Our latest issue of Taproot, DREAM is flying out into the world this week. It's just begun shipping from the printer and will be in the hands of subscribers and on the newsstands soon. After our first year with Jennifer Judd-McGee creating beautiful cover art for us, we're now blessed with the work of Nikki McClure for 2013. A dream come true, indeed. And inside the pages, all the good stuff I hope you're coming to depend on and enjoy from Taproot - food, farm, family and craft - and some new surprises too, with so much good art and life tales along the way. And as is our new rhythm, we're releasing two prints from this issue in our Print Shop. (Phoebe Wahl's Bedtime is pictured above, happily settled into Adelaide's room.)
{Top photograph of Squam Lake by Elizabeth Duvivier.}
There's an extra something special that is announced within and around this issue. Since the inception of Taproot, we've been passionate about nurturing place - about community - as the ways we can deepen our connection to one another, the earth, and our selves. Taproot Gatherings has been an idea I've been holding onto since the beginning - dreaming up all the many ways in which we could gather in different places to learn from one another and deepen those connections and sense of community, in person. From afternoon classes to five day retreats, family oriented, east coast/west coast (and in between)and so on and so forth with endless possibilities for learning and nourishing.
I am so very, very pleased to see it beginning to be realized this year as we've partnered with Squam Art Workshops to create a Taproot Gathering at Squam. This September, we'll gather for five days in the woods and along the shore of Squam Lake of New Hampshire. From the community of talented Taproot contributors, we've pulled together classes, food and feast, celebration and conversation that will, in essense, bring the pages of the magazine to life.
It's been such a delight to work with Elizabeth these past months in the crafting of this Gathering. It feels rather like standing in my kitchen with a very dear friend before a party. Scheming and dreaming about who will come and how we can make it fun for them, mixing this new ingredient and that old favorite one into the food we make, fluffing the pillows and pressing the dinner napkins (yes, really) for our guests, and giggling in anticipation all the while for this celebration to just get started, already! It's just like that, really. And I'm so happy with what is on the table to offer - packbaskets, spoon carving, natural fiber dyeing, poetry, photography, thrifting, sewing, knitting, flower arranging, herbal first aid, fermenting, cheesemaking, papercutting...and oh so many more good things. (I truly want to take each and every single class.) Add in the delicious and locally sourced food that will be created for us by Josh and Katie of Bread and Butter Catering (creators of Pocket Brunch and One Fifty Ate - yes, those bagels)....and well, I think I best be making myself an old-fashioned construction paper chain to count down the days until September. As you can see, I've been a little bit bursting to tell you all about this, but perhaps now I best stop and just direct you to a Taproot Gathering at Squam where you can find all the details.
Oh, it is a treat to see this particular little dream taking flight. And I hope that some of you can join us ... in September, or for whatever comes next!
