Calendar 2024

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday November 27, Alternative Darkroom 7-9PM
Saturday November 30, Tango Underground 1-5PM
Sunday December 1, Movement at the Soil Factory Qigong/Yoga 11-12PM
Sunday December 1, Make Mends Meet + Leftover Sewing 12-4PM
Sunday December 1, Kozo Papermaking Skill Share 12-4PM

 
For more details see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief: 

Wednesday November 20, Alternative Darkroom 7-9PM
Thursday November 21, Scaling Agroforestry in the Finger Lakes 6-8PM
Friday November 22, Movie Night 8PM
Saturday November 23, Bowl making in Support of the (new) Ceramics Studio 12-4PM*
Saturday November 23, Movie Matinee: Nettle Dress 4PM
Sunday November 24, Bowl making in Support of the (new) Ceramics Studio 10-2PM*
Monday November 25, Nuts and Bolts 6-7:30PM


*If you’re an experienced or budding bowl-maker and this sounds like a fun way to get involved with the ceramics studio, please reach out to anna.i…@gmail.com — I’ll be throwing as many bowls as I can this coming weekend on Saturday, Nov 23 (12-4pm) and Sunday Nov 24 (10-2pm).  Join me!  Materials provided!

 
Please see the Soil Factory Newsletter for more information or email lehma…@gmail.com
This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday November 13, Alternative Darkroom 7-9PM
Thursday November 14, THE MORE THAT IS TAKEN AWAY–art movie, exhibition and discussion 6:30PM  
Friday November 15, How to Home-A Discussion About Where and How We Live 5PM
Friday November 15, Full Moon Potluck Party 6-9PM
Friday November 15, Movie Night 8PM
Sunday November 17, Movement at the Soil Factory QiGong/Yoga 2:45-3:45PM
Sunday November 17, Soundpainting 4-6PM
Monday November 18, Art Share 5-7PM
 
For more information see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehma…@gmail.com
 
 
 

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday November 6, Alternative Darkroom 7-9PM

Black and White and cyanotype  film developing
Friday November 8, Movie Night 8PM
Learn how Tai Chi came to the US in the 1960s
Saturday November 9, Movement: Tai Chi 11AM-12noon
Learn how to do Tai Chi with Morgan
Saturday November 9, Community Dinner 6PM ALL ARE WELCOME!
Bring your Comfort Food to share
Sunday November 10, Soil Factory Outdoor Workday 12-4PM
Help us put the Soil Factory outdoor space to bed for the winter
Monday November 11, Nuts and Bolts 6-7:30PM
Learn about the inner workings of your favorite neighborhood space
 
For more info please see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday October 30, Works in Progress 6-9PM
Wednesday October 30, Darkroom 7-9PM
Saturday November 2, Movement: Tai Chi 11AM-12noon
*Don’t forget the Daylight Savings time change!
Sunday November 3, Make Mends Meet and Leftover Sewing 1-4PM
Sunday November 3, Movement: 30-minute version 4PM
Sunday November 3, Food Forest 4-6PM

For more information on any of these events, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday October 2, Works in Progress 6-9PM
Do your own work, but with others around

Wednesday October 2, Darkroom 7-9PM
Black and white film and cyanotypes

Friday October 4, Oscar Lieber Exhibition Aigamo 5-7:30PM
A photo/video exhibition opening

Friday October 4, Food Forest 5-7:30PM
More planting this week 

Friday October 4, Movie Night 8PM
Join us for an outdoor movie night 

Saturday October 5, Native Pollinator Plant Seed Collecting 10AM–12PM
Learn to gather native seeds for pollinator plants

Sunday October 6, Make Mends Meet (it’s back!!!) 10:30-1PM
Practice social justice through sewing…
 
For more information about anything here, please see the Soil Factory newsletter or contact lehma…@gmail.com
 
 
 
This Week in Brief: 


Wednesday September 25, Works in Progress 6-9PM  Do your work…but with other people!

Wednesday September 25, Darkroom 7-9PM  Enlarge or develop your photo ideas..

Thursday September 26, Journalism, Writing, and Inequality 7PM  Guest speaker Indian journalist P. Sainath at the SF

Friday September 27, Food Forest 5:30-7PM  It’s time to plant the apple trees!

