Cheese by Rogue Creamery
This year’s IACP was my first conference and it was fantastic. What a treat it was to have over 900 food lovers, chef’s, food writers, food photographers, food stylists, and recipe developers descend on our already food-obsessed town! I volunteered for several events which in turn I was allowed to go to them. Other than designing the signage for the opening reception, I was able to help out with the lovely Ellen Jackson’s dinner A Culinary Duet, a fundraiser for The Culinary Trust.
by Chef David Machado of Nel Centro
The opening reception was, in retrospect, a dream. Imagine yourself walking into a rococo ornate hall with ceilings that seem to reach the sky, all decorated with real pears hanging from branches, deep low lighting, and then being handed a sparkling glass of champagne as you enter. As you walk a little further over the soft, plush carpeting padding your footsteps, you are handed plate after beautiful plate of fresh, aromatic, and at times sensual foods from over 18 different local chefs. The roaring noise from hundreds of people’s chatter and exclamations slowly fades as you sip and nibble your way through the room. Every now and then you close your eyes to take in the layers of flavors and textures from what you are nibbling only to open your eyes to see the chef who made it smiling back at you. “That’s what I thought too” he might say, “the first time I tried this.” Fantastic. There was an entire room dedicated to local wines and beers where it was all flowing quite freely. And yet another room, rouge red and dark, solely dedicated to absinthe tasting. It was like a secret club that actually took me quite a while to find. The only reason I knew it existed was because I made a sign for it. I had never tasted absinthe before and it is interesting. It has a heavy anise flavor, like black licorice, but just slides right down. I wouldn’t be able to drink much of it (I’m not an anise fan), but it was wonderful to try.
Pix Patisserie macaroons
Bunk Sandwiches (seriously the best sandwich I’ve ever had: spicy chorizo, avocado, messy, amazing street food…)
Paley’s Place seafood gnocci
Raw beef nigiri
Absinthe pouring, by owner and distiller Gwydion Stone
Then there was Ellen’s dinner. Also not a dream, I have to remind myself, but a true taste of the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. There were seven local chefs and artisans, as well as the farmers and ranchers with whom they collaborated. They created an exceptional family-style meal dinner that “blended old and new” cooking traditions with Oregon’s culinary heritage. Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, authors of The Flavor Bible introduced each chef through out the meal. The menu was exceptional:
Appetizers included carrot soup with roasted Braeburn apples and chervil, a goat’s milk ricotta on walnut bread, pea shoots, and olive oil, as well as a flank steak, grilled beef heart and beef liver pate (which was actually my favorite!). All of the appetizers were done by Executive Chef Aaron Dionne of Bon Appetit Management Company.
Fresh rosemary tied around the bases of the branches, such a wonderful touch!
For the first course we ate wild morel puff pastry with gathered spring greens and aged sauvignon blanc vinaigrette (wine pairings: Trisaetum 2008 Estate Riesling and Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Dry Reisling) by Chef Naomi Pomeroy of Beast restaurant.
The second course was a lamb, purgatorio bean, and spring vegetable roast (incredible!) (wine pairing: Erath 2006 Prince Hill Pinot Noir) by Chef Jason French of Ned Ludd as well as a grilled country ham, south carolina grits and wild mushroom red eye gravy (wine pairing: Grochau Cellars 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir) done by Chef Adam Sappington of The Country Cat Dinner House.
The cheese course was done by Steve Jones, of The Cheese Bar. There was a Borenkaas (raw cow’s milk aged Gouda), a Tin Willow Tomme (raw sheep’s milk), and a Cynthian (raw goat’s milk with herbs). The latter was my favorite–it was soft, but not creamy like a brie, and infused with the essence or perfumes of the herbs instead of them being right in there. Amazing.
Then, for dessert we had a hazelnut cake, rhubarb compote and creme fraiche ice cream by Pastry Chef Lauren Fortgang of Paley’s Place (wine pairing: Francis Tannahill 2008 Gewurztraminer) and a Piment d’Esplette & chocolate by David Briggs of Xocolatl de David. The chocolate was actually two small round chocolate cookies with a foie gras chocolate (called Foitella) sandwiched between. About half the table loved it, the other half did not. I fell into the latter category–but then again, I’m not a mole fan (and I wish I was!) so meat and chocolate together just are not my taste all too often.
I’d say Portland exceeded in showing the culinary crowd how well they do food here, beyond even their wildest imagination. The dinner was set in an old converted building that literally transformed itself as the sun set, with candles hanging from the branches at each table, easily yet daintily illuminating every place setting just enough so the diner could see what they were eating. The entire experience was a little bit like magic. I even pinched myself the next day when I woke up. As I was making my morning tea, I looked over on the counter and saw the menu sitting there–it wasn’t just a dream.
