Local Victory

New Blog

2011-06-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a post here about my new blog. I no longer use this blog. I created this one while I was in school to help document what I was working on for the program. I have started a new blog on my website through Wordpress. This offers me more variations and a more interesting layout.

To get to the new blog, please follow this link:
www.rebeccashelly.com/blog

I have set it up to post three days a week:

Local food European style

2010-04-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

I know the name of this blog starts off with "Local.." but my main interest is finding interesting garden projects or food inspirations. On my four week trip to Europe, I was overwhelmed. Each country takes pride in their local products. This may be a certain type of meal, a particular vegetable or a wine. I wandered through vegetable gardens on cliffs of Cinque-Terre Italy. Here, I also ate the best meal of my trip of a seafood risotto with
amazing local white wine. In Tuscany, I ate at a Slow Foods restaurant where I ate the most amazing truffle pasta. I wandered through farmer's markets where a Parisian vendor joked with me that it would cost a Euro take photos of his fish. I sipped Sangria at Gaudi's Park Guell.
When you travel for hours taking in as much as you can, you don't always have time to stop and eat. Gelato made

it possible to keep exploring. It satisfied my sugar craving as well cooled me down in the Italian heat.
I camped under grape vines looking right over the ocean at the Amalfi coast. I visited the Global Seed Diversity Trust in Rome and learned more about their operations. I plan on doing a blog write up about this interview.
I learned from my gracious hosts, Matt and Miyoko that in France, "French Toast" is called "Lost Toast." I was also able to share with their friends some amazing cheeses....let's not mention "Swiss Cheese." Baguettes! I feel like I now understand why they are such a cliche. These baguettes so tasty and still warm from the bakery make a walk around Paris feel right. Museum after museum also revealed to me how food has appeared in still life paintings for centuries. Now looking back at this trip, I feel privileged to have these experiences. I look forward to returning one day and learning even more.

Overwintered...and ready for spring in more ways than one.

2010-04-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

It looks like it has been a long time since I have added a post here. I feel like I have hibernated for the winter and am ready for something new. I have devoted this blog to my projects revolving around people growing their own food. Around my neighborhood, small gardens have been popping up everywhere with what looks like vegetable plants. In my own home, I have created a grow light stand with a bunch of different starts. Last year at this time, I was starting close to 1,000 plant starts and gave them away. This year, I am looking forward to starting plants that I can continue to see develop.
Of course, since I am an artist, I also had to turn this into something creative. In the table, I also have a camera where I have been documenting the growth. This is going to turn into a stop motion animation with an Olympic games theme. In August, I will have a solo show at Falsefront Gallery and the work will revolve around Olympic games and the theory of survival of the fitest.
Since, graduation I have been contemplating my place in the artist community. I am not sure where I fit right now. I feel very unclear about it right now. Painting is what I am used to doing but am taking a short break from it. I have noticed that I still see things as a painter however in terms of colors and textures. I will paint again, but when I am ready.
Mostly, what I am interested in is getting my garden beds ready for the summer as well as a new interest in sewing. My studio has been lonely lately save for the construction of my plant light. I mostly have been watching and waiting for the right way to manifest what I am concentrating on. Looking at my vegetable starts now, I see possibilities. I see future nourishment. These aspects are what I need to have for my own growth as an individual artist. Being a gardener is what makes since with my DNA (parents were fixed up because of interest in gardening and also mutual birthday). The artist part of me has always been different. I may not have pursued an education that would give me a more stable career, but it is the only thing that I have understood. As an artist, I am able to see things from my own skewed perspective. It is not an easy choice, but I am looking forward to seeing my own maturity as an artist.

Plant Experiences

2009-08-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

A few people have contacted me with their experiences with their plants:

Damien Gilley:

"mine grew well, the spring and lettuce mixes, and the swiss chard. The heat killed off some due to drying out. But I started making luxurious salads by adding the wild mix to another head I would get at the farmer's market.

Best I can do with a patio with 2 hours of sun!"

Zachary WIlliams:

"I am afraid I am not sure where your seeds ended up....there are some Nesturtiums growing in my yard, but I think they propagated from last year. However, I would like to claim Victory for my garden, which produced about 10-15 pounds of green beans, plenty of peas, romanesca, chard, corn, cunflowers, basil, peppers....Yeah!!!!"