Friday September 27, Artist Talk Leslie Ford for her Exhibition: Water Thyme 7PM  See and hear about the reverie of an invisible world.

Sunday September 29, Miyawaki Forest Planting 10AM-12 (Rain date Sunday Oct 6)  Help plant a few hundred tree and shrub seedlings in the upper SF field!

Monday September 30, Do and Dine 6-7:30PM  Do the work–but first, share a meal together…

For more details, see the Soil Factory Newsletter or email lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief: 

Wednesday September 18, Works in Progress 6-9PM  Do your own work, with other people, in a meadow…

Wednesday September 18, Darkroom 7-9PM  Learn new-to-you old techniques of film developing

Friday September 20, Food Forest 5:30-7PM  Scatter some wood chips, dig some holes…

Friday  September 20, Movie Night 7:30PM  New toilet-themed movies. Yes, we’re serious.

Sunday September 22, OJI:SDA’ Volunteer Harvest Day 4-6:30PM  Help pick and pack herbal teas for a good cause

Monday September 23, Nuts and Bolts Organizational Meeting 6-7:30PM  Learn what we’re all about behind the scenes…if you dare!

For more information about anything here, please see the Soil Factory Newletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday September 11, Works in Progress 6-9PM Low bar way to gather and work with others

Wednesday September 11, Darkroom 7-9PM Try out new to you techniques

Thursday September 12, Art Talk and Opening with Dan Torop 7PM Photography and History from the Wilson Synchrotron at Cornell

Friday September 13, Food Forest 5:30-7pm Help plan and plant and edible forest

Monday September 16, Movement at the Soil Factory Planning Session 4-5PM Bring your ideas to move at the SF

Monday September 16, Art Share 5-7PM Join other artists to share work

For more details, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief:

Wednesday September 4, Works in Progress 6-9PM Come do your work, but with others around! 

Wednesday September 4, Darkroom 7-9PM  Discover old but perhaps new-to-you film developing techniques.

Thursday Sept 5, Do and Dine 6:30-8PM  Share the work, share a meal. 

Saturday September 7, SF Field Trip to the Cornell Crop Garden 11AM (rain date Sunday Sept 8 11AM) A field trip to an actual field! 

Sunday September 8, Watermelon Carving/Knotweed Harvest Extravaganza, 2-6:30 PM  Watermelon Jack-o-lanterns and Knotweed Structures? Only at the Soil Factory!

Sunday September 8, OJI:SDA’ Medicinal Garden Volunteer Day 4-6:30PM  Help harvest and prep teas from the garden to the people.

Monday September 9, Nuts and Bolts meeting 6-7:30PM  Come tell us what YOU want to see and do at the Soil Factory!

For more information on any of these events, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter or contact lehmanna107@gmail.com

This Week in Brief:
Wednesday August 28, Works in Progress 6-9PM

Get what you need to do, done–with people around!


Wednesday August 28, Darkroom 7-9PM
Alternatives in darkroom techniques–learn and experiment.

Saturday August 31, Discussion and Snacks with GALA (Green Art Lab Alliance) 10AM
Meet folks from this international network of art organizations dedicated to planetary health, social equity, and environmental justice and see where the Soil Factory fits in.

Sunday September 1, Cyanotype on Fabric Workshop 12-3PM
Bring something to print and learn something new.
 
For more information on any of these events, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter or reach out to Aimée at lehma…@gmail.com
 

This Week in Brief
Wednesday August 14, Works in Progress 6-9PM

Bring whatever work you need to do–but do it with others around!

Wednesday August 14, Darkroom 7PM
Try old (or new) darkroom techniques

Thursday, August 15, Soil Factory Doppelgängers and Analogues 6PM
Share your experience or knowledge of like-minded art/science/community spaces and efforts with the Soil Factory crowd
 
Friday August 16, Food Forest 5:30-7PM
Let the eating begin! (once we’ve planned and planted…)

Sunday August 18, Soil Factory Barter Market 1-4PM
Trade your way into something new (to you!)

Monday August 19, Nuts & Bolts (and Gummy Bears) 6-7:30PM
Learn the inner workings of the Soil Factory and save the world–or your sanity–at the same time!
 