I made little mailer packets as my show card(s) for the year end show. They were really fun to do! I screen printed everything, so they all have that nice tactile feeling of the screen print paint-ink on the different papers. I used a nice textured paper for the mini-bread (ha! my favorite) and on the back of it, it says “copain…”, index cards for the red circles of information, and Rolodex cards for my personal info. I then wrapped the cards in newsprint and used the stickers that will be used in my show to seal the home-made envelopes.
Along with the book I just printed for the show, I am also curating an experience-design piece by a London-based designer, Alexandre Bettler. When I discovered what he was doing, I could not stop thinking about it.
“The Bread Friend Map is using bread to improve communication. It is based on the French word for friend, ‘copain’, describing someone you share your bread with. Co-’ standing for ‘with’ and ‘-pain’ for ‘bread’, a friend is someone you share your bread with, and is the level of communication explored for this project. For Gradual, each visitor is offered a slice of a single piece two meter long rye bread, everyone sharing a slice of the same bread. In return, you are asked to add a sticker with your name on yourself and one on the Bread Friend Map, and to trace (dotted line) the link to anyone you know on the map. This will show your connection to other people who you shared the bread with. If there is anyone you fancy, find his/her name on the sticker s/he is wearing and use the map to connect to her/him or any other visitor in the room, everyone being the friend of a friend. The shorter the bread goes, the bigger the map becomes and more friends there are. It reveals the process of design – the physical act of creating – through generating and experimenting rather than finishing and polishing the work.”
For months, I would go back to the Bread Friend map, mull it over, and revel at how it not only connected with what I was doing and believe in pertaining to design, experience, and food, but how it connected on so many other levels as well. First, the entire basis of the Bread Friend Map is that it is all about connections and watching them happen in real time. Second, the map speaks to processes, in particular, the process of design and it’s ebb and flow of many participants, users, and ultimately, people as designers. Third, the connection that the BF map will make between two countries/cities/communities is really neat. Everywhere the BF map is done, it will look, grow, and feel different. This is because no two places are alike, the BF map becoming a visual representation for the differences but also commonalities we share as people. And last, the amazing connection of the internet. I found Alexandre via the web and if either of us did not have a website with our work on it, we may not have ever had the chance to share experiences like this. That is one of the neatest things I think 
.
As I continue to formulate my ideas around what it is I do, community is one of those things that I keep coming back to. Sometimes that word, I feel, is abused. It’s like the word sustainable, or green. It’s a buzzword that we all have an idea about what it means, but actually holds different meanings for different contexts. I define community as a group of people who share something in common: it could be anything from living on the same street or in the same country, working in the same profession, your children go to the same school, sharing in the same hobbies, or going to the same place for breakfast every weekend. Even for me, community means something different each time I think about it. But what I find most interesting about community is the individuals who make up our communities, because the individuals themselves can belong to multiple communities. Something that I’ve been exploring, especially with The Favorite meal series, is the individual who makes up our communities. I will continue to do these Favorite Meals, amassing a bunch of them while looking for connections or patterns in how we belong, interact, and change the communities we reside in. Let me know if you are interested, I am looking for a few people to do one this summer. You don’t necessarily have to be local either, that could make things really interesting!
So it all comes back to connections: what they are, how we find/make them, who is involved in the connecting, and the ways to communicate in order to make those connections are all of deep interest for me. This particular series in my Eating Design process has been about connecting people with themselves and with others. It has been so fulfilling to know more about myself throughout this process but also be able to create a framework for others to do the same.
I made that sweet potato cake again the other day. Sheer comfort food! And was it ever comforting:). I am warning you though, you may not be able to stop eating it, so if you make it, have some place to take it to or have some friends over. It’s great with coffee or tea as the nutmeg compliments both drinks. I’m going to go eat some right now. Cheers!
(placing hot roasted hazelnuts on the table for guests to enjoy)
This supper was designed for the concept of inciting conversation and building community. I used half plates, serving only half the meal to some people, and the other half of the meal to the rest; in order for the guests to complete their meals, they would need to interact, communicate, and share to get everything that was served. The food, done by Leif Hedendal, was an important part of the meal and was showcased through the subtle (and not so subtle) eating design.