Patrick Leonard:

"We took some of the Alaska peas and Loma lettuce. Both came up well, though the lettuce quickly wilted and never went to seed. The real success was the peas. We started with three, which all germinated, and now we're drying the peas to start new plants next year. Three became many!"

Melissa Moser's Plants

2009-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

These are Melissa's plants. She grew peas, onions and peppers. She believes that they are Ace, Lipstick and I think maybe Yellow Bell Pepper. The photos of the peas shows that they came back for round two of growth even after all of the heat of the summer.

These plants look great. She also just used planters on a porch. This just shows what you can grow in a small space.

Here are a few words of encouragement from Melissa regarding being a first time gardener:

"this is my first garden ever, and i've thoroughly enjoyed my little porch experiment! thanks for the starts for getting me, well, started."

Thanks Melissa for sharing these pictures. I love being able to see them all grown up.

Anne Buckman's Lovely Peas

2009-06-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

As part of my show, I gave away vegetable starts and seed packets. I hoped that people would share the imagery of the plants growth. It was great to get an email from Anne about her peas that she started from the seeds that I had given her.
What I really like about this photo is that she is growing things in planters and pots. The plants climb up the railing. The vibrant flowers and the different textures of the plants make this porch look like it would be a great place to hang out.
Thanks Anne for sharing this!

If anyone else would like to share their garden images, please follow the contact link on my website:
www.rebeccashelly.com

Vanishing Varieties

2009-06-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

I started over 40 different varieties of vegetable starts for people to take for free. I also silkscreened and created trays so that they could be transported to their gardens.

Opening night:

Ariana and Katy's plant picks

Bethany and her plants

I made some seed packets for Mark Dion to take to Mildred's Lane for their summer program.

After the opening, some of the varieties where gone or only a few remained.

Oil Paintings depicting my father's seed orders for each year.

Sharing Produce

2009-06-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Portland over and over again makes me fall in love with it. Each winter, I question my loyalty due to lack of sunshine and a wetness that soaks into your bones. Then, like every year, summer comes and I swoon. Each day I have been going out into our garden and seeing what is happening with the growth. The plants, like myself are trying to soak up as much of this sun as they can.
I have also noticed that I am part of a large number of Portlanders who are doing the same thing. When going for walks, I am now looking at people's gardens and trying to identify vegetable plants. Now that I have started and given away close to 40 different varieties, I am also trying to identify each type. I never thought that I would look at a plant growing in someone's garden and say, "I think they are growing Oregon Giant snow peas." I am in no way an expert, but enthusiastic to learn as much as I can.
A Portland couple, Rob Anderson and Tam Crawford have also noticed the large amount of vegetable gardens and have created a really interesting site that connects gardeners with each other. This is done through sharing of crops. Gardens tend to produce heavily on a few different kinds of crops and sometimes these go to waste. They have created a site where people can post produce that they have grown. They can sell or trade them with others. This is a really great concept.
To check out this site, please follow the link below:
Veggie Trader

Vanishing Variety Plants

2009-05-02T09:55:00.001-07:00

For a part of my show, I am giving away free vegetable starts. I have grown these from seed and I have really enjoyed the process of growing them. This is the first venture of this kind for me. I had some great friends help me replant them into paper pots. My parents also have helped me with many gardening tips. I would like to share these with you as well.

Gardening tip#1:
Keep the plants in a sunny window about a week before planting so that the plant can get used to daylight before it ventures out into your garden. I would also recommend "hardening" them by placing them in the shade a few days before planting. I learned the hard way with this because I brought some of the peppers out from fluorescent lights to the bright sunny days that we had a recently. Some of the young leaves got burned and turned white. The plants will be fine and the new leaves will be accustomed to the actual daylight. I would just recommend slowly introducing them to the light. After this prior mistake, I have already exposed a lot of the plants to natural light. They could probably use just a little more before they are fully in the sun. Also water them once a day, because they dry out quickly in the paper pots.

Gardening tip#2
After planting the starts, they may go through a period of shock. They should adapt and in a few days they will be ready to enjoy their new home. If you water them right away, this will also help. If it is a sunny day, try and just water the soil rather than get the leaves wet. This is where the sun can do some damage. At night come back and give it a good soak.

