Art show highlights work of Mustard Seed volunteers, climate change, social justice issues

An art exhibition featuring the work of volunteers from Mustard Seed Community Farm will kick off with a free public reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Harvest Vineyard Church.

Light refreshments will be served, along with a showcase of music, spoken word poetry and sharing. The event will take place in the lobby of the church, 320 S. 17th St.

The “Nest in its Branches” art show has an overarching theme on the idea that both human injustice and climate change have the same causes — the exploitation of people and the planet, said organizer and artist Alice McGary.

“We wanted to have a place for the whole public to celebrate our values and the arts and the farm in one combined event,” McGary said. “It’s a way to raise issues that we think are really important in kind of an inspiring way.

“When we think about things like justice and climate change, they’re problems that are really huge and can be overwhelming and discouraging. … Artists can help people imagine and also think, ‘Oh, we can make these changes. It could be more exciting. It could be better. It could be more beautiful.’”

Connecting a healthy ecosystem with a healthy community can create joy and beauty and inspiration, she said.“We don’t have to sacrifice everything to save the planet,” McGary said. “We can have vibrant, loving communities that are sharing instead of fighting.”

The community art exhibition will feature fiber work from artists McGary and Greta Anderson, and paintings by Jen Hem. Additional works and performances will also be included from Lauren Conley, Corinne Marie Schwarting, Marilyn Anderson, Kenna Beamer, Amy, George and Marie Logan, Jenn Pedersen, Zoë Fay-Stindt, Benjamin Dubow, Amie Adams, Rose Griffin, Summer Awad and Evie Toland.

Anderson's quilt “Winter Dreaming” is an example of the tie between the planet and human intentions. Constructed, in part, using old clothing, the quilt depicts the water cycle as mountain snow feeds streams. "Winter dreams feed the heavens with our intentions, which precipitate action, often through unexpected opportunities,” Anderson wrote in her description of the quilt.

Using a broken dishes theme, well-known among quilters, McGary created a quilt with the apropos title “Broken Dishes.” It reflects her experiences of the farm being hit by derechos — the first an isolated storm in 2013 and the second the storm that hit Iowa hard in 2020. The 2013 storm broke all the dishes in her outdoor kitchen, and when the next storm hit seven years later, she and her husband were more prepared for severe weather and didn’t sustain as much damage.

“We became more practiced at dealing with severe weather,” she said. “The quilt is kind of a story about how used to we are with severe weather. That’s not really my hope for the world, that we’ll all just get better at dealing with disasters.”

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Hem likes to use ink and alcohol ink in her drawings, and she loves to tell a story with her work. Her drawing of the fox is on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. It reflects how the earth, animals and plants benefitted from less human activity during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Another more abstract piece reflects how her mental health was affected by the derecho and the pandemic.

“I think a lot of people experienced that, so it’s about mental health awareness and how we all depend on each other,” Hem said.

The piece fits in with the quilts “because without community, we would have nothing,” she said.

Artist and church member Conley said the mission of the art show is in keeping with the philosophies of Harvest Vineyard Church, which has a partnership with Mustard Seed Community Farm.

“During the pandemic, we began giving away food bags, and Mustard Seed gave us fresh produce to add to the bags. That’s how our partnership grew,” she said.

Mustard Seed Community Farm uses the work of volunteers to grow food to share within the local community. In 2020, for example, the farm gave away nearly 12 tons of produce to food pantries, soup kitchens and families.

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The art show is a new facet in the relationship between the two organizations, she said.

“It’s really meaningful for us as a church to use art to draw people’s attention to what’s going on in the world and engage with it in a different kind of way,” Conley said.

The art show will be available to view until sometime in April. The lobby is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and visitors are asked to check in at the church office first.

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Mustard Seed farm, Harvest Vineyard Church partner for Ames art show