(broken plates were scattered down the middle of the table, as part of the evenings theme and the “hands-on” experience)
I really wanted to really play up the awkwardness and messiness of the half plates and use the table as an eating surface. We put a total of nine different hour d’ ourves out on the table (literally, on the table) for people to nibble on while they waited for the meal to begin. People were able to get comfortable with the food not having to stay just on the plate starting with the finger food and eating off the table; it was a good segue into the plate swap. Leif out did himself with the menu, it was incredible. We picked up everything from the Portland Farmer’s Market early that day; there was an amazing selection of so much fresh produce (Portland has a great farmers market:). It was interesting to be a part of Leif’s process too; picking the freshest produce that morning, tweaking the menu a few times over, and working out what could go on the table vs. plates. He is a true chef with incredible skills!
(Leif cookin’ up a storm)Le Menu:
chips (fresh potato slices with an oregano leaf through the middle, fried)
crispy lotus root
spiced hazelnuts
chevre and crispy artichoke crostini
sichimi togarashi popcorn
farm eggs
assorted breads with home made butter and smoked salt
raw radishes with home made butter and murray river salt
carrots, turnips, chiogga beets, and green garlic with nettles and asparagus
tahini Cauliflower with piment d’espelette and fried ginger
greens with porcini and cherry
wild fungi and roasted shallot galette
leaves with fennel, kumquat, and Pedro Ximenez
Abbaye de Belloc
flourless chocolate cake
rosemary madeleines 
People enjoyed the food as well as the company. This experience with the half plates, food on the table, and awkwardness of using one’s hands to eat was a fun and easy way to get people involved with one another that in a traditional dining situation may not have happened. I am so interested in how social barriers can be broken down with just a few simple gestures, allowing people from different walks of life to come together at the same table and share who they are/ what they know. The food was absolutely amazing (Leif cooks a few times a month at Chez Panisse in SF). But most interesting for me was the pairing of this excellent quality meal with how it was consumed. Eating it without all the rules of a five star restaurant took away those social barriers (there weren’t even any butter knives on the table, people only had forks and a cup) that could easily have cropped up; table manners have huge class implications, I wanted to see what would happen when people were only given a bare minimum (and a half one at that)! The dinner was a sucess on all fronts; I am excited to have done this and am looking forward to my next eating design event!
Food is such a diverse medium to work with. It has an amazing range of colors, textures, shapes, sizes, flavors, and each can be manipulated by multitudes of cooking methods and techniques bringing in a whole new range of imagery. Foods’ dynamism is vast: the production and consumption of it constitute community; there are ceremonies and rituals derived because of food; each culture/place has different approaches to food and therefore different rituals, ceremonies and production.
As a designer, food has become a great raw material to work with. It is rich in sensory experience for the user, bringing in the elements of taste, touch, and smell to a project. I am a firm believer of using all five senses (and try to use them all or or as many as possible) not only in my process of finding possible solutions to design or life issues, but also in the end product creating a holistic and rounded experience for the those experiencing the event, product, or concept. I am exploring how we can engage ourselves in finding solutions to problems everywhere from the design team, to communication amongst disparate groups or communities, to the board room.
It seems so natural to infuse language onto food, visualizing and contextualizing what food really does for us: it speaks. So what does it say? More importantly, what does it say to you? How does your past, present, ideas, and personal history impact this? These questions are fundamental to the holistic approach I am seeking in finding solutions. It is because I find that these aspects of ourselves are rarely brought into the equation. By identifying that we as people are dynamic and in no way one dimensional, we are opening up the door to a well-rounded creative approach to problem solving. Through this approach, it is not about airing our dirty laundry, but simply about bringing our whole selves to the table, not denying parts of our selves, and helping contribute to a new way of generating ideas.
Plus, there is something devilishly pleasing about breaking that childhood rule of “don’t play with your food.” It’s time to play, learn, listen, and contribute to some incredible ideas!
The Uprooted event has come and gone, it happened so fast I am in a minor state of disbelief! Never the less, it was wonderful. There were friends from all walks of my life, old and new, totaling about 30 people. It was great to see people who would not normally be together in one room have lively conversations and really enjoy themselves. I also gave all the guests a gift at the end of the night. The guests all submitted a recipe to me before the event. I took these recipes and made a small recipe box with the Taste Matters logo on top. Upon opening the box, the recipes were in a neat little stack, waiting to be flipped through. However, there was a fake bottom in the box in which underneath was a suprise package of snickerdoodle cookies with a story about the significance of these cookies to me. On the backs of all the recipes, I letterpressed Uprooted and the date. I will post all the recipes from my guests soon, they are not to be missed!
My photographer for the event, Meghan Holmes, was amazing. She took close to 800 photos, all of which I have been sorting through all day today…
And Team TM was fantastic and I could never have done this without them! Thank you Gwenan, Thom, Meghan and Leela!