Gardening tip#3
If you are curious as to how to grow the specific varieties, below in the "Growing Varieties" post is a list of each of the seeds. Attached to each is where I got the specific variety. On this page, it should show you how to grow and harvest each type.

Gardening tip#4
Just try things out each year. You learn something new each time. Try and stagger plants based off of height or think about crop rotation. Something like spinach will bolt with the summer sun but then you can replace it with some lettuce starts that you have grown in a window.

For more gardening tips, I would also like to share my father's gardening journal that he wrote for this project. I will have it available at the next installment of this show at Disjecta in June. It is available for download here:

Jerry Shelly's Vegetable Garden Notes

This has been an exciting project from the beginning. Because of Johnny's Selected Seed's essay contest, I was able to have healthy seeds for this as well. I would also like to thank the Portland Nursery for donating Edna's Best Organic Potting soil for the show. This has made it possible for me to give these away. With the state of our economy right now, it feels good to be able to do something for others. The art world is typically thought of as being only market driven. I am trying to show that it can also be giving.

I would also be interested in photos people have of their gardens. I will be working on some new drawings of Portland garden spaces and I would love to include yours in the work.
Just follow the contact link through my website:
www.rebeccashelly.com

Thanks and I hope you enjoy your veggies this summer!

Saturday Portland Farmer's Market

2009-04-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 18th, the PSU Saturday Portland Farmer's Market will be hosting an Earth Day Festival. They have asked me to set up a booth with my Local Victory work and talk with people about Victory Gardening. There will also be a planting and seed starting station with free seeds to the first 250 customers.
For more information about the event, please follow this link: Earth Day Celebration

starts

2009-04-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

On May 2, I will be having my thesis show for my Master of Fine Arts Degree at Portland State University. As part of the show, I will be giving away free vegetable starts. I have started varieties that my father chose to grow for us in my youth. Many of these specific varieties were tried and true types that worked well year after year. The show will be a combination of paintings of his journals and and installation with organic and varied vegetable starts. My goal is to give away as many starts as I can create. Please join me for the reception and take home something that can give you future food for your table.

Growing Varieties

2009-02-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

Below are the varieties that I am giving away for the show. Some of them are starts and some will be given away in seed packets. The link will bring you to information on how to grow each specific variety.
Ace Pepper
Alaska Early Bush Pea
Basil (Sweet)
Black Beauty Zucchini
Bolero Organic Carrot
Brandywine Tomato
Bright Lights Chard
Chinese Leeks
Copra Onion
Delicata Squash
Early Butternut Squash

Early Jalapeno Pepper
Encore Lettuce Mix
Envy Soybean
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Gold Rush Zucchini
Golden Cross Bantam Corn
Horn of Plenty Squash
Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper
Italian Parsley
Jewel Nasturtium
Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean
Lipstick Pepper
Little Marvel Bush Pea
Loma Lettuce
Mammoth Dill
Marketmore 76
Moskvich Tomato
Nelson Organic
New York Early Onion
Northern Pickling Cucumber
Olympia Spinach

Oregon Giant
Oregon Sugar II
Ovation Greens Mix
Red Ace Beet
Red Rocket
Red Sails Lettuce
Rocdor Yellow Bean
Silver Queen Corn
Slow Bolt Cilantro
Spacemaster Cucumber
Space Spinach
Sparkle Strawberry
Summertime Crisphead Lettuce
Sugar Snap Pea
Sun Gold Tomato

Swiss Chard Rhubarb

Waltham Broccoli

Waltham Butternut Squash
Windsor Broccoli
Xtra-Tender Corn
Yankee Pepper
Yellow Doll Watermelon
Yellow Pear Tomato

Yard, Garden and Patio Show

2009-02-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

At the end of this month, the Yard, Garden and Patio Show will be at the Oregon Convention Center. I am really looking forward to this. There will be some great seminars about gardening. Nicole Forbes is even doing one on Victory Gardening.
For more info, please follow this link:
Yard, Garden and Patio Show

Tomatillo Skeletons

2009-02-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

As I was looking over last years gardens, I cam across these skeletons.

Push for Victory Gardening

2009-02-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

In Maine, there is a group called, Kitchen Gardeners International. They have started a campaign to have Obama turn the White House lawn back into vegetable gardens.

