The Word Radical Comes from the Latin Word for Root

"The word radical comes from the Latin word for root. Perhaps the most radical thing you can do in our time is to start turning over the soil, loosening it up for the crops to settle in, and then stay home to tend them. " This was taken from an article written by REBECCA SOLNIT in one of my favorite online magazines , ORION. My husband and I have been thinking a great deal about just this subject. We are looking for land or a small farm on which to put down our roots and grow things . We hope one day to be self sustaining and to live life with a very small ecological footprint. Until that time I am quite content to temporarily place my roots in my current habitat. Even before I read this article I had planned to make a covered stone with roots. These important words just gave it a greater meaning. It is my first attempt incorporate three dimensional crochet into the covered stone. I purchased the yarn for the roots on friday when I was in Kensington Market at Lettuce Knit. . It is habu lace weight cashmere and I think I am in love ( oops I hope my husband didn't read that). If you have roots you can build a nest and then maybe after a while something beautiful and unexpected will come to live there with you. In Feng shui yellow is associated with the earth element along with a sense of unity and wholeness. I made this tiny little bird with needle felting and the nest is actually the top of a small acorn. I had just a little bit of fun photographing this. Anyone else out there wanting to live a more radical ( rooted) life.

Comments

[jessica]

Oh, yes. I've had farm dreams since before I could remember-- and they seem more and more pressing and necessary now. I'd love to just have a few backyard chickens and a garden to accompany our suburban life-- come spring we'll grow some things.

I am just loving your covered stones. So, so, so lovely to me.

[Jennifer]

My goodness, you're always coming up with surprises!

I have fantasies about a life in the woods, in a cabin - but we are pretty settled here in suburbia. I have a tiny garden that I want to make bigger and grow more of my own food. I'd like to get a canner and learn how to use it. I've been thinking about getting a few chickens, too. Not sure what my hubby would think about it! But after reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the idea of being more self-sufficient is really appealing.

[dawn]

I was also going to mention having read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"! That, along with our new found vegetarianism have changed our lives so much over the past year. Although we live in suburbia, I grew tomatoes this year, made jams from organic fruits from the farmer's market. In the spring I hope to plant my front yard in more edible plants such as berries and squash. We try to eat both organic and local whenever possible and to minimize the waste that we produce as a family. Baby steps, teaching steps, learning steps. It's all good.

[sarah]

Thanks for the link to the Orion article.

[Jennifer]

I too have read this article (& Barbara's book) and know the implications of such actions could be profound if practiced on a large scale. Thanks for your interpretation with the stones. I love it.

[chelsea]

Goodness! I love your little rooted stone!

I hope that you find your land and that the soil is good for putting down roots. I just put to bed my first large garden in some time. It was a challenging, but rewarding season and I can't think of anything more satisfying than being more self-sustaining. How I envy those who live so close to the land!

[Patricia]

I dream about our potential farm every day!! First step, though, is to make more of what we have where we live, and there seem to be a lot of opportunities for growing and learning right in our yard.

What a radically rooted rock!!

[Mara]

You just hit the nail on the head for me....I was just talking to my husband the other day about how wonderful it would be to depend on ourselves more. I think it would do our children well to learn how to take care of themselves...we just don't know how out of control gas, food and the like will get. I guess for now I must make the most of the land I do have.
By the way....I just drool over your wonderful creations. I love how different and inspiring they are. :))

[emilykristin]

You're temporary rootedness until you find some land (and yes! I have that hope too) reminded me of something my Christian community talks about often. It's this beautiful passage in Jeremiah, where God talks to the Israelites who were exiled and didn't know when they'd get to go back home: "Build homes... Plant gardens and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children... Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare." Isn't that lovely? And it helps in this time when so many of us feel so unrooted and not at home.

[Elizabeth]

Wow. I just can't get enough of your organic, woodsy, crocheted and felted art!

[megan noel]

i love your rock with roots!

i grew up on a small farm on an island. it was a wonderful experience. we had gardens and an orchard, sheep - mostly for wool, but also for meat - my parents spun and my mother wove. we also had angora rabbits for the wool, and we borded llamas. oh, and we had chickens, though they were not quite as exotic! i would love to live on a farm again some day, or at least in the country. or on an island. my parents sold the farm when i was in middle school.

[kristin]

you are a fiber genius!! i just can't get enough.

[Ella]

so much sweetness here. a lovely little photo shoot.

[mayaluna]

There is always so much depth and meaning to what you create. I love your rooted rock and wish I could gently touch that delicious yarn. I'm grateful for the choices my urban husband and I made before we had children- to live in the country where we would be in touch with the seasons and could feed ourselves from our land. It's not always easy and we could always do more along the spectrum of sustainablity, but it's a cozy and satisfying life. I do miss our chickens... maybe someday we'll do it again. I can only imagine the beautiful little homestead you will have one day... with your yurt nestled into a sweet meadow. But I love what you do everyday with what you have and where you are: you're a wonderful model to us all!

[Judi]

What an interesting post. I am always learning something new blogging around...
I love what you have made. They are just darling! You are so clever and so talented.
Thank you for sharing.
Judi

[elizabeth of course]

Oh my Lord, I love everything in everone of these photos. Marvelous work!
And Wonderful blog. I'll be back for sure.

[Leslie]

Your work is very inspiring. I like how organic and textural it is.

[viagra online]

So before leaving or going to bed, just take the 30 extra seconds to lock away anything special and you will eliminate the opportunity for someone to just reach in and pick up a camera, etc.. Then you may fully enjoy the openess of our style of living which often includes no vista-obstructing windows.

[Alice Sailer]

Ese es mi sueño también... por ahora construyo mi nido en medio de la ciudad, en una casa vieja, con un pequeño patio en donde tenemos una huerta y soñamos con el día en que el patio se transforme en campo....

[FionaKemLeiper]

Hi I love what you're sharing.....it is simple and profound. thanks
I also LOVE your art!