For more information please see the Soil Factory Newsletter

This Week in Brief
Wednesday August 7, Weekly Works in Progress 6-9PM

Come do your own work–but with people. Live. (In person.)

Wednesday August 7, Darkroom 7-9PM
Explore Black and White film techniques and cyanotypes

Thursday August 8, Field Trip: The Soil Factory visits Ithaca Print Commons 2-4PM
Learn the joy of riso printing, make a Zine together, have fun (no permission slips required)

Monday August 12, The Cayuga Lake Watershed Internship Program Presentation: Hope for a Healthier Watershed 6-8PM
Meet the interns trying to make our waterways healthier; food and discussion too!
 
For more details about anything, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter

This Week in Brief
Wednesday July 31, Darkroom 7PM More Cyanotype and Black and White film work


Wednesday July 31, Works in Progress 6-9PM
Bring whatever you have to work on and enjoy the company of others

Monday August 5, Nuts & Bolts 6-7:30PM
Find out how you can help run our all-volunteer effort at the Soil Factory!

This Week in Brief: 
Wednesday July 24, Darkroom 7PM
Visit our newly renovated darkroom and experiment

Wednesday July 24, Works in Progress 6-9PM
Bring whatever creative or boring work you have to work with others
 
Thursday July 25, NO Open Space with Debora this week!
Those darn annual dentist visits…
 
Friday July 26, Food Forest 5:30-7 PM
Help design and plan a garden of edibles
 
Saturday July 27, Marshy Garden Event 2-6PM
Gather in the Garden with others
 
Sunday July 28, OJI:SDA’ Community Volunteer Day at the Indigenous Medicine Garden  4-6:30PM
Come help with the harvesting and drying of medicinal herbs.
 
For more information, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter

This Week in Brief: 

Wednesday July 17, Meet Artist-in-Residence Sacha Yanow and Community Potluck 7PM

See excerpts from Sacha’s work, join in discussion and dinner
Wednesday July 17, Works in Progress 6-9PM
Bring what you need or want to work on with others; join in the discussion and dinner
Thursday July 19, Open Studio for Children and Caregivers 11AM-1PM
Child-friendly/-centered art space and time
Thursday July 18, Transforming Broken Systems Through Caring Conversations 5:30-7PM
Discover connection through conversation
Sunday July 21, Make Mends Meet 10:30AM-1PM
Mend the world–or just your socks
Monday July 22, Nutz ‘n Boltz Meeting 6-7:30PM 
Behind the scenes at the Do-It-Yourself Soil Factory Team
 
For more information on anything here, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter

 

 

This Week in Brief
Wednesday July 10, The First Weekly Wednesdays: Works in Progress event @Thesoilfactory 6-9PM
Wednesday July 10 and Thursday July 11, “Loo with a View” Design workshop 11AM-6PM
Friday July 12- 19, The Soil Factory welcomes artist-in-residence Sacha Yanow

 
For more info on any of these events, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter
 

 

 
This Week in Brief
Friday July 5, Food Forest 5:30PM
Sunday July 7, Make Mends Meet 10:30am – 1PM
 
For more details, please see the Soil Factory Newsletter
 
 

This Week in Brief
NO DARKROOM this week
Tuesday June 25,  Community Potluck and Listening Event 5:30pm
Friday June 28, Food Forest 5:30PM

Sunday June 30, OJI:SDA’ Community Volunteer Day at The Soil Factory 4-6:30PM
 
For more information, please see the Soil Factory newsletter.
This Week in Brief

Tuesday June 11, Darkroom 7-9PM
Wednesday June 12, Darkroom 7-9PM
Two nights to delve into darkroom discoveries.

Sunday June 16, Makes Mends Meet 10:30-1pm
Re-tread your summer threads!

Sunday June 16, How to Interview a Loved One 2-4pm
Learn the nuts and bolts of how to interview those nearest and dearest to you.
 
