The Art of Listening

"It struck me as I listened to those two men that a truer nomination for our species than Homo sapiens might be Homo narrans, the storytelling person."

From Saturday's NY Times:

The Art of Listening

Eat Food? Join us!

Join us this Tuesday, Dec 13 at 6 pm. at The Brickhouse for a screening of the Academy-Award nominated food documentary "Food Inc." The screening is part of Fresh Start Community Farm's Over-Winter Workshop series and is a great introduction to some of the major issues affecting your food. More substance than scare, Food Inc. will inspire your mom to be a locavore, move your brother to join a CSA, and give all of us great ideas about what we can do where we live to make our food safer, healthier, and less costly. Enter through the side door, closest to Main St. Suggested donation $5.

Word of the Week: "Defenestrate"

Defenestrate-v., to throw a person or thing out of a window. Popularized by two incidents in Prague, one in 1419 and another in 1618. In the first incident, a congregation of Hussites was hit with a rock thrown from the town hall where the town council was meeting. The congregation stormed the hall, and threw the judge, burgomaster, and 13 members of the town council out the window. 

(The Hussite Wars broke out shortly after and lasted for 17 years) 

Courtesy of Brickhouse farmartivist Chris Venegas

The Green Beautiful

If Earth seems to you like an odd, nonsensicial, but potentially beautiful place, you might like "The Green Beautiful," a 1996 film by Alain Sarde recently translated into English. The opening 10 minutes were actually filmed at one of our recent meetings, so if you're curious about our working process, take a look!

Word of the Week: "Fiat Money"

Fiat money, n.-1. money with no intrinsic value that only has value because of government regulation or law. 2. the form of currency used by the United States since 1971. 3. an arbitrary decree or pronouncement, especially by a person or group of persons having absolute authority to enforce it, as in "The king ruled by fiat."

Origin:
 Latin "fiat," meaning "let it be done."

Sold Out in 4 Minutes

NEWPORT--While some were pepper-spraying fellow shoppers to keep them away from half-price video games, a half dozen neighbors in Newport, VT were waiting peacefully in line at their local independent food store, hugging bags of spinach and discussing consumption, food, and the madness of "the holiday." The group, which included Brickhouse artists, community organizers, and a local lunch lady, purchased the store's entire supply of Berry Creek Farm spinach in the first 4 minutes of business, as well as other provisions like eggs and quinoa to complete their spinach recipe of choice.

But the Green Friday bliss wasn't without its own moment of tension. When the sixth and final shopper, Occupy organizer Diane Peel, arrived late to find all of the spinach taken, a brief panic ensued over who could be first to give Diane one of their extra bags. Shouts of "I have more than I need, take mine!" were met with equally vociferous accusations of "You always share what you have, let me do it for a change!" Diane, eager to make peace, quickly plucked the nearest bag of spinach and after a few sharp smiles between other shoppers, calm returned to the store. Around 8:30, calm walked out of the store with 6 different people, travelling throughout Newport for the rest of the morning.

Enjoy these photos of the first ever Green Friday, and remember: it doesn't have to be me vs. you vs. everybody else. It's just spinach.

Thanks Gerard!

Brickhouse artists Khristopher Flack and Andrew Traverso-Estes wait with Green Friday inserts in front of Newport Natural Foods, ready to "bust the doors." 

Andrew boxes out Orleans Elementary Food Service Director Rosie Pallotta to get his hands on what the Newport Daily called "the must have green stuff."

Khris comes to the rescue

DOORBUSTER DEALS, GREEN FRIDAY, DOORS OPEN AT 8 AM!

This holiday season, GERARD CROIZET'S new line of ORGANIC WINTER SPINACH is the MUST have item and on GREEN FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25th, Newport Natural Foods is giving it away by the bagful at FULL PRICE! That's right, you heard us: FULL PRICE. Are they crazy? They must be! Don't let your kid get laughed out of the lunchroom--shop smart and stuff his stocking (and his socks) with Berry Creek Farm spinach!

Don't be caught sleeping; doors open promptly at 8 am. 

Only while supplies last.  Offer not valid anywhere but Newport, Vermont. Cannot be combined with any other offer. 

"The evolutionary potential in wherever we are right now..."

