About the Birdhouse
The Birdhouse Artfarm is a joyful experiment in climate resilience and building land-based relationships through art.
We intend to:
- Host seasonal events like sheep shearing and acorn gathering, that align our social activities with natural cycles like day length and fire seasons.
- Provide residencies for other artists to explore their connection to this landscape.
- Experiment and document creating closed-loop systems, using the Birdhouse as a base for exploring climate resilience projects including ancestral skills, small-scale regenerative agriculture, and habitat restoration.
- Through our work together, spread the care and connection that inspires people to create change in their own environments.
We imagine a world where we align our needs with the land around us, so that we thrive together through change.
About the Land
The Birdhouse Artfarm is in the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon, on the ancestral lands of the Takelma and Dakubetedeh. The house was built in 1912 from pine logged and milled on the property by the Morrison family, white farmers who were some of the early colonizers of the Applegate Valley.
The property currently consists of 9 acres of mixed pasture and oak woodland, feral apple trees, a large garden, and a growing collection of altars, sculptures, and habitat restoration projects. It’s surrounded by hayfields, cow pasture, meadow, and forest.
We're still observing and learning from The Birdhouse land, and adding new observations to our iNaturalist account.
About Kai
Kai is an artist and engineer with a broad range of interests and media. They have built large scale art projects enjoyed by thousands, taught workshops on everything from quilting to encryption, written code that you've used (whether you know it or not), coordinated hundreds of volunteers at a time, and yes, started an artfarm. Their current special joys are working with fiber from their sheep allies and creating experiential art like The Secret Library.
About the Animals
The Sheep
The Birdhouse is home to a small flock of Icelandic sheep, a primitive triple-purpose breed with beautiful shaggy wool and great attitudes. Their main job at the Birdhouse is eating grass and blackberries, nonnative plants which require a lot of work (or eating!) to keep in check. Most of the year they rotationally graze the property, helping reduce fire danger by maintaining defensible space around the buildings, and building soil fertility and carbon storage while opening up the grass thatch for native forbs. They're sheared twice a year, and we use their wool for spinning yarn, felting rugs, and other arts and crafts projects around the farm (including making biodegradable twine for trellising our vegetables).
The Geese
The Embden geese free range around the property, keeping grass nibbled and orchards cleared. Their main job is keeping grass trimmed to lawn height around the paths and buildings, but they do double duty as guard animals. They’re also enthusiastic observers of any outdoor projects, and joyfully provide lots of input on your work. In the spring they lay copious amounts of eggs, although they haven't quite learned the knack of parenting... yet.
The Cat
Puck is a former Oakland street cat with a fondness for following along on walks and complaining about the weather. His main job is keeping mice and gophers from overtaking the house and gardens, a role which he takes very seriously.