Hi Friends,

Lots happening this week at The Soil Factory as we move into December...

But first, this is the week that most of us nonprofits ask for your donations, and there are a lot of great causes out there to support... please help us here keep those engaging and interesting community events at The Soil Factory free for everyone.

It's super easy to contribute a one time gift, or support us through a monthly membership all by pushing that green button on the top of our website (thesoilfactory.org). Every donation is appreciated, no matter how small, and is tax deductible.

You may have noticed that it's late November and the warehouse is still toasty warm, thanks to all your support.

Help us continue to host those fantastic TSF community events and projects... the Marshy Garden, movie nights, community dinners, conversations between artists and scientists, the alternative photography darkroom, Make Mends Meet, our new Miyawaki Forest, the artist residency program, the experimental gardens, the workshops, and all those activities that combine new ways of thinking and approaching our changing environment through conversation, experimentation, and community. Everyone is invited to explore, voice their opinions and concerns and take part investigating potential solutions.

Thank you all...Your support means a lot.

Football enthusiast and Soil Factory Member Darren Klein reports:

"A small group closed out the holiday weekend last Sunday at The Soil Factory by gathering to watch a thrilling football match between the English Premier League's Nottingham Forest and Brighton and Hove Albion. It was an exciting and dramatic affair full of great goals and high emotions. At times, it looked like it could go either way but, in the end, Brighton emerged victorious, the final score 3 goals to 2. Chocolate mint cookies and chips and salsa were enjoyed by all, and the group resolved to gather for more matches in the future (and hopes that you will join them!)."

This Week:

It's another action packed week at The Soil Factory...

Thursday, November 30, 5:30-7:30, Our Unnatural Home: Alfred Aboagye, Sara Abouchaaoua, Ingrid Comella, Maya Cruz, Elena Gonzalez, Roxy Moore, and Lauren Song present their art projects as part of the course Environment & Sustainability, taught by Kelly Presutti and Johannes Lehmann, in an exhibition at the Soil Factory. Light refreshments provided, as well as lots of fun and conversation.

On Friday, December 1st at 6:30pm

Artist Ashley Teamer will give an artist talk followed by a DJ set. 

Ashley grew up in New Orleans, LA and Lake Providence, LA. Her collages explore the relationships between the body, nature, space, and time. As an artist and DJ she uses sound to creatively intervene with indoor and outdoor architecture revealing the malleability of our built environment.

December 2 (Saturday), 12pm - 4pm Clothing Swap

September's Clothing Swap was a huge success, this one may be even bigger! Bring your unwanted clothes and find new favorites...

And please stay for the Invasive Plants Basketweaving workshop below.

December 2 (Saturday), 2pm - 5pm Basket Weaving with invasive plants workshop. 

Come learn about different methods of basketweaving using invasive plants gathered from the local area.

December 3 (Sunday),  10:30 -1:00pm Make Mends Meet with Kathrin Achenbach

"It's getting chilly outside, time to get our winter clothes ready. Bring sweaters, shirts, socks and whatever else needs some creative mending and prepare yourself for the cold. We'll have tea and cookies and basic mending supplies. The space will be funky and warm. If you have any yarn or wool scraps from leftover projects, they would make a welcome addition to our mending kits".

It's the last gathering of the year. Make Mends Meet will continue in January.

December 3 (Sunday) 2:00pm Watch Football (soccer) with Fellow Fans on the big screen at The Soil Factory.

This week it'll be Liverpool vs. Fulham.  Surely chips and drinks will make an appearance, but feel free to bring your own refreshments to share and enjoy as well. Experience the camaraderie and excitement of watching the match on our big screen.

December 4 (Monday), 9:30am: Miyawaki Forest Planning & Goal Meet-up

We're planning for a Miyawaki Forest right here at The Soil Factory along with our friends at Trees Up Tompkins (TUT).

We'll be coordinating joint goals and objectives, and creating our project work plan. Everyone is invited to come and take part.  

Do these forests actually sequester enough carbon to be part of a global solution?

Let's do some planting and research the possibilities!

A Miyawaki forest can grow up to 10x faster, 30x denser and contains significantly more biodiversity than standard succession forests. They’re quick to establish, maintenance-free after the first two-to-three years, and can be created on sites as small as 3 sq meters.

Upcoming:

December 10 (Sunday) Studio Show: Design of ground as a critical tool in the context of changing climates.

We'll have more on this event in our next newsletter!

On Our Radar:

Can't wait until Dec 3rd for the next TSF Make Mends Meet? From our friends at Story House Ithaca:

"Kathrin Achenbach will be at Buffalo Street Books Reading Room on November 30 from 4:30-6pm Bring an item of clothing or anything that needs some TLC and be ready to stitch, patch, darn, and swap stories. Kathrin Achenbach from "Make Mends Meet" and WEAVE Community will provide tips, ideas, and help, along with some basic supplies including needles, thread, and fabric scraps. You're also welcome to bring your own. Learn basic mending and hand-sewing skills that you can bring home!

Don't have anything to mend? Upcyclers are welcome, too! Bring something and make it unique. Mending is good for the planet – and for the soul! No prior knowledge needed, and everyone is welcome."

From the series How to Persist in the Superposition (2023), archival pigment print, 12" x 18". photo / Nidaa Aboulhosn

Also, a personal invitation from Soil Factory members Nidaa Aboulhosn and Jessica Bradsley on their new two-person exhibition: A Fundamental Uncertainty

"Jessica Bardsley and I are showing work in Tjaden Hall at Cornell this week. Our closing reception is on Friday between 4:30 - 6:30pm. Hope you can join us and check out the show!  

From the show flyer:,

Through photographic prints, drawings, collages, and sculptural works, the artists move from the particulate to the cosmic. These scalar shifts ask viewers to consider how they construct and deconstruct worlds on an everyday basis. Where Aboulhosn contemplates her experience of the world as a field of possibilities, Bardsley explores unconscious worlds that take on a reality of their own.

Jessica Bardsley is an artist-scholar working across film, writing, and studio art. She received a Ph.D. in Film and Visual Studies from Harvard University and an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Bardsley is an Assistant Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Nidaa Aboulhosn is a Lebanese American visual artist working with photography, drawing, and time-based media. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Health from the American University of Beirut and an M.F.A. from the University of Arizona. Aboulhosn is a Visiting Critic in the Art Department at AAP at Cornell University.

December 1, 5-8pm, MIX Art Gallery (156 E State St on the Ithaca Commons): Soil Factory members Sheila Novak and Johannes Lehmann are part of an art-science experiment with work titled “Land Medicine”; come to visit the opening of this group exhibition by 10 artist-scientist pairs, organized by Monique Pipkin.

Until next week...