For more information, please read your Soil Factory Newsletter
 
 
This Week in Brief

Tuesday June 4, Darkroom 7-9PM
Work with Black and White, cyanotypes, and other techniques
Wednesday June 5, Darkroom 7-9PM
Your second night to try out Black and White, cyanotypes, and other techniques
Tuesday June 4-Thursday June 6Research Garden Work 9-2
Meet our new Intern Ray and help set up some bale gardens
Friday June 7, Food Forest and Social Hour, 5:30PM
More design and implementation, plus join in for snacks after
Sunday June 9, Building Group, 9:30AM
Continue learning sustainable building techniques with Tom

** Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’ve had to reschedule our Sound of Soil workshop for later this summer. Details to come…
 
 

This Week at the Soil Factory

 
Tuesday May 28, Darkroom 7-9PM
Wednesday May 29, Darkroom 7-9PM
Two nights of Darkroom adventures
Thursday May 30, Creative Thursdays 10:30-12:30
The last week of caregivers and kids creating together
Friday May 31, Food Forest Design 5:30PM
Work continues to plan and lay out the Food Forest
Saturday June 1, Pride & Pollinators at Marshy Garden 2:00-6:00 (Raindate Sunday, June 2) 
A celebration of bio AND diversity
Saturday June 1, OJI:SDA’ Indigenous Medicinal Garden Planting 4:30-7:30pm
Planting shoots and seeds for health
Sunday June 2, Make Mends Meet 10:30pm – 1pm
Mend your soul, mend your clothes
 
For more detail on any of these events, please read the Soil Factory Newsletter…
 
 

 

This Week at the Soil Factory: 

 
Tuesday May 21, Darkroom Cyanotypes 7-9PM
More work with these beautiful blue and white prints
 
Wednesday May 22, Darkroom Exploits 7-9PM
Analog Black and White photos
 
Thursday May 23, Creative Thursday 10:30-12:30
Last week to join in with art for kiddos and their caregivers

MEMORIAL WEEKEND/IMMEMORIAL TRADITIONS at the Soil Factory including:
 
Friday May 24, 10 am – Saturday May 25, 12:12 pm PORTRAIT PAINTING MARATHON
Get your portrait painted
 
Sunday May 26, 4 pm – 5 pm BOOMERANG demo and workshop
Learn something new!
 
Sunday, May 26 SUNSET TANGO
Dance the night away!
5-6PM Beginner lesson -taught by Alina Achenbach-Schill
6-7PM Potluck dinner – join the Tango community
7-8PM The Tango Experience – Practica – Barnaby Ruhe
8PM   Milonga – Community Dance Party
 
Monday, May 27, ANIMAL GAME – Seek and Befriend Your Shamanic Power Animal 1-4PM Summon your animal powers
 
For more info on any of these events, see the SF Newsletter.
 
 
 
This Week at the Soil Factory:

Tuesday-Wednesday May 14-15, Monty Hamm’s installation is up: Mycelium Madness
Fungi sculptures at the Soil Factory
 
Tuesday May 14, Darkroom Cyanotypes and other hybrids 7PM
Focus on specific techniques in the darkroom

Wednesday May 15, Darkroom Exploits 7-9PM
Basic black and white photography

Thursday May 16, Creative Thursdays 10:30-12:30
Kiddos and parents exploring art in nature

Friday May 17, Pizza and Pyrolysis 5:30PM
Learn about pyrolysis and try out our renovated pizza oven

Friday May 17, Food Forest 5:30PM
Planning and planting of berries and bushes

Saturday May 18, Zine Workshop 1:30-4PM
Hands on making of your very own zine

Sunday May 19, Make Mends Meet 10:30-1PM
Mending our clothes and ourselves

Sunday May 19, Whole Hog Roast 4:30PM
Third annual Hog Roast party–food for everyone (non-meat options too)!
 
Monday May 20, De/Critique Group 5-7PM
Feedback group for your artistic creations
 

This Week at the Soil Factory:

Tuesday May 7, Speculative Futures for Cornell Land, 5:30PM

A Cornell class in design shares their creative ideas for reminagining the land holdings of Cornell, inspired from research, historical texts and local partners. Dinner after.

Wednesday May 8, More Darkroom Fun 7-9PM

Black and white photography and cyanotype fun continues. No experience necessary.

Thursday May 9, Creative Thursdays with Debora Faccion, 10:30-12:30

Kiddos and caregivers explore the fun of art through nature and discovery.

Friday May 10, Co-working and Cocktails 10-6:30

Bring your work and share space, place and coffee, tea and after hours beverages with your SF community.

Friday May 10 Food Forest Planning and Prep 5:30PM with potluck after

Continue planning and start prepping and planting.

