red bank red : february ‘20
Amanda Brazier writes, “This is red clay from the roots of an upturned pine in the woods across from our house. I call the red clay I gather from around my home Red Bank Red. My sons and I came across this particular deposit of clay late last year. We had just returned from holiday travels, grateful for extended family time but also tired and overburdened with the extreme consumerism that surrounds that time of year. I decided to take them out into the woods so that we could feel human again. My older son led us to an upturned pine tree, its roots covered with bright red clay. He took off his shoes and climbed to the top of the clay-root hill. My two-year-old followed. We breathed and played, clay covering our hands and feet, and we became human again.
This red clay is an ultisol, which is the most common soil order in the Southeastern United States. It is a very old, intensively weathered soil with a red hue due to its high iron oxide content.The land all around where I live is Cherokee land. Nearby Red Clay State Historic Park was the site of the last 11 Cherokee council meetings before their forced removal west in 1838. Red Clay was also where, in 1984, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma met together in joint council for the first time since the Trail of Tears.”
contributor : amanda brazier
“I am a painter living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For the last nine years I have been gathering and using local earth pigments in my paintings in order to connect more deeply with the history and material of painting and place. I also teach earth pigment gathering and paint making workshops. As a facilitator for the public art organization Mark Making, I teach art classes in the county jail and also help lead public art projects in schools.”
Photo courtesy of Amanda Brazier
Photo courtesy of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust website
22% donation recipient : Tennessee River Gorge Trust
The Tennessee River Gorge Trust protects 17,064 acres of land in the Tennessee River Gorge. The Tennessee River Gorge consists of 27,000 acres carved through the Cumberland Mountains by 27 miles of the Tennessee River, just west of Chattanooga. It is the fourth largest river canyon east of the Mississippi River. The Gorge is home to dozens of archaeological sites that bear evidence of human’s presence there for at least 10,000 years. Many threatened and endangered species are known or believed to exist in the Gorge. The Trust works to conserve wildlife habitat through land protection, research, community involvement and education.
Learn more at trgt.org