Day in the Life

after a hard days work

Hey there! I have been busy busy- and have had no time for writing ambitious blog posts! Today I thought I'd just keep things simple, and share a peek into my day making Fat and the Moon.

Magic Woman

http://www.spin.com/#articles/bird-by-snow-peering-out-video

EM GIFT talented in so many ways, choreographed and danced this piece. So good!

Yurt Life

We've moved to a magical place called Oz- no, I have not been bonked on the head and transported via a twister. Oz Farm y'all! Of the Mendocino coast! My partner Jesse is the farm manager in training of a beautiful organic farm with an espalier apple orchard. We live snug as bugs in a couple solar powered yurts tucked under the redwoods. It's been amazing to make potions in the light flooded yurt, warmed by the wood stove. Jesse is a wood crafter extraordinaire and built sturdy shelving for our many jarred things.

There is much to do on the house and surrounding garden, not to mention the farm- but we are  dedicated to the project. I'm hoping to host a many workshops on herbalism, herbal body care and natural dyes starting in spring.  I'll be back in Oakland from time to time as Fat and the Moon is still going strong in the bay with the help of my bud, Rebecca (check her out at the Mission Community Market in SF). I'll be doing some workshops, so stay tuned for dates.

Where I've been and what I've been up to

I'm back from my time away in the Catskills where I was doing an artist residency at the Shandaken Project. It was a ball! Got down to work and soaked up the place. One of the projects I worked on while I was there is part of an ongoing project making medicinal sleeping clothing. At Shandaken, I dyed clothes for my fellow residents using the medicinal plants growing on the property.

I met with each artist and then dyed their clothing with plants mirroring their needs. Lucky for me, there was quite a selection of herbs, St John's Wort, yarrow, barberry, elder berry to name a few. Also got to make some medicinal undies!  Thanks Stephen, Nick, Math and Alex!

Dye Job

Spent the day dying with home grown medicinal plants and experimenting with techniques and recipes. It was such a pleasure to harvest our comfrey, yarrow, sorrel root and cabbage and see them shine in a whole other way!
More experiments and results to come.

Solstice Splendor

My dear and talented friends were in town for an epic visit and much sun and fun was had. Soul sister Lani Bouwer gifted us with taking photos of our yard in it's summer bounty. Lani is also responsible for the new Fat and the Moon Etsy photos! Much love and thanks lady! Check out more of her work here...
http://lanibouwer.blogspot.com/
Happy Solstice!

Witchy Highlights

From the occasional (ok regular) Google image search.

Yoni Care!

As some of you may know, herbs and yoni's are two of my favorite topics! This Sunday I will be able to discuss the combo with a bunch of cool ladies at Gravel & Gold at my Yoni Care workshop!
Check out the details..
http://gravelandgold.com/events/yoni-care-workshop/

Herbalism and feminism have a strong connection for me. Aside from the practical and magical aspects of using plants as medicine, the practice of herbalism ties me back to a long ancestry of women who were deeply connected to the earth around them. Much of this knowledge of plants, animals and our own bodies have been lost, in my case, in just one generation of immigration.  The older ladies in my family who still live in Slovenia are powerhouses of herbal lore. They don't think of themselves as herbalists, to them knowing plant medicine is common sense.
Which brings me to yoni's. Instead of buying into ideas and products that are trying to make us believe our yoni should smell like pina coloda, let's educate ourselves and promote real yoni health and happiness.
It is so unfortunate that such a dynamic place on our bodies is so dark, scary and mysterious to us. I mean really, the yoni is where it's at! There seems to be a lot of fear around many places that are dark, deep and moist, the soil under our feet being one of those places. Many of the teenagers and kids I've worked with found the idea of digging in the dirt revolting, and eating food that came from that dirt, disgusting. The idea of 'dirtiness' has powerful implications which divide us from our earth and from our bodies.

Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Healing for Women is an amazing resource. Fat and the Moon's Yoni Duster is inspired from her recipe. 

Yoni Duster

An amazing moisture absorbing, healing powder when dealing with yeast infections and other bacterial infections. Dust on with a brush you ONLY use for your yoni. This powder is talc free, and I use arrowroot starch because cornstarch can feed the infection.

1 cup organic arrowroot starch
1/2 cup white cosmetic grade clay
2 TBLS organic black walnut hull powder
2 TBLS organic myrrh powder
1 TBLS ORGANIC goldenseal powder (this herb is threatened, so only source from organic and ethical suppliers. If you can't find it organic, omit from recipe)

Lube!