Please follow this link to find out more about it:

"Eat the View"

movement

2008-11-28T16:52:00.001-08:00

In my research, I recently came upon an interesting article. There is definitely a movement going on right now of people wanting to grow food for cost and health reasons. What blew my mind was an action that is happening in Michigan. At camp Pugsley, the minimum state security prison camp is growing food for the local poor community. What an unexpected contribution.

If you would like to read an article about this project, please check out this link:

The Michigan Messanger

Opening Pictures

2008-11-16T13:11:00.001-08:00

Photo of Ben Pink, Owner of Lauch Pad Gallery and me, the artist: Photo taken by Elizabeth Schwartz

Photo taken by

Elizabeth Schwartz

This is a close up of a piece

referencing chemicals on gm plants.

Local Victory Show

2008-11-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

To read an amazing review of the show from Robin Urton, please follow this link: Local Victory: a renewal of the victory garden.

Solo Show at Launchpad Gallery

2008-10-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

In November, I will be showing my current project at Launch Pad Gallery in Portland. The show will be on view from November 7-30th. The opening reception will be on the 7th from 6-12. The great local band, Bright Red Paper will be performing as well.
For the show, I will be displaying the drawings that I have been working on as well as creating an installation that interacts the viewers with the work. For a more thorough description, please read the press release for the show.
My goal is to create a gathering place for local people who are interested in what gardening can do right now. Our local community is incredibly rich with people actively growing their own food. There are many businesses that either support local farmers or grow food themselves.
Instead of a normal art opening, I hope that it becomes more of a place for people to meet each other and get helpful gardening tips, make new relationships with other garden conscious businesses and simply be able to listen to some great local music.

A portion of the proceeds from this show will help my thesis project in the spring where I will be giving away free vegetable starts for people.

New Posters

2008-09-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

For my show, I created some new images. I wanted to combine some of the wording of the old Victory Garden posters with my own images. I then created more of the plant tags because I feel that they are stronger when placed next to a plant rather than in a black frame on the wall.

Tips on freezing extra produce

2008-09-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

My father and step-mom gave me some tips on what to do with all of the extra berries in my yard. Other than having friends come over to pick for themselves, I have been slowly freezing them. One really amazing trick is to spread the berries out in a metal pan first and then put them in the freezer. This will freeze the berries individually rather than as one clump. After they are frozen then you can transplant them to a storing container. My roomates and I use our old yogurt containers.

If you have a recipe that calls for a certain amount of berries this is a much easier way to access them. This can also be done with most produce.

father's gift

2008-08-30T10:39:00.001-07:00

My father sent me some treasures from his own garden. This is in the form of onions...walla-walla, borettana cippolini, red torpedo and red set. this is my first time growing onions and they are no were near ready to eat. this was a very pleasant surprise.

thanks dad!

Garden Update

2008-08-29T21:50:00.001-07:00

These are the exciting things that have happened in our garden this past month.

Signs

2008-08-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

I created some signs that are mini "protests."

Some of these I have for sale on my etsy site:

www.rshelly.etsy.com

The proceeds for these signs will go towards my vegetable start project that I will be giving out in the spring.

Poster Number 4

2008-07-02T14:53:00.001-07:00

Johnny's Essay Contest

2008-06-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

For this blog, I am hoping to show what other people are doing in their communities or personal vegetable gardens. If you have any pictures or stories about your experiences, I would love to post them here. There were a lot of people who submitted essays to Rob Johnston of Johnny's Selected Seeds for his essay contest. I feel that this blog could be a place that people can inspire others with their stories or images.

If you are not familiar with the essay contest, here is the link:

Johnny's Essay Contest on the increase of home vegetable gardening.

I was actually one of the winners. For my award, I will be using the seeds to create starts for people to start their own gardens. This should be happening in the spring of this next year. I would like to thank Rob and everyone at Johnny's for helping me with this endeavor.

I look forward to seeing what other people are up to also.

Thanks,

-Rebecca

(my contact information is on the post below)

Collecting of gardening hints

2008-06-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

As part of this project, I feel that there is a lot to be learned from one gardener to another. When it comes to organic gardening, that is even more important. What I look forward to doing is gathering these helpful hints from people and giving them away with the plants. If anyone has something specifically that they have found that works or does not, it would be a very helpful contribution to this project.