Reflections of the event are still simmering, but give it a few days and the words will start flowing. The recipes from the dinner were centered around root vegetables. I started with knowing what I wanted to cook with (pumpkin, greens, root vegetables…) and then went through some of my favorite cookbooks and found what I needed. Here is what was made:
Orecchiette with Pumpkin, Pecans, and Shallot Sage Brown Butter
5-6 oz orecchiette pasta
7 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
3 cups cubed, cooked pumpkin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans (toast at 350 F, 6-10 mins)
freshly grated parmesan
Cook pasta in lots of boiling water until tender. Meanwhile, heat butter over medium flame in large skillet. Add shallots, garlic, and sage; cook until butter just begins to brown. Reduce heat to low and stir in pumpkin. Serve immediately with freshly ground parmesan. Makes 4-6 servings.
Cranberry Relish with Grapefruit and Mint (bon appetit 2008)
2 large pink grapefruits
1 cup sugar
2.5 cups cranberries (about 20 ounces)
5 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (pink-yellow outer layer only) from 1 grapefruit in strips. Cut peel into 2-inch-long, 1/8-inch-wide strips (about 1/2 cup). Squeeze 1 cup juice from grapefruits. Stir 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add grapefruit peel; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until peel is soft, about 15 minutes. Add 1 cup grapefruit juice and cranberries; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until berries burst, about 10 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl. Stir in mint. Cover; chill until cold. Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Black Eye Peas with Swiss Chard, Kale and Green Beans
3 cups black-eyed peas
butter or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons thyme
2 bay leaves
2 large bunches of swiss chard, kale, or spinach
1-2 cups fresh green beans
salt and pepper
Put peas on to cook in water. Heat a little oil in a skillet. Add onions and garlic; sauté with thyme and bay leaves until tender. After cooking peas ½ hour, add the onion mixture and chopped greens. Cook ½ hour longer. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6-8 servings.
Cornbread Dressing with Roasted Fall Vegetables (bon appetit 2008)
1 10-ounce bag pearl onions
3 cups 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices peeled carrots (about 1.5 pound)
3 cups 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices peeled parsnips (about 3/4 pound)
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled rutabagas (about 3/4 pound)
1, 1/3 cups olive oil, divided
1 pound crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, stemmed, caps halved
7 large garlic cloves, peeled
2.5 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
6-7 cups 1/2-inch cubes Cornbread for Dressing
3-4 large eggs, beaten to blend
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Cook onions in small saucepan of boiling water 2 minutes; drain. Cool slightly; trim and peel. Place onions, carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 1/3 cup oil over and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Place mushrooms and garlic on another rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with remaining 1/3 cup oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast root vegetables until tender and brown around edges, stirring every 15 minutes, about 1 hour. Roast mushrooms and garlic until tender, stirring once, about 30 minutes. Place root vegetables and mushrooms in large bowl. Place garlic in small bowl; mash with fork until pureed. Add pureed garlic, thyme, rosemary, and sage to vegetables; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Vegetable mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cool vegetables, cover, and chill. Bring mixture to room temperature before continuing.
Place cornbread cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Let bread cubes stand at room temperature to dry slightly, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13×9x2-inch oval baking dish. Add cornbread cubes to vegetables; toss to distribute evenly. Add eggs; toss to coat. Drizzle with melted butter; toss to coat. Add broth and stir to combine (mixture will be very moist). Transfer mixture to prepared dish.
Bake dressing uncovered until lightly browned and crisp around edges, about 45 minutes.
Persimmon Pudding (Alice Waters, Chez Panisse)
About 1 1/2 pounds Hachiya Persimmons
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
whipped cream or creme fraiche for serving
Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter an 8-9 inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and then butter the parchment. Slit the skin of the persimmons and scrape the flesh into a food processor, discarding any seeds. Puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, add the sugar, eggs, milk, cream, and honey, and stir until smooth.
In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The mixture will be thin at first, but set it aside and allow it to thicken for about 20 mins. Then add the melted butter and stir well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the pudding until it is set when pressed gently with a fingertip and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.
Remove the pan sides and slice the pudding onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature. The top will be a glossy brown and needs no more embellishment than a little whipped cream or creme fraiche.
Simple French Bread
2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
In a small cup or bowl, combine 1/2 cup (from the total 2 cups) warm water and 1 teaspoon yeast. Whisk it a little with a fork and let stand for about ten minutes or until the yeast turns foamy. In a big bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Add the yeast and remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir. Kneed the dough for about 6-8 minutes until it is has a firm feel, like a smooth baby’s bottom. Let rise until double, about 1 hour. Divide dough into four pieces and shape into mini baguettes. Place on a pan or bread stone and let rise again until double, about 1/2 hour. Score the tops. In a small cup or bowl add an egg and a few teaspoons of cold water. Whisk with a fork and using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the loaves with the mixture. Bake for 20 mintutes at 450, turn down the temperature to 400 and bake for 5-10 minutes more, until tops are brown. Place a small dish with about 2 cups water in the oven with the bread to keep it moist while baking.
