FOLK Spring 2020 Preview

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Slow Living OLD FASHIONED & RURAL

SLOW LIVING Somewhere along this journey of life, we realize we’re all tied together…threads in an eternal tapestry of humanity. Our stories are connected through time, space, circumstance, and oftentimes a love of food.

“GET THE MARGARINE, today is not the day to be experimenting with butter,” my dad says as he prepares to make the mashed potatoes that in two hours we’ll serve at the Ashby family Christmas, a dinner that has been hosted annually by someone in our family since the 50s. The tradition of hosting has been passed down from my aunts over the years to my cousin, and it now belongs to my dad. Here we are with an oven full of dishes I prepared the day before, and him with a stove full of dishes he’s currently preparing and the pressure of knowing…that I come from a family of cooks.

I grew up on a farm in Kentucky that originated in the late 1700s. The land was from one of those original land grants given to people settling west of the colonies. I oftentimes joke that my family has only moved three times since the dark ages…which is basically true. That farm taught me a lot about living, I didn’t realize at the time it was considered “slow living,” to me, it was just living.

In 1991 my parents built a sandy colored ranch house with blue plastic shutters, beige walls, chain

link fences, and an American flag in the front yard. It was a one-acre plot of land carved out of a field down on one end of the farm, next to the creek that gave the valley its name— Walton Creek. Growing up we didn’t use the kitchen a whole lot. I don’t think the dishwasher was used until two years before we moved out.

The houses next to ours, lined perfectly along the loop road, a road that was a cut-off part of the old county road that had a county highway bypass through it in the 50s.

The houses belonged to my greataunt and my grandfather. They’d been on that land since they were born. Children of the 20s, they had one of the first Model T’s in the tiny town of 300.

They grew up on the farm back when the barn was filled with cattle, the farm still had old homesteads dotting it, and the big school was within walking distance. They lived their lives tending to the big garden that was in the back of the old white farmhouse my great-great grandparents built. The garden stands where the original log cabin for the farm once stood.

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RURAL RECORD Matthew Walton has set out to document the rural landscapes of the midwest with @theruralrecord. His images tell timely stories of the past and future of America’s heartland.

I GREW UP IN POCAHONTAS, ARKANSAS, a town of about 7,000. It sits on the Black River in the Northeast region of the state. It’s an interesting location, as it shows an immediate transition from flat, farm land to the birth of the Ozark foothills. Twelve years ago, I moved to Jonesboro, AR, the most populated town in the region (just under 70,000), and work with an advertising production company. Many of the communities that surround both of these places have populations around a few hundred, if that. Needless to say, I’ve lived my life in a rural environment.

The project started by accident, organically, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve worked with many agricultural companies throughout the years and, through that experience, I’ve visited many farms that dot the rural landscape throughout the state, especially in the delta. Early in 2019, I started to go through hard drives of personal images and began to see a pattern. Because of the experiences I’ve had, I was naturally drawn to the personality of these smaller towns. Looking to focus my personal

photography a bit more, I decided to start being more purposeful in documenting these rural communities that surround me, sharing a realistic, yet maybe romanticized, view of these places.

There are certain traits to every town that are unique, and some that share the same fabric of life. Some buildings I photograph are landmarks while others are overlooked structures that blend into the everyday lives of the people who live and work around them. All of these have a story, whether apparent or even imagined. I’m drawn to the structures and scenes that seem to sit, stuck between eras. Many of them have had their heyday, but now stand empty or with their last inhabitants. Even so, they are still part of the local landscape and deserve to be recorded in this state of existence.

And that’s the essence of The Rural Record and rural life in general. 50 years ago, almost half of the population was involved in agriculture in some form or fashion. Today only 2% of the population works in this field.

That’s evident in these small towns.

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OLD WORLD In the mountains of southwest Virginia Polder’s Old World Market has hand crafted a slow life that brings the entire family into the business.

WE LIVE TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER, EAT TOGETHER AND PLAY TOGETHER. Polder’s Old World Market is an extension of our daily life. It is the expression of all of our creativity, personality and skill combined. It is part of us. Each of us have our different roles in the business… some of us write and capture beautiful images that give people a window into our world, some of us are master carvers and produce the dreamware that is the heart of our brand, some of us keep in touch with the customers or package the orders for shipping. Together we make a great team.

