The Walker Home & Garden has struck again. Struck the darning needle that is. You see, we have now learned the ins and outs of darning socks and hemming trouser legs. The most challenging moment of instruction proved to be knotting the needle: by threading the needle once, simply twisting the string around the needle, [...]
Darning Socks
The Walker Home & Garden has struck again. Struck the darning needle that is. You see, we have now learned the ins and outs of darning socks and hemming trouser legs. The most challenging moment of instruction proved to be knotting the needle: by threading the needle once, simply twisting the string around the needle, holding on for dear life to the twisted string, and then pulling the needle through the twist, a knot is born.
We are almost ready to learn how to braid a rug in the name of Fritz Haeg’s At Home in the City. In preparation, we have culled together some extra local textiles from our hemming & darning tutorial for the rug construction at the Walker.
In addition to the domestic instruction, a lovely array of food items were brought to the table: kale salad, pasta salad, graham crackers, hummus and pita, and a chocolate torte.
How do you domesticate the institution? The Walker’s very own Home & Garden Club posed this question in honor of Fritz Haeg’s upcoming artist residency At Home in the City. The club hosts Walker staff whose interests span departments and all aspects of the home: baking, gardening, crocheting, saving seeds, drying herbs, and sewing lunchbox [...]
Bread for the Home & Garden Club
How do you domesticate the institution? The Walker’s very own Home & Garden Club posed this question in honor of Fritz Haeg’s upcoming artist residency At Home in the City. The club hosts Walker staff whose interests span departments and all aspects of the home: baking, gardening, crocheting, saving seeds, drying herbs, and sewing lunchbox purses.
Grasses from Ashley Duffalo’s garden; thyme and oregeno from Sarah Schultz’s kitchen garden
For the long-term composting aficionado to the CSA novice alike, Walker Home & Garden functions as a culinary laboratory and research space. We are going to share skills, hone our hosting chops, and experiment with the domestic integrities that we each bring to the table.
Getting ready for soup
We recently held the inaugural meeting by way of soup-eating session. After all, how can you domesticate the institution without rolling up your sleeves and baking bread to share? We started by bringing in tea, soup, bread and honey, then pulling together three tables and some benches to complete the communal feeling of a school cafeteria. We decorated the space with some mismatched tablecloths, bell jars of fresh herbs, and canteens of dried flowers (it is winter, after all!). Within ten minutes, our art education center was transformed into a space for banter, recipe-sharing and, of course, breaking bread.
Conversation over lunch
We will be hosting several more Home & Garden Club sessions before and throughout the Haeg residency. We may discuss farmer’s markets, local gardening tips, and perhaps even thrift shopping and composting as empowering tools. Keep your eyes and tomatoes peeled, we’ve got quite a bit of prep work to do!
Open Field may have been heralded in with soft, intellectual discussion, but it wrapped up the first weekend of September with a bang: the purrs of cats and the Farmer’s Market flair of local jug bands. Open Field has eschewed definition, and yet its curious nature begs to be explained, debated, and defended. Here are [...]
Open Field may have been heralded in with soft, intellectual discussion, but it wrapped up the first weekend of September with a bang: the purrs of cats and the Farmer’s Market flair of local jug bands. Open Field has eschewed definition, and yet its curious nature begs to be explained, debated, and defended. Here are six themes that defined Open Field for me and piqued my curiosity this summer:
Like a tinker of yesteryear, Trading Tortoise set up camp on Open Field to barter goods from its travels across the country; artist Amanda Lovelee’s It’s Always Someone’s Birthday, So Let’s Celebrate! cheerfully enticed passersby to make birthday cards for an elderly home in exchange for birthday cake; Art Swap, once an ice shanty, mobilized art makers to trade artworks.
Shared creation
In its third year, Drawing Club did not cease to foster creations between unlikely parties and media; The Poet Is In opened the door for local poets to consult and collaborate; Doctor Sam asked us to think about and draw what makes things become “Better Together;”and The Big String Thing turned humans into fingers for life-size string figure formation.
Shared consumption
Artists-in-residence Kitchen Lab designed a space of constant gastronomical exploration; Field of Reads made the local literary community pause and enjoy the written word for a Mass Read-In; The Swatch Team united fiber artists and the food community to ring in the autumn harvest.
Lost forms of communication
Post Office Love Letter encouraged people to think back to a time of social delicacies and epistolary exchange; Into the Blue – Cyanotype Photography took us back to the 19th century and the origins of photography; and Analog Tweet forced us to handwrite a telegram rather than post to Twitter.
The Absurd
Baby Picnic functioned as a business meet-up for the very, very young; Adrian Freeman’s Acoustic Campfire staged karaoke within the makeshift context of a fort; and Jonathan Zorn invited the public to clap with wooden boards with every synchronized step into the night.
Open Field has created countless ephemeral moments– and to use Amy Franceschini’s idea, a temporary commons– in which these six threads thrive. The Tool Shed’s hours may now be limited, but Open Field will continue to inspire curious moments of communal clarity and creation. It is, afterall, what we make together.