These are pictures from my first day with the sixth graders at Jackson Middle School. What an intelligent and fun bunch! We did the taste station rotation (see Actualizing the Senses, a previous post which I described this event). My good friend Leela Ross shot these lovely photos for me. My favorites are of the kids with the sour faces and the blur of the boy running to get a drink of water after being too zealous with a bit of raw garlic and ginger.
Fallen Fruit is an artist collective out of San Francisco. They have an amazing and wide ranging cross-breed of issues that include urban and community planning, design, fine art, and grassroots movement. Fallen Fruit is part of that special category of artists who give people courage (despite their hilarious yet kitschy German black lettering). Artists who give us courage are those who make us feel like simply, “I Can.” They are the creatives who give back to us on-lookers, participants, and community dwellers where we may even be inspired in our own work with new ideas. Courageous artists are the ones who start the cycle of giving back and are invaluable to us.
“Public Fruit” is the concept behind the Fallen Fruit, an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood. We ask all of you to contribute your maps so they expand to cover the United States and then the world. We encourage everyone to harvest, plant and sample public fruit, which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots.
We believe fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest. Fallen Fruit has moved from mapping to planning fruit parks in under-utilized areas. Our goal is to get people thinking about the life and vitality of our neighborhoods and to consider how we can change the dynamic of our cities and common values.
-Fallen Fruit is David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young
Fallen Fruit is an artist collective out of San Francisco. They have an amazing and wide ranging cross-breed of issues that include urban and community planning, design, fine art, and grassroots movement. Fallen Fruit is part of that special category of artists who give people courage (despite their hilarious yet kitschy German black lettering). Artists who give us courage are those who make us feel like simply, “I Can.” They are the creatives who give back to us on-lookers, participants, and community dwellers where we may even be inspired in our own work with new ideas. Courageous artists are the ones who start the cycle of giving back and are invaluable to us.
“Public Fruit” is the concept behind the Fallen Fruit, an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood. We ask all of you to contribute your maps so they expand to cover the United States and then the world. We encourage everyone to harvest, plant and sample public fruit, which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots.
We believe fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest. Fallen Fruit has moved from mapping to planning fruit parks in under-utilized areas. Our goal is to get people thinking about the life and vitality of our neighborhoods and to consider how we can change the dynamic of our cities and common values.
-Fallen Fruit is David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young
Fallen Fruit is an artist collective out of San Francisco. They have an amazing and wide ranging cross-breed of issues that include urban and community planning, design, fine art, and grassroots movement. Fallen Fruit is part of that special category of artists who give people courage (despite their hilarious yet kitschy German black lettering). Artists who give us courage are those who make us feel like simply, “I Can.” They are the creatives who give back to us on-lookers, participants, and community dwellers where we may even be inspired in our own work with new ideas. Courageous artists are the ones who start the cycle of giving back and are invaluable to us.
“Public Fruit” is the concept behind the Fallen Fruit, an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood. We ask all of you to contribute your maps so they expand to cover the United States and then the world. We encourage everyone to harvest, plant and sample public fruit, which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots.
We believe fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest. Fallen Fruit has moved from mapping to planning fruit parks in under-utilized areas. Our goal is to get people thinking about the life and vitality of our neighborhoods and to consider how we can change the dynamic of our cities and common values.
-Fallen Fruit is David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young
Fallen Fruit is an artist collective out of San Francisco. They have an amazing and wide ranging cross-breed of issues that include urban and community planning, design, fine art, and grassroots movement. Fallen Fruit is part of that special category of artists who give people courage (despite their hilarious yet kitschy German black lettering). Artists who give us courage are those who make us feel like simply, “I Can.” They are the creatives who give back to us on-lookers, participants, and community dwellers where we may even be inspired in our own work with new ideas. Courageous artists are the ones who start the cycle of giving back and are invaluable to us.
“Public Fruit” is the concept behind the Fallen Fruit, an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood. We ask all of you to contribute your maps so they expand to cover the United States and then the world. We encourage everyone to harvest, plant and sample public fruit, which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots.
We believe fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest. Fallen Fruit has moved from mapping to planning fruit parks in under-utilized areas. Our goal is to get people thinking about the life and vitality of our neighborhoods and to consider how we can change the dynamic of our cities and common values.
-Fallen Fruit is David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young