Saturday, May 11, Soil Factory Clean Up, 1-5PM, pizza party after

Join in to help us clean up the Soil Factory inside and out! We’ll fire up the pizza oven afterwards.

Sunday, May 12, Clothing Swap and Trinket Trade 1-5PM 

Bring what you’re bored with…pick out something new to you!

Sunday, May 12, Road Ecology, 1-5PM

Learn about our local wildlife and their vulnerabilities. Bring a tshirt or something to silkscreen on.

For more details, see this week’s SF Newsletter.

This week at the Soil Factory:

Tuesday, April 30, Artist Residency Meeting 6PM
For anyone interested in being involved in running the Art Residency Program at the SF

Wednesday, May 1, Parallel Passages Art Exhibition Opening 6-8PM
Student projects explore animation and video installations, electronic sound objects, kinetic sculptures and Augmented and Virtual Reality experiences. Bring your mobile device and headphones to best experience some of the pieces.

Thursday, May 2, Creative Thursdays with Debora Faccion, 10:30-12:30 

Exploration of art with children 0-12 and their caregivers for discovery of new media and techniques.

Saturday, May 4, Music at the SF hosted by Travis Johns, 8PM
One of those weird music shows we host here from time to time. Three great musical artists.

Sunday, May 5, Work Party on the Greenhouse, 9-3
Come mix, mingle, and help build a greenhouse…

Sunday, May 5, Make Mends Meet, 10:30-1
Mending, stitching, sewing together. No skill needed!

Sunday, May 5, Climate Fiction Writing Group, 3-5PM
Read, write and talk about Climate Fiction (Cli Fi)

Sunday, May 5, Wing Fling, 6PM
Join in for a wander to look at and draw insects; potluck dinner together!

Tuesday, May 7, Speculative Futures, 5:30PM
Listen to new thoughts about Cornell land by a student group studying speculative futures. See their ideas. Stay for dinner!

For more info on any of these events, see the Soil Factory Newsletter!

March 20, (Wednesday) 7:00pm Thinking B&W photography — The basics of developing a roll of film. The developers and fixers are now here and ready for use!

For those potential visual luminaries who refuse to let the art of Black and White analog photography and other alternative photographic methods fade into oblivion under the onslaught of digital throw away culture and half second attention spans, Here’s your opportunity! The Soil Factory community darkroom continues it’s series of photography and image exploration.

The chemistry is here now and hopefully last week everyone had a chance to practice loading film onto the spools using the changing bag.  If not, there’s plenty of time to continue to master your technique.  These sessions are open to everyone curious enough to delve into the mysteries of the alternative photographic universe… 

This workshop is offered at no charge except for the cost of materials (Approximately $2.50 per film canister) Bring an exposed roll of Black and white film to develop. For those who don’t have an old film camera or rolls of B&W film, The Soil Factory has a few loaners and invites those people interested in exploring to come ask questions, and learn more.

Future workshops will delve into the mysteries of creating images using classic photographic enlargers, those behemoths that both inspired and challenged generations of darkroom enthusiasts. Cyanotypes, salt prints, van dyke prints and other alternative techniques including caffenol (essentially developing film with cheap instant coffee and orange juice) and other interesting combinations. Let’s explore some possibilities.  Please contact neil@askpearl.com to make sure enough room and materials are available for the event.

 

Debora Faccion Grodzki is incorporating into her studio practice to be at the SF warehouse every Thursday morning — most of the time with children!

She writes:
“…My little intervention today was also to invite whoever wants to talk through their thoughts about creative projects — how to structure it theoretically, find art historical references, etc — to feel free to meet me at the warehouse on Thursdays too! I have a few years of experience mentoring artists this way, and I would love to chat with folks at the SF. Again, I plan to be there every Thursday morning, usually between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM, so it will be easy to find me. Anyone who is a parent/ caregiver and would like to meet me there with their children, please email me in advance so I know their age and can plan accordingly. Or show up to invent something together on the spot! Everyone is an artist, too, and everything I do is art (I write more about this in my artist statement), so we can figure anything out together at The Soil Factory.”