We have lived and farmed in Virginia for almost four years now.

Before that we lived in Northeast Tennessee for five years, but most of our lives we lived in Florida.

That is where we started building our handcrafting business, and also started learning about homesteading and farming. We

had always wanted to move to the mountains and farm, and we feel so blessed to live and work in this beautiful place. My Dad was born in Detroit, Michigan, but he says he is a Virginian at heart. I love waking up to the mist hanging over the ridge tops. I love walking through a grassy pasture in the morning and the grass being so wet with dew that my shoes fill up with water and slosh when I walk. I love the wildflowers and cool evenings and the slow pace of life. I’m okay with driving for forty-five minutes to go grocery shopping. This is a good place to live life.

Before we started carving spoons for a living my Dad was the plant manager of a large railcar repair corporation in Florida. When the plant shut down he had to decide whether to take a better paying job that would require travel so he would only be home on weekends, or to do something entirely different. He decided

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WELL WOVEN Maggie Pate of Nade Studio weaves together a world of natural dyes, natural fibers, and timeless storytelling with each piece she creates.

I SPENT MOST OF MY CHILDHOOD IN EAST TENNESSEE. When I was an early teen, I began modeling in New York City, which encouraged my interest in textiles and gave me the opportunity to travel more. In my travels I was able to experience the life and culture of other areas, and was able to see the textiles unique to each.

The fashion industry is notoriously wasteful, and it inspired me to find ways to create more sustainable and thoughtful processes by which to create my own fashion brand and textiles. A career that I began as a model has now evolved into me owning and designing an independent textile

company featuring hand-dyed fabrics made here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

My brand is called Nåde, and it’s the passion project of my love of fashion as well as my love of natural, sustainably hand-dyed textiles.

Growing up, my grandmother inspired my interest in sustainable living. She grew up in an orphanage in Alabama and became a very resourceful woman.

She made her five children’s clothing as well as garments for many of her grandchildren.

Sometimes when I am working on a dye bath or weaving, I feel like a historian keeping the art of slow craft alive in this industrialized world.

“I love that my products have a story of conservation and a narrative that grounds people within the slow food and slow craft movement.”

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GATHER

Terrainand Table

Set in the rolling hills and valleys of the western Catskills The Farmhouse Project hosts monthly dinners to celebrate the lands, foods, and communities of this scenic region.

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A CAST IRON PRIMER THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS OF THE KITCHEN Jen O'Connor shares a history of cast iron, along with insight into its many uses and techniques.

CAST IRON IS LIKE ONE OF THOSE ANCIENT SPECIES, so ideally suited to its environment, that its need to evolve was forgone forever ago. It is one of the most versatile objects in any kitchen and can be used for everything from frying the perfect egg to baking a cake. Cast iron can take the heat on stovetop or oven, transferring from one to the other with aplomb! So, if you have a cast iron skillet, you could use it, and it would keep coming back from more.

It just doesn’t wear out; indeed many of them in active service have been on duty for more than 100 years. So, if you have a cast iron skillet in your kitchen, and you are not pressing this dedicated workhorse into service, you should be wondering just why not?

the hunt for the new, there are those among us that might just be guilty of setting aside a three or four pound cast iron pot for something more lightweight or easier to store. In the era of super non-stick surfaces and the age of anodized aluminum, cast iron may have been overlooked for commercially promoted brands and sleeker lines of cookware promising efficient and specialized attributes.

Cooking is a learning process—an art form that constantly absorbs the new. So many cooks are forever on the prowl for the new gadget, the more convenient appliance or a utensil that will make some task easier. In

But, like all truly beautiful things, cast iron feels no threat. It has no need to waver from its perfection, and that little skillet will wait in quiet confidence for renewed appreciation by the cook who decides to use it. Fortunately for cast iron and its devotees, there’s been a recent celebration of its merits among those who pursue slow living. In its versatility and simple charms, it appeals to cooks who treasure its humble beauty. Cast iron is affordable and versatile…it’s practical and durable…and the art of slow living

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ADVENTURE

FULFILL THE SOUL With roots in Appalachia and a spirit fueled by Muir, Kerouac, and the open road Archie Fink (@ archiefink) has created a scenic and well travelled life on the road.

