I am in Oaxaca for a week participating in this trial run of my friends new residency program ...there are 9 or so of us, artists and craftspeople who are using the time to pursue research project outside of normal their normal environmental constraints - for me thats a busy studio amidst a relocation and renovation, sheep and farm chores, teaching, etc. Its surprising what focus you can have when normal life falls away. And with Mexican coffee, which I am hotly pursuing here.

I have always been interested in the occult from a safe distance. Unfortunately it attracts - by it's nature - a host of unsavory woo-woo types who are eager to latch on to stupid ideas without serious thought or consideration, booking ayahuasca retreats upstate or in Bushwick basements. Zooming out, we can see a wave of 70's era influence in fashion and culture swirling around us. To each, his own; it's not my intention to pass judgement here; it takes all sorts to form a sea change in thought -- and that's what we're after here. (Let the record show: I'm too chicken for hallucinogens.)

A shift in thought patterns, a coaxing to personal responsibility to care for our environment and each other BETTER. That's what I'm interested in, and that I feel has to be explored outside of science. Because science is limited. Historically religion fills in the gaps. But what if instead we loosened our grips on what we know as our human reality and let ourselves fall a little more under the spell of the plant world?

In my reading these first two days I've stumbled upon a quote from Karl Pearson from his 1892 text The Grammar of Science:

"The Laws of nature are relative to the perceptive ability of the observer.."

It's the edge of the cliff, where the laws of science end. This is where things become interesting.
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HOW DO YOU PARTICIPATE?
Mark your calendar for March 6th - 13th -- we'll be hosting PLANT LAB; a visual plant paradise where you can find your own specimens to nurture at home, AND where you can sign up for some workshops we'll be hosting about plant propagation, city kitchen gardening, and more. Info on classes coming next week...
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And to my devotee Lisa, I know this stuff causes you great concern. Imagine us sitting once again in a downtown San Francisco coffee shop. It's still the same me; down to earth, quantitative. But curious. Go with me on this for a while...