March 22 (Friday),  8:00pm Claude and Ola Aldous, Marilyn Borer Bor, Multifungi, & Vaux Flores
Our resident electronic music maven Travis Johns has invited some friends from the Adirondacks to come by and treat us to their explorative mix of musical talent. Joining us tonight will also be visual & performance artist Marilyn Borer Bor whose work explores her Mayan heritage, directly addressing racism, patriarchy, colonialism, identity, etc. through print, video, performance, photography, installation and artifact, often going to such extremes as literally changing her name as well as encasing herself in concrete. Paulina Velazquez Solís will be performing live animation and sound, and Travis himself will be taking some video synthesis hardware for a spin? We’re in for an exciting evening!

The Storied Maple: Community Storytelling Around a Maple Sap Boil

Due to Rain, this event has been moved to Sunday March 24, 1pm – 4pm 

March 23 (Saturday), 4pm – 6pm Rural Futurists with Ojok Okello and Jacob Fox

Community builder and rural futurist Ojok Okello, the organizer of the Okere City Community Development project in Uganda, will sit down with Jacob Fox, a local regenerative systems expert from Geneva NY to discuss the topic of Rural Futurism. Ojok is doing fabulous work on this concept in Uganda and has agreed to share his experiences with us.  

What can we learn from Ojok’s Okere City Project, and what is the relevance of this kind of thinking and approach to upstate NY? Come and hear more from these visionaries.  

March 23 (Saturday) 6:00pm – 8:00pm Community Potluck

Come and enjoy good food and conversation
 to wrap up Saturday’s activities. Meet new and interesting people, and reconnect with old friends. Bring a dish to pass with your food of choice, though food made with the 3 sisters in mind (corn, beans or squash) would be particularly apropos for the occasion. Each of our community meals leads to interesting new ideas,  nascent projects, and captivating discussions. Come and enjoy what The Soil Factory is all about!
 
And if we’re lucky, John Walsh will bring his homemade cacophone; a really unique instrument and everyone gets to play a part
The Storied Maple: Community Storytelling Around a Maple Sap Boil
 
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2024
1:00 – 4:00 PM
The Soil Factory
 
 
Join our durational storytelling session over boiling pots of maple sap on a spring afternoon. While boiling down the sap around a fire together, storytellers with a range of backgrounds and experiences will share their connection to the Maple tree and the forest. Members of the public are invited to join in with their own maple stories and to learn about the process of creating maple syrup. As we stir the pot together, we will boil down ideas and sap, creating syrup by the end of the day for all to enjoy.
 
Honoring our deep and ongoing connection to land, invited storytellers include local indigenous leaders, tree researchers, artists, historians, maple farmers, food scientists and more. Participating storytellers include:
Anna Davidson
Mike DeMunn (Onödowáʼga)
Josh Dolan
Emma Gutierrez
Stephen Henhawk (Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ)
Kelly Presutti
Michelle Seneca (Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ)
Gabe Smith
Alina Stelick

March 16 (Saturday) 5:00pm; Artist Talk — Matthew Fenn and Weeds in Winter;

Matthew Fenn explores environmental transitions and plant resilience outside of the Northeast growing season.  

Matthew explains:
“During this past November and December, I collected the remains of common agricultural weeds from meadows around Ithaca and used these as templates for making cyanotypes- an alternative form of photography with historical ties to plant classification and taxonomy.  In capturing ghostly images of what’s left behind from these plants in the “off season,” my hope is to document some of the species- especially those often overlooked or undesired- that contribute every year to the character of our regional landscape.  Furthermore, I want to reflect upon how these plant communities may fluctuate and adapt to a changed environment in the years to come.”

Matthew’s work will be displayed at TSF through March 23.

 

Debora Faccion Grodzki is incorporating into her studio practice to be at the SF warehouse every Thursday morning — most of the time with children!

She writes:
“I spent some time this morning at the warehouse thinking through ideas, and I created a little poster and added a couple of books to the display that currently shows what Johannes brought about Black Mountain College. I plan to leave my poster there for one or two weeks. However, my little intervention today was also to invite whoever wants to talk through their thoughts about creative projects — how to structure it theoretically, find art historical references, etc — to feel free to meet me at the warehouse on Thursdays too! I have a few years of experience mentoring artists this way, and I would love to chat with folks at the SF. Again, I plan to be there every Thursday morning, usually between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM, so it will be easy to find me. Anyone who is a parent/ caregiver and would like to meet me there with their children, please email me in advance so I know their age and can plan accordingly. Or show up to invent something together on the spot! Everyone is an artist, too, and everything I do is art (I write more about this in my artist statement), so we can figure anything out together at The Soil Factory.”

