Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The REAL Dirt


“A healthy social life is found only,
when in the mirror of each soul the whole community
finds its reflection,
and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.”
~ Rudolf Steiner

I have a dirt accord, it was created for a bespoke (custom) perfume. The notes include those associated with the scent of the earth as well as a bit of REAL dirt, Mitti Attar from India.

For the last couple nights my husband Greg has been trying to get me to watch a documentary. He loves documentaries. I love long, epic, period films, ideally with romance. The idea of watching a documentary on what I thought was a sausage farmer didn't interest me one bit. Boy, I was wrong!


The film is The Real Dirt on Farmer John. John Peterson is an organic farmer and artist from Caledonia, Illinois. I am completely smitten with the film and John, so much so that I don't want to send it back to Netflix. Guess I will be getting my own copy and most likely purchasing it for everyone for Christmas. I am giving it my thumbs up and highly recommend seeing it. It's fun, wacky, historical, made me sob with inspiration and sorrow, wonderfully shot and informational. The film also ties into what I am doing as a botanical perfume artist and want to support. There is even a Steiner / Anthroposophy connection! From a critical point of view it follows all those good story arcs that McKee speaks of.


I found myself clapping during the film, I have never done that here at home. This story obviously taps into my heart virtue Authentic Self Expression. Cheers to John for honoring his Art Spirit and sharing his inspirational story with all of us. A real gem.



Angelic Organics

Interview with John Peterson on NPR

7 comments:

ScentScelf said...

Mmmmm, dirt. Was just commenting to a friend how dirt, well, grounds me. And the various ways the olfactory (and often tactile) input are a permanent part of the memory of certain events in my life...or how I sought it out, as a way to process/cope/integrate.

Will be most curious to hear how you work with this... :)

Illuminated Perfume said...

I have the same experience with dirt as a grounding agent, which makes perfect sense since it is "earth" element. It's also fascinating how different soils have their own olfactory terrain. Here in our local mountains the dirt smells dry and sweet.

Have you heard about Farmer John? He is in your neck of the woods, lucky girl!

Beth Schreibman Gehring said...

I can't wait towatch this. Jim comes from a farming family who gave up the land before it bankrupted them. His stories of coming home from school and harvesting fresh chestnuts just thrill me. Thanks for sharing this Roxana....the trailer made me cry;)

Illuminated Perfume said...

Oh Beth, Greg comes from a farming family too, in Nebraska. He kept talking about how much it looked like his family farm. It's an interesting symbol what has transpired with America and the land. I have this deep feeling that as we heal the land we will heal America and our own essential nature.

ScentScelf said...

I have not -- please tell me about Farmer John!

Illuminated Perfume said...

ScentScelf, Farmer John is John Peterson. He is an organic farmer in Caledonia, Illinois. Here are some links to check out:

Angelic Farms:
http://www.angelicorganics.com

Interview on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5175216

you can see the trailer of the film on my blog or here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0egeHh1_Sb4

It's great counter culture stuff and so inspirational! I just LOVE him, he's my new hero.

ScentScelf said...

Yes, yes, yes!! I must have had a brain blart. Thanks for the links, I know so much more...but had already been aware of Angelic Organics. Have tried a couple of times to join the CSA, but he is *very* popular. No complaints about that, mind you...there should simply be more CSAs!! :)

In my old house, I was a member of a food co-op run by a woman who was an avid Steiner-ite. A boxful of surprises every week. It was wonderful. Her daughter, who was a music student of mine, introduced me to Julia Butterfly.

I do enjoy these interwebs of life...not the electronic ones (though they can play a part), but the overall connections. Life is rich indeed.