2 TBLS organic flax seeds
1 cup water (distilled is great to cut back on bacteria lurking in the tap)

Boil seeds in water and stir constantly until it gets at goopy like and to your texture preference. Strain immediately. Sometimes I add a couple drops of grapefruit seed extract as a very mild preservative, and/ or a little aloe vera gel if dryness and itchiness are issues.

Treat your yoni's right!

Making Medicine

Finally bottled up some tinctures that had been brewing since December. Patience is indeed a virtue. I try to keep the tinctures rolling, bottle up some and start more. Today I bottled some Ashwaganda and Passion Flower tincture made from the plants and spirits from the Herb Exchange. Local, organic herbs and a gang of lovely ladies dolling them out. The kind of resource that makes my heart swell for California.

I started a Myrrh tincture, and a Licorice Root tincture. I've been learning more about Myrrh and gum health, so I'm going to be adding the tincture to my tooth soap when it's ready! 

Digging

 http://workingtheroots.blogspot.com/

Just met Michele, who runs this great blog yesterday at the Phat Beets farmer's market. I'm really inspired by her approach to herbalism as folk knowledge. Herbalism is the peoples medicine, it is part of our evolution and ancestry.
Look out for Michele's book-

Working the Roots: Stories of Traditional Healing and Healthy Living in the Black American South

My head above water

It's been a while, but I'm back. Settling into the new house and life on the west coast has been awesome and time consuming. Welcomed to the family 12 chickens and one giant brown dog named Wally. I'm acquainting myself with the local flora, selling Fat and the Moon at farmer's markets, working on the garden, incubating some art projects and scheming up ways to get my girl posse to move to Oakland.

Park Ave Cafe, Creative Time, Janine Antoni, EATS Collaboration (phew!)

Creative Time interns gift packing the products. Thanks guys!

I was so lucky to have worked with all of these great people... Here is a bit more info on the project along with some links from people who experienced the piece.

JANINE ANTONI'S CULINARY ART EXPERIENCE IN & ON NOW AVAILABLE AT PARK AVENUE SUMMER

The third in a series of artist collaborations with Park Avenue Summer, In & On — a multisensory culinary/art experience by artist Janine Antoni — launched last night.  Antoni worked closely with Chef Kevin Lasko and Brooklyn-based organic skin care company Fat and the Moon to explore natural and local ingredients that are not only delicious but also beneficial for the skin and nourishing when absorbed by the body in multiple ways. The project, which was commissioned by Park Avenue and curated by Creative Time Consulting, is the third in a series of artist collaborations with Chef Lasko on the development of new food interventions for the restaurant's menu and guests.

In & On references classic flavors and scents of summertime and focuses on bringing the body's sensory portals into closer relationship through texture, smell, and taste. Fresh, local ingredients, provided by community-owned urban farm program EATS, combine to create a series of three distinct seasonal items on the menu, each accompanied by a handcrafted natural skincare product made from a combination of the same ingredients. Upon ordering one of the In & On dishes, diners are offered a sample of the complementary skincare product to try at the table or take home.  By taking part in In & On, diners can explore the interconnection between their bodies and the environment that surrounds them.

The three pairings include: "Siren's Breath," a cocktail of crop cucumber vodka, peach tea, and may chang, with a corresponding facial mist made of lemon balm, peach, may chang essential oil, and black tea; "Scales and Skin," a coffee-cured Hamachi and ginger pickled black plum appetizer, with a corresponding salt sugar scrub made of coconut coffee, coconut oil, brown sugar, and sea salt; and "Sown Within," a Montauk tilefish, lavender mustard broth and artichoke entree, with corresponding lavender soak made of lavender and lemon essential oils, ground mustard seed and sea salt.

Experience In & On at Park Avenue Summer, located at 100 East 63rd Street in Manhattan, through September 4, 2011.

http://eco-chick.com/

http://www.zagat.com/buzz/park-avenue-summer-turns-dinner-into-a-beauty-treatment

http://fashion.elle.com/culture/2011/06/10/spa-food-sort-of-at-park-avenue-summer/#more-23338

Backyard Beauty

Working on infusing some sunflower oil with some of the bounty of the backyard's flora. Red Clover, calendula and lavender make a soothing and healing oil I'll soon be adding to some face cream!
 In case you have some herbs etc you'd like to infuse, it's super easy....
1. Fill a jar with herbs (or how ever much you have)
2. Pour oil (olive, grapeseed, sunflower oil are all very nice) over the herbs until they are covered. Close up the jar
3. Put on sunny window sill or warm place for 2 weeks
4. Slather it on!