March 8-15th   Curator Milan Taylor and artists Mia Brown-Seguin, Tim Green, Eli Newell, and Bradley Verhelle have installed their exhibition in The Soil Factory warehouse. In Small Things Forgotten will be on view with a reception and artist talk March 15th (Friday) 6:00pm – 8:00pm.

In Small Things Forgotten is an exploration of art and archaeology through elements of the natural world and how humans mold them. The multidisciplinary exhibition encourages audience participation with many of the displays and invites questions about scale, influence, and care. Featuring work from Cornell students in fine arts, soil sciences, archaeology, and environmental science programs.

March 11th-16th The Soil Factory welcomes our next Artist-in-Residence, Maria Mironova, who says: “Hello, I’m Masha. I mainly work with photography and alternative photographic processes. I am interested in fragmenting certain images to expose a larger picture, one that is hiding in separate pieces of film.” She’ll be  discovering what fragmented images may lurk in the warehouse and beyond!

February 24th (Saturday) 4pm – 6pm: Artist in Residence Debora Faccion Grodzki will present I Bring You Flowers, an exhibition to conclude her residency at The Soil Factory.

From our artist in residence Debora Faccion Grodzki

This week, I’ll be meeting every day with folks who scheduled with me, and everyone is welcome to help me spread as much casein paint as possible on a large canvas that I’ll be placing inside the warehouse. On Thursday, in particular, I’ll meet with Marisa Mandabach, who, like me, is an art historian + painter + mother of a little one living in Ithaca. Marisa proposes that we do a 45-minute workshop about baroque European “forest floor” paintings. She wrote: “Flourishing in the second half of the seventeenth century, such images offered viewers a transgressive glimpse into nature’s secrets: the murky, steamy, mossy world of the understory. This reflected the new visual culture of microscopy, which revealed the life forces hidden in materia, a whole universe in a handful of mud. In a world where the “artist” had been defined as an essentially masculine figure—heroically infusing dead materials with life—forest floor paintings also represented an alternative, more maternal model of artistry aligned with the creativity of mother nature. The genre was taken up by many women painters whose works we will discuss.” After her workshop, if there is interest, I can lead an intuitive drawing session to experiment with creating images of plants that go beyond the botanical or the microscopic “figurative.”

Marisa and I will meet on Thursday February 15 from 10:30 AM – 12 PM, and we hope other folks can meet with us, too. Please let me know if you are available that day and time and if you would feel like joining us!  

Saturday, February 17th, between 4 and 6 PM, another local mother, Stephany Item, will lead an Embodiment Movement Session. Please bring a yoga mat if you have one. We will welcome children of every age with their caregivers! There is one artwork to do collectively during this session, and the canvas will continue to be available for some free painting, too! Also, a few local mothers who are visual artists will bring their work to show at the event

February 18 (Sunday), from 1 – 4pm

Make Mends Meet – this week is gathering at a different time, combined with the Ithaca Barter Market into one huge event!

February 18 (Sunday), from 1 – 4pm; The Ithaca Barter Market & Make Mends Meet

Lots of  music, broom making, Make Mends Meet, embroidery, and low-tek mushroom cultivation. This is one day you don’t want to miss!

TSF member Allison Desario is hosting a barter market at The Soil Factory and everyone is invited!  She explains;

The Barter Market is a place where we can build community connections while divesting from the monetary system. It’s a cross between a farmers market, an artists market, and a skill share gathering where trading items, talent, food, medicine, etc. is more valuable than cash. Cash offers won’t be turned away but this is a chance to figure out what you can offer as a community member! Part of the goal for organizing these is an opportunity for people to continue bartering outside of the market, as well.

Some examples? Trading childcare for a haircut, gutter cleaning for clothes tailoring, massage sessions for a vegetable csa, or any other ideas you might have. Skill share workshop presenters and musicians are offering their wisdom and talent throughout the day, we also want to make sure they get barter offers for their time! If this sounds intriguing, come to The Soil Factory with your goods, your skills, and an open mind. We’ll have some kids toys for the little ones.