Inside to Outside to a Whole New One
The way the desert is, weaving what ever it is that I am thinking about into an endless curving strange fabric that covers until the horizon. The feedback loop. Time happens and happens. I have not written in this space for a while, as I have not been reflecting, and have really just become a part of the boulders, etc. When people come from outside there is a pocket to re imagine, to see the shift in a brain coming from a city, from everything closer up all the time, from louder language and quieter nature to an expanse of tan and sky and self. Priska and Andrea came from Basel, Switzerland to research for their next fashion publication. The last one was about color and subjectivity, and feeling, and the importance of the specificity of individual experience in fashion. They came here to consider the whole practice of life and living, of the choices people make when they decide to leave what is known, and start a thing out here. Right now its so windy that it looks foggy, but its light yellow and sand. Priska and Andrea were doing research in the desert about the human spirit, so we went and talked with BC about toning and creativity, and what it takes to be here. Talked to Reanna about solar ovens, and quilting, and living communally in an extended family compound. To Garth about water, and what he wore when he was wandering barefoot on a spiritual quest. His clothes rolled into a bag with pockets that was also a bed-roll and pillow, all home-made and sewn.They left everyone we talked to with a post-card with a question on it, for the research, which everyone is supposed to mail back. Mine is What are you dis-satified with? The place in Switzerland which is the most similar to the desert is the Rhine River, because it is wild, and because people in the city find a quiet place on a boat and feel the current that has always been. Having visitors with questions and a feeling to know a place and learn from, and realize that here is all about us, and what we have inside, and what is assumed, then the layers beneath.
Katie Bachler was our first HDTS Scout, and was in residence from 2012-2013.
The HDTS Scout Residency is dedicated to learning more about the people and places that make up our diverse and ever evolving community.
During Katie’s residency, visitors were invited to drop into the HDTS HQ, the Scout’s home base, to meet Katie, who could be found making maps, hosting conversations, and baking bread – in between her off-site adventures around town and out in the field.
Katie had a lot in store during her time here, including:
- a series of talks featuring local experts
- joining together to create a web of knowledge
- a research library and archive documenting the many spaces, places, plants, and people that make up this special region
- casual conversations with drop in visitors over tea
- site visits and field trips around town
Katie engaged the community by instigating map-making and rag-rug braiding workshops, the Scout’s Book Club, Art in the Environment classes for desert kids, casual conversations, site visits and field trips—all shared in her Scout’s blog, which serves as the foundation for her book.
