S2 E10 Artist as Family on neopeasantry, rites of passage & grief

Take a walk in nature or find the nearest hammock to enjoy this deeply complex and moving conversation with Meg and Patrick Ulman of Artist as Family.

This family of four live a largely non-monetary existence on a quarter-acre permaculture plot on Djaara peoples' country/Daylesford. They describe themselves as neopeasants, defined by the gardens and forests they tend, the resources they glean and grow, the community they're part of and the technologies they both use and refuse.

They practice permapoesis, which simply means permanent making or regenerative living -– an antidote to disposable culture -- and show us what's possible when creativity, reverence and reciprocity is placed at the heart of human existence.

SHOW NOTES

A frugal background and time on a kibbutzEarly skills in propagation and a deep desire to grow thingsAn attraction to counter culture and eternal questioning of injusticesFinding peace by the Mittagong creekWorking as a couple to overcome grief over the dominant cultureGrowing a new story out of the old story -- about community, not just one ideaThe holistic awakening of permacultureMoving from clock time to ecological time Daily connection to the natural world; chanting, observing, meditatingCreating an art practice that is not separate from everyday lifeAvoiding monotonous and tedious work through neopeasantryWhy Covid has helped us register our collective exhaustionGiving up cars and moving at an ecological paceBeing cash poor yet time rich in frugal abundanceTime offline allows a songful, interconnected, wildness that is about observation and interactionThe importance of rites of passage -- how do we bring them back?Recognising the value of the child-to-adult process and parent/child separationGrief circles -- “for crying out loud”.  Sharing, howling, laughing, storytelling and bearing witness to each other.Giving back to the forest via humanure, menstrual blood, tearsHow fire has held our stories since the beginning of timeDaily gratitude ritual of naming the inputs needed for each mealGrowing layers and building gifts to share with our community by accepting ourselvesGetting the dance right between consciousness and overwhelmWhy being aware of ideology is importantWhy activism and politics need complexityA brief history of patriarchal dominance, removing feminine power in the popular culture

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

Artist as Family -- YouTube, Instagram + blogHow Goats are Regenerating a Forest and Protecting This Town from Bushfire -- Happen FilmsA Branch From the Lightning Tree -- Martin Shaw The Wild Edge of Sorrow -- Francis WellerMartin PrechtellTyson YunkaportaDavid HolmgrenThe Invention of Capitalism -- Michael Perelman

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