it's from Sesame Street!

Those li'l muppets working in their community garden will make you smile. 

Four Ways to Promote the Victory Garden Revival this Holiday Season

Vintage WV Victory Garden poster.

1. Purchase prints from Joe Wirtheim's Victory Garden of Tomorrow - I have several from the first and second series. They are marvelous. And at only $15 each, they're a bargain. Original artwork always makes for cool gifts and even better conversation starters!

2. Give a pack of great books - The cornerstones of the modern VG movement are Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I'd pair them with H.C. Flores' Food Not Lawns and Sharon Astyk's Depletion & Abundance. (Seeing as I haven't actually had a chance to read/review Astyk's book, please see this essay.)

3. Give money to food banks that have started community gardens - My local food bank has a new garden, and there are many others doing the same nationwide. In these financially tight times, food banks (together with churches, schools and other non-profit entities) will play a vital role in ensuring that the sustainable food movement isn't just a fad for the well-to-do. If you're really committed to the concept of sustainable food systems, consider volunteering time at a local community garden in the new year, too.

4. Support Eat the View! - I've given this movement a lot of plugs here, and I still believe in it 100%. We need a food garden on The White House lawn. ETV needs your support.

Readers: Other ideas or suggestions?

Friends in Need

My good friend Ann's 34 year-old husband, Jasenn, has Stage IV kidney cancer. They have a beautiful child (9 mos. old!) and are about to celebrate their second wedding anniversary.

To say this is a challenging time is an understatement, but lots of people are chipping in to help.

One of Ann's sisters, Linda, has set up an Etsy Fundraising Shop. Among the many gifts that have been put online are a couple of knitting-related magazine subscriptions.

If that's your thing (or the thing on someone you know's gift wish list), would you consider ordering it through the shop?

Here's a link.

Media & Web Watch

• Every Garden Can Have Victory Garden Potential (Columbia Daily Tribune, 30 November 2008)

• Victory Garden Provides Harvest of Organic Food for Those in Need (Orlando Sentinel, 27 November 2008)
• Seeds of a Plan Sown to Save Gardens (Lexington Minute Man, 26 November 2008) - Especially interesting for fans of WGBH's "The Victory Garden."