If you are a blogger and want to comment here, that would be great. Or, if you are able to email them to me, that would be just as helpful.

Thanks,

-Rebecca

Inspiration for "Local Victory"

2008-06-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of factors that went into wanting to create a new version of the Victory Garden posters from WWII. I would have to say that I was introduced and inspired by Amy Franceschini of Future Farmer's of San Francisco. She was a visiting artist who lectured with us. At the time, I wasn't involved in creating this body of work. During her presentation, she showed us the Victory Garden posters. I thought that they were interesting, but did not decide to recreate them until recently.

One of Future Farmer's projects was to create the actual "Victory Gardens" for San Francisco. They have had a huge success with the project. To read about it, click here.

The more that I read after this presentation, the more I wanted to do a similar thing in Portland, Oregon. I am still very interested in painting, but I wanted to have a physical part of the project using live plants. There is already a large amount of people interested in urban gardening, but there are probably a lot of people who think that they can't grow anything. Just as I was introduced to the concept of "Victory Gardening" in a presentation, who knows what would happen if they were given the gift of a vegetable start. Sometimes I think people want to have a little push to do something. That is why I want to give free plant starts to people. I will be starting to organize ideas on how to do this. Already, I have received a great amount of interest in this project. A gift is great and when that can continue to give and inspire, that is probably one of the most amazing things an artist can offer.

Local Portland Gardens

2008-06-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos that I took of random gardens that I came across in Portland, Oregon.

To read the article about the rolling yard, click here.

My Garden

2008-06-18T11:19:00.001-07:00

My roomates and I started a garden in our yard this year. We tore out blackberry bushes, used leaves that were wintered over, started seeds, bought organic starts, and even brought soil home on our bikes. It is a great feeling to look out my window and see our little patch of future vegetables.

My father tells me that you learn something new each year with your garden. Even though we have a small garden, I feel empowered by it and have learned quite a bit.

Vegetable Start Project

2008-06-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am a MFA student at Portland State University. For part of my thesis, I am thinking about giving away vegetable starts so that people can get involved right away with gardening. Part of organic gardening is learning from others certain tricks and secrets. I hope that this site will be of some help to people when growing their own food.

Local Victory Edition 1

2008-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Shelly

Artist Statement 2008

(Reworked from "Local Victory" essay for Johnny's Selected Seeds)

Why is growing your own vegetables popular again? Why would more people start to question their food supply? Gas prices are increasing and also everything with that. Our country has been fighting a ridiculous war and we are in the midst of a change of leadership. There is going to be a change, and people are getting nervous that it will be towards the worst. Our economy is failing and people are getting nervous about another depression. What I see happening though is that people are starting to wake up from a sleepy American brainwashed existence and wanting something more. They are starting to see that maybe they can do something even if it is a small action.

Today, with the advent of Genetically Modified seeds, people are nervous even about their own vegetables. How did we come to fear even our food? When corporations only worry about money, were does the human being fall? What people are doing now is saying, “I can do something myself.” By growing their own organic vegetables, they are physically making an action against a money hungry entity. In a way then, by planting a seed in your garden, you are in fact protesting. It is such a simple action, but it can also be literally filling, nutritious, relaxing, and even bring communities together.

In World War II, our country created “Victory Garden” posters to market the idea of growing home gardens to help with the food supply shortage. They proclaimed that people could fight for the war in their own gardens. Once again, we might be faced with this dilemma. Today, these posters instead of growing vegetables to help fight a war would support a local economic structure. Instead of the term, “Victory Garden” I feel that “Local Victory” would be more fitting today. It is similar to the slogan, “Think Globally, Act Locally.”

Our seeds are also disappearing. My parents grew organic vegetables all throughout my childhood. Each year, they would choose specific varieties to grow based off of what worked or didn’t work the years before. It is hard to find some of these vegetables today. Varieties are being bought out so that they are no longer a competition for some genetically modified seed. With cross pollination there is also a question of whether or not organic seed will remain pure.

I am not someone who usually protests and starting my own garden has really influenced my feelings on the subject. I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. A simple action can potentially yield a great crop in more ways than one.