Intergenerational Art Making, Tea as Ritual, and Fellows Post Ox-Bow
Dear Readers,
Fall is the traditional time to wax nostalgic, the perfect time to tell stories of summers and seasons past. Whether I’m talking to someone who spent time at Ox-Bow a month ago or decades prior, I adore the sentimentality that overarches those conversations. In our Fall Reading Publication, we’ve curated stories that host this romantic sensibility. From EXYL’s love-lettered practice to warm cups of tea to the early aughts at Family Camp, may these pieces remind you of the magic and stir up your own memories of days gone by at Ox-Bow.
With sincerity and care,
Shanley Poole
Madeleine Aguilar’s Ox-Bow EP
From library carts to mobile music makers, Aguilar’s work invites folks to gather around and enter in. The same can be said for her Ox-Bow EP. Composed of four songs, each one strikes as both personal and collective, especially for listeners that have stepped foot on Ox-Bow’s campus. Her lyrics paint pictures of sunrises on the lagoon and the sand and grit that fixes itself to all who visit Ox-Bow.
Summer Fellow: EXYL
“I would define my work as a stubborn love letter,” EXYL said. When asked for clarification they added, “I hate love stories.” This love letter finds its stubbornness in the resistance between EXYL’s tendency to keep their feet on the ground, while also not being able to resist the palpable, anti-gravity force of love that snakes its way into their work. Their practice is rooted in the exploration of communication, people, compromise, and resolution. And while they resist the word narrative being assigned to their work, I can’t help but see an abstract one forming in these concepts, one that speaks to some archetypal experience that can perhaps best be described as simply human.
Then & Now: Intergenerational Art-Making Through the Years
Ox-Bow has played host to a variety of imaginations, the most receptive of them? Kids. Over the years, the children of professors, staff, guests, and neighbors of Ox-Bow have delighted in the wonders of the meadow, lagoon, studios, and trails. More than anyone else, these kids understand the magic of Ox.
Partner Profile: zakti tea
In 2004 Janeil Engelstad and Pamela Miller took a trip to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Little did they know how much the trip would transform their future. By the close of their experience, they were dreaming of an entirely new business venture that intersected with the couple’s newfound passion: tea. This passion would eventually grow into the formation of zakti, a speciality, loose-leaf tea company. Engelstad had incorporated tea into her life decades prior, though her partner Miller never held much interest. While in Kuala Lampur, Miller ordered a cup of Shu Puer tea that changed everything.
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Image List:
Lagoon at sunset. Photo by Dominique Muñoz (SF23)
Madeleine Aguilar on stage while playing the guitar. Image courtesy of the artist.
Madeleine Aguilar, mobile music maker II, Found instruments, wood, rope, clamps, and chair legs. Image courtesy of the artist.
A headshot of EXYL. Image courtesy of the artist.
(left) Mask making at Family Camp. Image courtesy of Steve Meier. (right) Two artists, an adult and child, work with watercolors. Image courtesy of Kim Meyers Baas.
A cup of matcha sits on a saucer next to a sprig of jade. Image courtesy of zakti tea.