Guaranteed Income is the G.O.A.T.
In rural we tend to the herd
(March 2024) I made this painting to represent the joys and connections I recognize between how we as rural folk tend to the herd, whether they be goats or each other to increase awareness about the concept of Guaranteed Income in our rural communities of Otter Tail County and beyond. A version of this acrylic painting was edited to include the message “in rural we tend to the herd” and installed on a billboard on MN County Highway 210 between Wahpeton, ND and Fergus Falls, MN. The billboard message and art greets eastbound truckers and personal vehicle drivers for an eight-week run near the community of Foxhome from late March into May 2024.
If you found your way here because of the billboard please keep reading to learn more about the connections I am drawing between Guaranteed Income, art in rural communities, and the collective values of freedom, interdependence and care that my goats remind me as core ethos guiding the best versions of our relationships with each other.
If you too enjoy these values of our rural communities I invite you to share this message by mailing a friend a postcard, or sharing a sticker with a friend. Locations to come soon for where you can find these elements in OTC!
The original painting is currently up and on view at the Springboard for the Arts Fergus Falls offices.
Freedom
My wife and I live in the rolling hills of rural Erhard with three goats, ten chickens, two inside dogs, and three outside cats. Since moving to Otter Tail County in 2017, I have come to particularly enjoy observing the ways the seasons change and deepening my understanding of all of our roles in our natural environment. Our goats have taught us many lesson on freedom, instead of trying to keep them confined, we have learned it’s much better to fence in what we would like protected. Likewise, living in a rural place has provided me with a sense of freedom I have not previously accessed in other parts of our state. Guaranteed Income has allowed me financial freedom by providing a stable and reliable source of funding that sustains my work as a full-time artist. Both of these freedoms— the freedom to live rurally, and the freedom to create art as my livelihood— should be anyone’s freedom who wants it.
Interdependence
I know my existence in this rural place as an artist requires interdependence. There is a level of interdependence we enjoy with our goats, we humans provide them with food in the winter, year-round shelter, and in turn they make us laugh and serve as our lawn crew. This trio has also fended off a roaming fox who had come back one too many times trying to snatch an unsuspecting hen. As co-goat herder with my wife, I’ve come to witness the remarkable ways these goats tend to one another in their small herd. Edith (the Nubian) is the sentinel of the group. She often perches atop a rock with an eye out for danger as Willa (the Sanan) and Milagro (Alpine/Sanan mix) roam and graze. When their appetites take them too far away from Edith’s line of sight you can hear her calling to the group; they do everything together. At night, the trio often assemble this formation I’ve captured in a painting: butts or sides touching, each one facing a different direction to keep all three of them safe; each one contributing their individual body warmth for the collective survival. Guaranteed Income for artists in our rural communities, is like saying “we’ve got your back.”
Care
In rural we tend to the herd. Whether that be a herd of cows, goats, sheep, horses, or other hoofed creatures, we know what it takes to make sure we have feed, hay and water for our herds. We administer vaccines, trim hooves, help with birthing, provide shelter and safety by checking fence lines, replacing marth bedding. We know the value of the herd because we see how the herd tends to one another. We as humans tend to the herd because we must look after all under our care. We care about and we care for the herd. When I thought about the name of this painting I chose the word “tend” because of the caring element of that verb. Tending to the herd is a requirement of caring for a herd. It is an active caring that requires proactivity, commitment, and accountability. Our communities are strengthened when we tend each other as well. Guaranteed Income is a rural strategy that helps us tend to our herd.
Learn more about Guaranteed Income
Springboard for the Arts Guaranteed Income
GUARANTEED (Podcast) with Eve Ewing - Produced by Respair Media
Funding for this project was provided by: