"I would like to do some farm art WITH permission," Beck writes.
Much of his work, in other words, involves a crafty appropriation and reassembly of previously existing stuff, an ongoing exercise in content farming for art's sake.
Other Workaway placements (there are dozens available around the world) include an "off-grid" creative retreat in the mountains of Almeria, Spain, where volunteers help with childcare, language practice, cooking, farming and art projects; and looking after tourists and farming at an eco-hostel in the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
In the heart of downtown Calgary, under the shadow of the Calgary Tower, is a restaurant accented with reclaimed barn wood, big farm animal art and communal style tables.
Investigating all three cases is the enigmatic Ogden Walker, deputy sheriff in Plata, a fictional county in the northern part of the state, physically not far from the health farms and art galleries of trendy Taos, but in all other respects a world away.
Two recent research programs — one involving green farming, the other art — give a taste of what visitors can expect.
"I grew up on a farm and if you google 'the art of farming,' you're going to find plenty of results.
This paper does not address the issue of creating an absolutely healthy and sustainable farm but is about farm transformation and the art of development, step-by-step reshaping specific farm elements, thus allowing the entire farm to become healthier.
O'Keeffe grew up with six siblings on a Wisconsin dairy farm and received art lessons at home as a child.