Tomorrow night we have the special pleasure of dancing alongside the ever-jolly Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade preceding the highly anticipated Internet Cat Video Festival. To that end, we have heard rumors circulating of a Cat Power/Cat Stevens mash-up by said band which is sure to act like crowd cat nip. Brian Laidlaw & [...]
Tomorrow night we have the special pleasure of dancing alongside the ever-jolly Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade preceding the highly anticipated Internet Cat Video Festival. To that end, we have heard rumors circulating of a Cat Power/Cat Stevens mash-up by said band which is sure to act like crowd cat nip.
Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade rollicked onto Open Field earlier this summer for an intimate Northern Spark fireside concert. Old-timey, fresh-faced, and family-friendly, Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade marry the sound of Appalachian folk music with light-spirited poetics and bright harmonies. Brian Laidlaw, a San Francisco transplant, crafts instantly infectious tunes that –much like cat videos– are too addictive be ignored. Come early for the 7pm Acoustic Campfire finale!
Public Program Organizer Katie Czarniecki Hill checks in with us on Open Field and cats Name: Katie Czarniecki Hill Occupation: mnartists.org Program Fellow/Open Field Social Media nerd/Unofficial Cat-Lady-In-Residence City/Neighborhood: Cathedral Hill, St. Paul Open Field Activity: Internet Cat Video Festival Description: While normally viewed alone on a computer screen, our unofficial cat-lady-in-residence invites you to come [...]
Public Program Organizer Katie Czarniecki Hill checks in with us on Open Field and cats
Name:
Katie Czarniecki Hill
Occupation:
mnartists.org Program Fellow/Open Field Social Media nerd/Unofficial Cat-Lady-In-Residence
City/Neighborhood:
Cathedral Hill, St. Paul
Open Field Activity:
Internet Cat Video Festival
Description:
While normally viewed alone on a computer screen, our unofficial cat-lady-in-residence invites you to come gather together on the field and LOL in the presence of others as your favorite silly cat videos are projected larger-than-life one after the other. Experience the joy of a surprised kitten or keyboard cat together. Participate in this experiment that tests the social boundaries of the online community with a live, off-line event as we attempt to gather in physical space and real time to enjoy one of the internet’s most popular phenomena.
Public Program Organizer Tinne Rosenmeier checks in with us on Open Field and summertime Name: Tinne Rosenmeier Occupation: Middle School Theater teacher, classical actress, theater education curriculum specialist & consultant City/Neighborhood: Saint Paul’s Como Park neighborhood Open Field Activity: Monologue on a Mask:a Theatrical Mini-form from Innocent Offerings Description:Monologue on a Mask invites participants to come [...]
Public Program Organizer Tinne Rosenmeier checks in with us on Open Field and summertime
Name: Tinne Rosenmeier Occupation: Middle School Theater teacher, classical actress, theater education curriculum specialist & consultant City/Neighborhood: Saint Paul’s Como Park neighborhood Open Field Activity: Monologue on a Mask:a Theatrical Mini-form from Innocent Offerings Description:Monologue on a Mask invites participants to come read, write, decorate, mask and repeat!
In the great Minnesota tradition of stuff on a stick, Monologue on a Mask seeks to create playwrights, actors, designers to create instant theater form. Feel free to enter the project from any angle! Date of Activity: August 26th from 12 to 3pm.
1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.
Performance is what we make together.
2. What is your favorite public space in the Twin Cities or beyond?
I grew up in Saint Paul, and Rice Park is a great space. Standing on the tip (more…)
What started out as an innocent comment from her niece, “You should do Chai Tea like Aunt Jean” sparked Jean Jentz’s imaginative Open Field activity title: Tai Chi (or Chai Tea?). Tai Chi (or Chai Tea?) takes place weekly under the dappled shade of the trees beneath Pierre Huyghe’s Wind Chime (After “Dream”) from 1997/2009 in the [...]
What started out as an innocent comment from her niece, “You should do Chai Tea like Aunt Jean” sparked Jean Jentz’s imaginative Open Field activity title: Tai Chi (or Chai Tea?). Tai Chi (or Chai Tea?) takes place weekly under the dappled shade of the trees beneath Pierre Huyghe’s Wind Chime (After “Dream”) from 1997/2009 in the Sculpture Garden.
Jentz believes that everyone can practice Tai Chi and her style, Tai Chi Easy, is particularly accessible to the elderly and the young because it can be done anywhere with minimal instruction. Tai Chi Easy encourages focused balance and slow movements without accessories or special gear.
Tai Chi in Bangkok. Photo courtesy of Jean Jentz.
During a trip to Bangkok last year, Jentz— a Minneapolis-based Tai Chi teacher and physical therapist who has spent time with Walker tours— was struck by local Tai Chi practitioners. There, practitioners would gather in the parks for meditative early morning community performance. While Jentz forgoes fans (see image), you can still expect the joy of synchronized movement today from 1-2pm for her last Open Field session.
