An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Women Farmer-Artists' Stories
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2020 Tending to the Tapestry: An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Women Farmer-Artists' Stories Aubrey Pongluelert Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Studies Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Pongluelert, Aubrey, "Tending to the Tapestry: An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Women Farmer-Artists' Stories" (2020). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11570. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11570 This Professional Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. 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TENDING TO THE TAPESTRY AN ECOFEMINIST INTERPRETATION OF WOMEN FARMER-ARTISTS’ STORIES By AUBREY PONGLUELERT Bachelor of Arts, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, 2015 Professional Paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences in Environmental Studies The University of Montana Missoula, MT May 2020 Approved by: Scott Whittenburg, Dean of the Graduate School Graduate School Neva Hassanein, Committee Chair Environmental Studies, College of Humanities and Sciences Phil Condon Environmental Studies, College of Humanities and Sciences Elizabeth Dove School of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts © COPYRIGHT by Aubrey Pongluelert 2020 All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT Pongluelert, Aubrey, M.S., Spring 2020 Environmental Studies Tending to the Tapestry: An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Women Farmer-Artists’ Stories Chairperson: Neva Hassanein There is a disconnect in Western academia, between classroom conversations concerning the impact of environmental degradation on rural communities, and engagement with those communities whom we are discussing. Those working in environmental studies are confronted with the question of how to effectively communicate the concerns addressed by the field in ways which are accessible to, and engage broader audiences. Creative languages such as the visual arts, storytelling, and music are invaluable tools in this task because they offer accessible and culturally relevant means of conveying ideas, perspectives, and experiences. This project examines the ways in which these creative languages contribute to effective communication and knowledge sharing in social environmental movements. Utilizing a critical ecofeminist lens, it also emphasizes women’s role and knowledge as creative makers and food producers, and seeks to amplify their historically marginalized voices. This project shares the experiences of women working in the areas of both agriculture and art, documents and interprets these stories to find connections between the two areas, and uses the connections discovered to expand the languages employed in environmental discourse. It demonstrates that ecofeminist theory, sustainable farming, and artistic practices are integrally linked by their shared ability to support the processes of storytelling, building place and identity, addressing social dynamics, and deconstructing dualisms. Pairing conceptual portraits with written accounts of 10 participants' narratives, this qualitative research study explores how the creative and emotional languages expressed through sustainable agriculture and artistic practices serve as tools in confronting and healing myriad issues across personal, public, and socio-ecological spheres. iii to Papa – for teaching me to put mind over matter & to Momma – for teaching me to put heart over mind iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vi Preface 1 Introduction: Stitching and Sowing 4 Part I: Empowerment Through Storytelling and Engaged Communication Personal Prologue I 20 Brooke Budner: The Big Voice of Little City Gardens 26 Siri Undlin: Fairytales and Rail Tales 34 Kat Wright: Drawing the Web 39 Conclusion I 45 Part II: Building Place and Identity as Practices of Healing Personal Prologue II 47 Katie Helser: Lessons in the Garlic 54 Danielle Lattuga: Walking the Veil 59 Kaya Juda-Nelson: Soil Songs 67 Caroline Stephens: How to Hold Home 72 Conclusion II 78 Part III: Confronting Social Dynamics and Deconstructing Dualisms Personal Prologue III 81 Mark Okoth: When Plants Meet Prisons 91 Marguerite Gilbertson: Women in the Workshop 99 Toni Ortega: The Overlooked 107 Conclusion III 120 Conclusion: Fuck, Everything is Connected 122 Afterword 132 References 137 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a storytelling project, this art essay was brought to life by the generosity and vulnerability of the women farmer-artists who shared their stories with me. These storytellers are the heart and soul of this project. Words cannot express the appreciation, admiration, and respect I hold for Brooke Budner, Siri Undlin, Kat Wright, Katie Helser, Danielle Lattuga, Kaya Juda-Nelson, Caroline Stephens, Mary Okoth, Marguerite Gilbertson, and Toni Ortega. Their work and their stories have inspired me beyond belief, and continue to motivate me. It is my sincerest honor to share their experiences. When I first proposed this project to my thesis advisor, Neva Hassanein, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, I was full of fire, but lacked direction. Neva asked me her notorious question – “so what?” At the time, I had no answer to offer. With her guidance as an experienced qualitative researcher and fierce feminist activist, she facilitated the articulation of my ideas and the development of my vision. Despite the somewhat untraditional structure of this project, she supported and pushed me to bring it to fruition. I am deeply indebted and inexpressibly grateful for her faith in me. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my committee members, Phil Condon, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, and Elizabeth Dove, Professor of Printmaking and Photography at the University of Montana. Heading the Environmental Writing program, Phil has inspired my narrative writing practices and offered invaluable insight into the development of this professional paper. As a talented artist and thoughtful consultant, Elizabeth has fed my creativity, sharing her incredible expertise in visual communication throughout the development of this project’s art pieces. My pursuits in the Environmental Studies Graduate Program at the University of Montana would not have possible without the support of the Brainerd Foundation Fellowship, the Bertha Morton Scholarship, the University of Montana’s Forum for Living with Appropriate Technology residency program, and teaching assistantships in the Environmental Studies department. Thank you to my beautiful friends and brilliant cohort of graduate students in the Environmental Studies program, all of whom have provided me emotional support, intellectual energy, and countless hugs throughout this journey. Finally, I offer endless gratitude to my extraordinarily loving and giving parents, Lersak Pongluelert and Leslie Bullock. Thank you for supporting me unconditionally, in every way possible. I owe everything that I am, and everything I have done, to them. vi My breath is your breath, your breath is mine. It’s the great poem of give and take, of reciprocity that animates the world. Isn’t that a story worth telling? - Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass a woman can’t survive by her own breath alone she must know the voices of mountains she must recognize the forever-ness of blue sky she must flow with the elusive bodies of night wind women who will take her into her own self look at me i am not a separate woman i am a continuance of blue sky i am the throat of the Sandia mountains a night wind woman who burns with every breath she takes - Joy Harjo, What Moon Drove Me to This? vii 1 PREFACE Like all things that grow, this project began as a seed. This seed was a feeling – discovered, planted, and germinated when I was an undergraduate studying Environmental Studies and Studio Art at Oberlin College. Through a fellowship working on the integrated landscape of the Environmental Studies department’s building, I found myself maintaining the site’s organic garden. The touch and the smell of the soil, planting seeds and seeing them sprout, and the miraculous moment when the first fruits emerge, brought me a deep sense of gratification, appreciation, and connectedness. I was struck by an overwhelming awareness that the feeling I experienced watching these vegetables grow from the earth was the same as that which I experienced creating art in my studio. It is the magic of witnessing something come into being under your hands. I marveled at this connection between art and ecology. Yet, it was abstract and emotional – too lofty to place in the academic world, where there were tests to study for, articles to analyze, and essays to write. I kept this feeling to myself, hardly tending to it, though its roots, no doubt, continued to spread. When I began working the soil again as a graduate student in Missoula, Montana, the feeling of that connection between growing plants and creating art pushed its way back up through me; though this time the feeling refused to be ignored. Outside of my school work, I began researching and compiling a list of women who worked in both farming and artistic