I found these handouts, from the 2011 MidSummers Dream Festival,
while preparing my office for the return of our studio to the Hat Ranch. After
15 years at the ArtWing and over a year in Medford, Hat People South is returning home. As I write, we are still in process, but the hard part is behind us: we have made the decision. Of course this is but one of the many decisions that must be made as the
Community adapts to the coronavirus pandemic.
We are immersed in a Shifting Planetary Paradigm that will surely recast the norms of our culture.
Gatherings, travel, the environment, the structure of society's institutions: all is in flux. Despite the many uncertainties, we are not without resources. It is important that we begin now, exploring how to best design our own future.
I would like to begin with the Mask: Our breath creates air turbulence. If you detect the scent of others, while in conversation, you are sharing their breath. Thus understanding that breath creates turbulence: a sneeze is a hurricane. To maintain proper physical distancing, we must be aware of the extension our own breath and the breath of those around us. If someone in a public venue sneezes near you: cease breathing, turn away, hold your mask to your face, walk a safe distance, resume breathing and assess.
You may need to return home, wash your clothes, and shower.
In this time of asymptomatic carriers, a mask helps to mitigate the sharing of your breath with another.
I am not suggesting that we need to wear a mask all day; but shifting a mask into place, if someone moves inside the area of your breath’s turbulence, is simple consideration & professional behavior in a Market setting. One note: Masks may allow physical distancing to be closer within the Artisan’s Market; than is possible among outdoor diners, where the mask is impractical.
As a promotion, Market Directors could authorize investment into Artisan made Masks for giveaways, as we reopen into this new paradigm.
“A free mask to the first 50 patrons that show up at the Information Booth”?!
The ultimate design criteria is to create a Market atmosphere that is safe for all who attend.
Handwashing stations; and reader boards that enumerate the “Rules of the Road” and how,
through their implementation, we plan to maintain a robust Artisans Market.
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While our own breath has become suspect, the Planet’s Breath has become cleaner.
The machines of our industry, and their own version of air turbulence, have in large part, been laid to rest with the coming of the pandemic. The Planet has been released from its chronic day to day
degradation; and the forces of light, wind, & water have begun to clean the air. This welcome change has been witnessed on every continent, and in every region. Even here, in the Southwestern Corner of Oregon, where populations are relatively dispersed, the air is noticeably clearer! I truly believe that
the basic health of the environment is an integral piece,
in the puzzle of our own recovery from disaster.
So while physical distancing has become the rule of the day, the distances we travel have been
completely curtailed. The vegetable garden is looking better than it has in 33 years of living at the Hat Ranch! We’re home. Carol & I just witnessed (in the last half hour) a honey bee swarm move into a box on our flower deck! Last year the plum trees were pollinated by house flies! There were so few bees.
Is the simple act of staying home, making a garden; a profound ecological statement with
unseen ramifications rippling deep into the environment?
Its been a great year for birds, in Southern Oregon.
In this time of social distancing, the internet has been huge in bringing us together! We must protect its freedom, strengthen its foundations, & extend broadband into the countryside.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are creatives.
As such, we have something to offer, and it is our responsibility to offer it.

James Royce Young
(You can call me Jim, my Mother did)
jry@mind.net