Check out the new article Anywhere is Everywhere by Brickhouse member Khristopher Flack, discussing the ideas behind Fresh Start Community Farm's work in Newport, as published in the latest issue of the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. Print copies available at The Brickhouse in December. 

Connected and Consequential: Creating New Art Ecologies in the Pioneer Valley

Do you like art? Do you like finding new and creative ways to use art as a means to solve problems that communities face every day? So do we at The Brickhouse, and, as it turns out, so do the good people of Northampton, Massachusetts. On Saturday, November 12, a FREE, four-session conference will be presented by Artists in Context, in collaboration with C3, Valley Art Share, the Northampton Arts Council, and the Smith College Art and Theater Department.

The keynote speaker will be Mary Pottenger, Director and Founder of Art at Work. Panels will focus on, among other things, how art may be used as a means to solve municipal problems, how best to use language to frame these sorts of alternative “hybrid” endeavors and attract potential investors, discussion of how art can create a unique space in which to view society in alternative ways, and alternative mapping techniques and their use in research endeavors.

We at The Brickhouse are very excited about this opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals, and are looking forward to learning and sharing ideas. More information can be found at the Artists in Context website. We hope to see you there!

Vending Joy

"Joy Balls! Get your Joy Balls!...handmade, hand-wrapped, hand-tied, hand-written, delivered hand to hand...we are your neighbors!"

Jen and I strolled down the center of a closed off Main St. like concession barkers scaling stadium steps. On either sidewalk, trick or treaters and their parents shuffled from store to store, stocking up on candy. We stopped everyone we saw by smiling through the shivering air and asking "Hey...want a treat?"

Everyone did want a treat and when we held out our baking sheet of what looked more like a pile of paperweights than candy, they trusted us enough to take one, along with our friendly note:

"Don't Be Scared!

If you trust Nestle you can trust your neighbor. A Baby Ruth has 20 ingredients. A Butterfinger has 19. This Joy Ball has 4. And here's our recipe:

1 c. raw rolled oats

1/4 c. honey

1 c. peanut butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix ingredients and form into 1 tsp balls. Place on a baking sheet, chill for 15 minutes, and enJOY!

HAPPY Halloween!"

I watched strangers, new neighbors, and old friends read my handwriting,smile, laugh, and chew.

"Wow...these are delicious...can I still drive home?"

"Can I take home a second one for my boy?"

"Oh I'll get one from you later...I can just knock on your door if I want one, right?"

I can't imagine a better first foray for The Brickhouse or a better reception for it. I believe in my neighbors, their common sense, their smiles, and in a Revolution of Little Things, in this case as little as 1 teaspoon.

Many thanks to Joy Peyton for lending her name and joy to these delightful treats.

For more on this project, see "Vending Joy" on our Projects page.

The Farmartalist's Feast: Aftertaste

With 8 milk crates, a tapestry to cover them, and 10 pillows, The Brickhouse came together over its first meal:

Curried Squash, cornbread, a green salad, beet and goat cheese salad, black bean dip, roasted parsnip and white bean soup, 2 kinds of homemade kraut, apple pie, husk cherry crisp, and parsnip wine, popped for the first time after 8 months of waiting. 

In the 3 hours that followed, we discovered what we suspected and more: we were a room of musicians, farmers, printmakers, writers, healers, dancers, MCs, chefs, educators, performers, leatherworkers, brewers, and friends. We each want an outlet for our passions that's viable and useful for ourselves and our community. We have a lot to teach one another; we have a lot to learn.

The Express and Standard building has told this story before. We're adding our voices to the echoes of that story, filling the space with our ideals before filling it with furniture. That means there's still just enough room for you. What do you say?

The Brickhouse Exists!

For many years, the concept associated with Brickhouse has been forming in the minds and hearts of many folks. Just recently, a beautiful brick building was found in the magical kingdom of the North Eastern  United States, and it was decided that this concept could become reality in this building. Similar to most of us, who were concepts in our mother's wombs, and were given names upon birth, our concept can now be called "The Brickhouse." Now that there is a mail box accepting letters, love notes, art projects, daydreams, and so much more from anyone across the entire globe... there can be a way to keep everyone who is interested in The Brickhouse and our associated concept, theory, projects, etcetera informed and updated! And so... I said... let there be light.