Name: Jordan Wiklund Occupation: Writer, Editor at Quayside Publishing City/Neighborhood: St. Paul! Open Field Activity: Cribbage in the Field invites participants of all ages and skill sets to spend a few hours at the Walker playing, teaching, learning, and sharing a Minnesota classic–cribbage! Replicating last year’s highly successful event, cribbage-goers need only show up. Boards [...]
Name: Jordan Wiklund Occupation: Writer, Editor at Quayside Publishing City/Neighborhood: St. Paul! Open Field Activity: Cribbage in the Field invites participants of all ages and skill sets to spend a few hours at the Walker playing, teaching, learning, and sharing a Minnesota classic–cribbage! Replicating last year’s highly successful event, cribbage-goers need only show up. Boards and cards will be provided, but players are encouraged to bring their favorite boards or pegs from home to share with others. Dates of Activity: Saturday, August 25, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.
Connections (of any kind)are what we make together.
2. What is your favorite public space in the Twin Cities or beyond?
As a Luther grad, I’m always returning to Decorah every chance I get. Phelps Park, overlooking the Upper Iowa River Valley from rolling, hilly bluffs, is unbelievably beautiful.
3. What brought you to Open Field?
The idea that cribbage–such a simple game–seems to perfectly match the idea (more…)
Name: Nina Jonson and Jennifer Poole-Stout Occupation: Health Educators City/Neighborhood: Minneapolis (Kingfield Neighborhood) and Robbinsdale Open Field Activity: Two Parent/Teen Workshop Sessions: Learning to Speak Their Language: Texting, Social Networking and Cyber Safety; and Hooking Up is Not Just About Jumper Cables: Teen Sexuality and the New Dating Scene Description: First, come enjoy some “screen-free” time [...]
Name: Nina Jonson and Jennifer Poole-Stout Occupation: Health Educators City/Neighborhood: Minneapolis (Kingfield Neighborhood) and Robbinsdale Open Field Activity: Two Parent/Teen Workshop Sessions: Learning to Speak Their Language: Texting, Social Networking and Cyber Safety; and Hooking Up is Not Just About Jumper Cables: Teen Sexuality and the New Dating Scene Description: First, come enjoy some “screen-free” time with local experts on teen health and parenting, explore effective ways to communicate about technology issues with your young person and establish rules and limits around internet and cell phone use. Next, join us for a frank, open discussion about love, dating and relationships in the 21st century, and learn how to guide and support teens as they navigate through these milestones. Dates of Activity: Thursday, August 23, 2012. Learning to Speak Their Language from 5 to 5:45pm, Hooking Up Is Not Just About Jumper Cables from 5:45 to 6:30pm.
1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.
Family Connections are what we make together.
2. What is the perfect Minnesota summer activity.
Spending time with family/friends outdoors.
3. Who do you dream of attending your activity?
Families, friends, and community members who care about making (more…)
Public Program Organizer and Struck Percussion Ensemble Member Adam Rappel checks in with us on Open Field and summertime Name: Struck Percussion Ensemble (Joel Alexander, David Birrow, Bojan Hoover, Adam Rappel) Occupation: Professional Musicians/Educators City/Neighborhood: We live in Minneapolis, Roseville and St. Louis Park Open Field Activity: Get STRUCK! Description: Struck percussion ensemble will perform [...]
Public Program Organizer and Struck Percussion Ensemble Member Adam Rappel checks in with us on Open Field and summertime
Name: Struck Percussion Ensemble (Joel Alexander, David Birrow, Bojan Hoover, Adam Rappel) Occupation: Professional Musicians/Educators City/Neighborhood: We live in Minneapolis, Roseville and St. Louis Park Open Field Activity: Get STRUCK! Description: Struck percussion ensemble will perform “Threads” by Paul Lansky. This is a 10 movement, half hour long continuous work that contains instruments such as vibraphones, glockenspiel, darbukkas, flower pots, wooden planks, wine bottles, tuned steel pipes, and much more. There are three “threads” that the piece contains; arias and preludes that focus on metallic pitched sounds; choruses that rely heavily on drumming; and recitatives that deal with John Cage-like noise instruments. Brief talk about the work before the performance, and a question and answer session to follow! Dates of Activity: Sunday, August 26, 2012, from 12:30 to 3 pm.
1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.
Audience-engaging concerts that showcase percussion as a unique art-form is what we make together.
2. What is the perfect Minnesota summer activity?
Relaxing and spending time with friends and family while enjoying the beautiful Minnesota summer weather…although not recently…WAY too hot out!
3. Who do you dream of attending your activity?
Anyone who is curious about the unique sound possibilities percussion can create.
4. What would you like to share on Open Field?
Great music and fun times, with a little bit of education in there as well!
5. Describe your favorite summer memory.
As a group, we love to play whiffle-ball. Nothing says healthy competition better than hitting some dingers during a “home-run derby!”
6. What is your favorite summer song?
Being a quartet, we each have many favorite genres/artists that we like to listen to.
Chloe Nelson