Why do you adventure? Out of necessity to live passionately. I have always had the adventure bug, and as I got older, consciously and subconsciously I created ways to bring adventure more closely to core.

Growing up in the valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains without means to have experiences like family vacations, books from the library opened my mind to worlds imaginary and real, the adventurous spirit, empowerment to question the world and seek your own answers, and the dangers and the ecstasy of the path to the unknown.

I spent three years traveling the world in my early twenties and felt more empowered and excited for every day than ever before. When I returned to America and graduated from college, I spent four years working in offices, and I was essentially miserable. The office-in-the-city lifestyle undermined my belief in the work I was doing, even though it was impactful humanitarian aid. I was losing myself. I quit and moved my life to the Pacific Northwest to be close to family in Oregon and Montana and mesmerizing nature in all directions.

My life changed when I left office life and went fully remote with colleagues in Portland and Philadelphia, which

coincided with my professional development as a visual creator. It enabled me at first to dip my toes into road life and dirt bagging throughout the Northwest and Northern Rockies, and eventually as I became more comfortable with the lifestyle, commit more fully to a handcrafted adventure lifestyle fueled by creativity. I’ve never looked back.

Why do you explore? It is part of my personality, honestly. I grew up finding on my own and reading stories by Jules Verne and Robert Luis Stevenson.

Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn took me through the American countryside. When I was seventeen, Jack Kerouac opened my mind to the romance of the open road and the spirituality of the mountain. Chris McCandless and a handful of Zen monk poets influenced me to take time off from college to travel West with just a backpack (no car) to test and adapt knowledge to a meaningful endeavor, and grow as a person in the process.

Storytellers cultivated within me a spiritual direction and philosophical touchstone to experience life more deeply, and it was always in inner exploration of oneself through the outer wilds of the Earth that captivated me wholly. I explore because at my best

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A HOMESTEAD Kristi Reed of Windy Peaks Vintage (@windypeaksvintage) lives in the countryside of Montana 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park with her husband and two children where they stay busy tending to their four acres of land, 20 chickens, rabbit, dog and cat.

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FIRST WE EAT A native Oregonian, Eva Kosmas Flores (@evakosmasflores) resides in Portland with her husband, cat, two dogs, seven chickens and hive of bees. She shares recipes, travel guides, and all-around how-to’s on her blog, Adventures in Cooking.

FOOD IS MY PASSION AND MY LIVELIHOOD. I launched my blog, Adventures in Cooking, in 2009. From that journey grew the publication of my two cookbooks, Adventures in Chicken and First We Eat written in 2016 and 2018. Since 2014, I’ve hosted travel-based food photography workshops through my company of the same name, First We Eat.

At the restaurant my mom would be in the front, taking customers’ orders and making them feel welcome, while my dad was in the kitchen cooking.

I’d Ping-Pong between them, wearing an apron folded in half so I wouldn’t trip over it because I was so small! It was hectic, but I loved it, and I learned so much growing up among the many meals and customers.

Oregon has always been my home, and food and cooking have always been a huge part of my life. I live in Portland, and I grew up in Hillsboro where my parents ran a Greek deli and restaurant.

Every Saturday of my childhood was spent there helping out, and I was there on school breaks too.

Food defined my childhood; it’s always been a deeply rooted love and fascination. I’ve been in the kitchen cooking as long as I can remember… when I was very small, my mom would pull a chair up to the stove so I could stand on it to help stir the pot. I wanted to help whenever she cooked anything—the transformation of ingredients through cooking was so mesmerizing to me as a kid—and is to this day!

My mom is American, and my dad is from a small Greek island called Aegina, and they’re very yin and yang. My mom is the social, adventurous extrovert and my dad is the reserved introvert.

My parents are both avid gardeners and growing up we always had fresh

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Slow down, simplify, and be kind. — John Muir

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