The Final Shebang

By Harriet Fawcett

White Sands

October 22, 2015

I’ve seen about every type of weather condition now while travelling with Land Arts. As we arrived at White Sands National Monument we were welcomed by a pretty violent hailstorm. Now the weather is changing I feel a lot more at home in my winter coat rather than a constant layer of sun cream over my sunburn.  Once the storm had passed we were gifted with a perfect final day of weather.

Our chosen mode of transport at white sands

 















Great picturesque snaps to show the family back home.

 Braving it in the hammock to save my tent from the notorious gypsum sand

Disguised under a layer of sunburn I believe a tan is starting to appear. I’ve  finally adjusted to the heat just as we enter the colder fall months, brilliant! 

Make Do and Improvise

By Harriet Fawcett

Big Bend

October 18, 2015

Make Do and improvise the motto of today’s excursion to Mexico. Clark and I took Paula’s sledge to Mexico. We swam across, to collect clay.  We still haven’t learnt. Ziploc bags are possibly the worst thing to collect clay in but there the only thing we have at hand so I guess we had to make do. Four Ziploc bags of clay from Mexico and four from Texas. With no way of carrying them back we floated them down the Rio Grande. We still have to figure out a way of transporting the clay back to Albuquerque in these shitty Ziploc bags. We didn’t think this one through.  

Update on the Olla

By Harriet Fawcett

Turkey Creek/ Gila

November 7, 2015

Olla Planted 15^th October

Olla Update 7^th November  

3 weeks from when we planted our Olla we arrived back at the Gila River to collect more willow to continue on with the project. While we were there we checked on the Progress of the planted Olla. Astonishingly it has started sprouting after only 3 weeks of being in the ground. 

The Perfect Playground

By Harriet Fawcett

Turkey Creek/ Gila

October 14, 2015

The Gila River is a beautiful place to explore. So many great things happened to me here. Firstly, without realizing I pitched my tent right next to a hot spring, people would pay good money for this sort of convenience. I learnt the art of basketry. I gained a lot of respect for this craft; the art of patience was defiantly learnt through the process of harvesting the willow and weaving it into a basket.  Finally at 10 o’clock on the dot every night the camp was visited by a skunk. With her continuing presence she gained the name of Rosie. I never knew Skunks were so punctual.

 

Halfway through weaving the Olla.

 

Once the Olla was complete the basket was handed over the performance team to choreograph the sequence in which the olla was transported to its planting site

 

Sock and sandals, the perfect combination to allow you to be at breakfast on time and also deal with the chilly starts at 7.00am. Who said Land Arts wasn’t fashion forward.

A Swing found while hiking, perfect playground, swinging over the Gila River.  

Fall Coloured Drive

By Harriet Fawcett

Valle Vidal

September 26, 2015

There is something magical about the time of year when the trees start changing colour and their own yearly ritual of preparation for the winter months begins.

The drive to Valle Vidal was beautiful. I feel most privilege to have witnessed the trees starting to turn this picturesque glistening shade of gold. The turning trees dotted across the landscape in clusters, when looking out of the van I caught glimpses of the beautiful flashes of autumn colours red, yellow, purple, black, orange, pink and brown all shooting past the window as we drove.  Time flies much quicker when you’re occupied with such beauty.

I brought a teapot with me to Ville Vidal. I wanted to engage with the landscape over the very British custom of Afternoon Tea. Making use of the resources around me I spent two consecutive mornings collecting rosehip berries and wild mint from the surrounding area. I reached out to the individual who told me of their location and invited them to join me for tea at the site where earlier that day we harvested the vegetation. I wanted to allow for another sensory stimuli to come into play while experiencing the surrounding area, allowing for our Connection to place to blossom through the use of taste.

 

Foraging for Rosehip berries by the stream

 

Rosehip tea in the location where we were foraging

Naïve

By Harriet Fawcett

Four Corners

September 23, 2015

Over the past three days as a group we travelled around the Four Corners region exploring the different locations for resource extraction. Lead by Diné activist, Anna Rondon we were guided around the sites of preexisting uranium mines, current coal mining and very much active areas for fracking. We were told about the implications each of these sites had on the Navajo people who lived and worked there. It wasn’t until I arrived at the sites when I truly understood the suffering. I felt the pain as we arrived at the fracking site. As soon as we exited the van the constant loud groaning of machinery was apparent. We spent around an hour there and I couldn’t help being thankful to get back in the van away from the noise to collect my thoughts. It truly upset me to know that I was able to leave after an hour and others had to endure this distress continuously.

How can we be so naïve to where our power comes from?

How can we be so naïve to the effects it has on a whole nation?

 

LOST

By Harriet Fawcett

El Vado 

September 19, 2015

#findpaulasflipflops

A problem that has arisen in the world of Land Arts is the confusion between what is a ‘beautiful art piece’ and what is simply a pair of flip-flops escaping into the abyss on El Vado Lake. A crucial member of the Land Arts team turned her back on the escapee flip flops for only a minute. Unsure of the location of them, she proceeded to consult with others on the whereabouts of her flip-flops. She was informed that they were last sighted floating away from the shoreline on El Vado Lake. The question was asked, why didn’t you stop them? This was followed by the answer “it looked like you were creating a beautiful art piece”.  This blog post is an appeal aiming to reunite the lost flip-flops with our Land Arts family. If sighted you may mistake them for an art piece but you will be wrong!

If found please photograph and upload to social media with the tags

#findpaulasflipflops and #landartsunm

WE WILL NOT STOP UNTILL THE FLIP-FLOPS ARE FOUND!