Attending to Place

12 June 2020

Last year the saskatoon berries were a felicitous discovery, revealed by the help of a foraging guide and the Indianapolis Zoo. This year they are a long-anticipated bounty. I watched the trees all spring, from white flower to hard green berry. Two Sundays ago, the fruit began to turn red and purple, and I texted my friend Leah. 

She came down from Wheaton this past weekend with a trunk full of empty jars. Together with my flat-mate Rachel and sister Katie we walked the Monon trail, a merry troop of berry pickers in the golden hour before sunset. Rachel and I filled pragmatic plastic containers; Katie and Leah, ceramic bowls. Before curfew we had enough fruit for jam. 

There was a time this bleak March when the bounty of harvest and the joy of cooking with friends seemed to belong to another world. There was a time this sweet weekend where such gentle and ordered domestic work seemed incongruous to the protests of racial injustice and lack of accountability for police brutality. But the saskatoons come this year as a gift twice-given: an affirmation of life in the midst of chaos and pain, and an abundance at hand for all who will attend to it. 

The berries play a part in the concept of my show. COVID-19 circumstances permitting, they’ll play a part in the cuisine as well. In the meantime, I’d like to invite you into another way of attending to place. The planters pictured below come with plants: Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherries, to be precise. They’re related to the tomatillo, bearing small, pineapple-tinged fruits in delicate husks. Last year Leah and I had one in our garden. This year more than twenty came up as volunteers: prodigal plenty, asking only for eyes to see. 

As I’ve read and watched the racial upheaval that has shaken our country and the world in the past weeks, it seemed fitting to seek a way to employ my craft towards race-related justice. 

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So starting Monday, every day at 8 AM , I will post a planter for sale in the | SHOP |.* You can preview them below. 

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100% of your purchase will be given towards The Bail Project. Click the link or watch the video to learn more about this justice initiative and the Imago Dei-affirming and dignity-celebrating work they are doing in Indianapolis! Moreover, an anonymous supporter of Prakun Pottery has promised to match all planter purchases at the end of the week.

So buy some pottery, transplant your ground cherry to a sunny, rich-soiled place outside, and welcome an indoor plant to your new planter. Tending and attending, let’s serve the common good. 

*Because of the difficulty in shipping live plants, this sale is available only to those in Indianapolis or Wheaton.