Soil & Soul

Soil and Soul is a hands-on apprentice workshop celebrating nature and human spirit through community art

“Soil & Soul” is the name for a participatory design-built process developed by James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovic. The title alludes to the dual nature of the work:
-creating environmentally sensitive shapes and forms that organically rest in, and celebrate, the spirit of a particular natural location; and
-celebrating the human spirit with all of its cultural differences and gifts.

Ilan-Lael’s “Soil & Soul” workshops have brought together student apprentices of different ages, backgrounds, and nationalities to explore the relationship between nature and culture. The organic structures they create are shaped by the soul of the site and the dynamic of their diversity. These workshops were initiated by James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovic. Typically the projects take between two to six weeks of intensive work, beginning with trust-building among the participants and ending with a marathon construction effort.

“Soil & Soul” workshops are at the heart of Ilan-Lael’s proposed network of projects around the entire Pacific Rim. These workshops inspire in their participants the confidence to live in productive harmony with nature and with each other and to build from a positive stance towards life.

 

Soil & Soul Projects

Workshops

Volcan Mountain, Julian, CA, 1993
Issaquah, Washington, 1993*
Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico, 1993*
Yestermorrow, Warren, Vermont, 1996 & 1997
Omega Institute, New York, 1994 & 1996
Phoenix House, Descanso, CA 1997
La Rosa Blanca, Tijuana, Mexico, 1989- Present
Millennium Park, Cincinnati, OH, 1997

Pacific Rim Parks

Soil & Earth Park, Vladivostok, Russia 1996*
Pearl of the Pacific, San Diego, CA, 1998*
Pearl of the Pacific, Yantai, China, 2001*

*Workshops led with Milenko Matanovic

 

Pearls of the Pacific

Why do the Pacific Rim countries need an art and cultural component? Why isn’t just the business connection enough? We believe the Pacific is the cradle of a new way of seeing the world. It is a new civilization because of the tremendous diversity that touches the Pacific. We need to see diversity, ambiguity and mystery as gifts, and understand things as facets of many other connections. As William Blake said, “to see the universe in a grain of sand.”

The other concept behind these parks is the idea that the Pacific can be viewed not as a Ring of Fire (a reference to the many under sea volcanoes), but as a string of pearls, eventually encircling the Pacific, joining its cities and cultures and declaring that people wish to be friends and share their future with one another.

We believe that this new reality is now only vaguely experienced and understood. We believe it is valuable to work with architecture students from very diverse backgrounds and cultures and ask them to envision a park that celebrates not only their own culture, but the inter-relatedness of the Pacific and the world. It is a place for the marriage of East and West, of materialism and spiritualism, nature and human culture.

We feel that the Pacific, with all its diversity in nature, cultures and history, has the possibility of leading the rest of the world into a new and more compassionate future.

For more information check out http://www.pacificrimpark.org/

Pacific Rim Park Yantai China June 24th - July 23rd, 2001

Beginning on June 24, 2001, a unique workshop was held in Yantai, China to create the Yantai Pacific Rim Park. This park is the third park to link the nations of the Pacific and to symbolize their shared future.

The Yantai Pacific Rim Park has its beginnings in two previous projects: The Soil & Earth Park in Vladivostok, Russia built in 1994 and the Pacific Rim Park in San Diego built in 1998. Both parks were built by architecture students from around the Pacific Rim under the direction of James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovic. The common element in each park is the Pearl, which we envision as a part of a string of pearls, encircling the Pacific and connecting our three Sister Cities in friendship.

In October 2000 the Mayor of Yantai visited San Diego and the possibility of building a park in China became a reality. After a great deal of planning and coordination, eight American students and two Mexican students flew to China where they were joined by seven Russian students, seven Chinese students and their teachers.

Seven days were spent at Yantai University developing a design for the park. This was followed by a week in the city of LaiZhou where the students worked alongside masters of the ancient art of carving marble and granite, helping to create the main centerpieces for the park.

During the final three weeks, the group returned to the park site in Yantai to complete construction. Students worked together with local workers to mold the materials and land into the intended design. In the last week of construction, many members of the community showed up eager to help and support the project. The team worked well in to the evenings in order to finish in time for the planned dedication on July 23rd.

Pearl of the Pacific San Diego, California, U.S.A. June 23- July 17, 1998

Pacific Rim Park in San Diego, CA is the second in a series of parks connecting San Diego with her sister cities around the Pacific. Its beginnings lie partially in a rose garden built in Yantai, China in 1995 and in the Soil & Earth Park built in Vladivostok, Russia in 1996. The park was designed and built by architecture students from the United States, Mexico, Russia and China under the direction of James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovic with the coordination of Kyle Bergman.

Starting in June of 1998, by the time of the dedication on July 17, 1998, the students felt they had succeeded in symbolically portraying their coming together from four very diverse cultures and the experience of how these friendships might influence the emerging Pacific Culture.

The centerpiece of the park is a "pearl" fountain surrounded by tile images designed by the students to represent the four quadrants of the Pacific Rim. The park has become a popular place for weddings, picnics and other gatherings.

"The Cultured Pearl", a book by Maegan Prentice about the San Diego Pacific Rim Park has recently been published. The books tells the story of the students as they built the park and how it has changed their lives forever. For more information about the book and how to purchase it, please click the link below:

www.trafford.com/robots/02-0405.html

 

 

Soil & Soul Park Vladivostok, Russia 1994

This park is the first in a series of parks around the Pacific Rim, uniting the sister-cities on the Pacific in friendship and helping them to understand this new, emerging Pacific Rim culture.

The park was begun in May of 1994 and was built by students from the United States, Mexico and Russia under the artistic direction of James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovich. They spent 21 intense days working together to understand the identity of each of their countries and designing a park that would symbolize their friendship and shared Pacific Culture.

The Soil and Soul Park in Russia celebrates the beginning of seeing the Pacific Rim as a string of pearls, with a new pearl added each time the sister-cities encircling the Pacific come together in friendship.

 

 

 

Pacific Rim Park Vision

We have developed a visionary plan to continue the expanding Pearl of the Pacific element along the bay front to truly make a statement about San Diego’s future as on active partner in the development of the Pacific as a new place in history.

The plan is a vision of what Shelter Island Pacific Rim Park might be like. It is meant to give an impression of what might happen and how it would feel to be there. We expect that the separate elements, if built, will develop with the input of many participants over a period of time.

We envision the Park as a “peoples park,” one that captures the rich diversity of our own people and that of the cities and cultures of the Pacific, and tries to find the common ground for working together toward a shared future. The Park is a celebration of countless years involved in the weaving of this rich tapestry and a statement that our shared future in the pacific, if faced with understanding and respect, can be a unique and wonderful experience for us all.

The Pacific Rim Park Board is also working to help other cities around the Pacific develop their own Pearl of the Pacific Parks to foster all of our friendships and our shared future as pacific cities and people.

 

Kuchumaa Passage Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico, 1993

Kuchumaa Passage is an outside chapel and rest place to the sacred mountain, Kuchumaa, on the border between the United States and Mexico. It was built in eleven days by thirteen students under the direction of James Hubbell and Milenko Matanovic in Tecate, Mexico and under the sponsorship of Rancho La Puerta.

 

 

 

Volcan Mountain Julian, California, 1993

The Gateway to Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve was built by dedicated members and volunteers. Celebrating the uniqueness of this place, a group of environmentalists, artists, craftsmen and community volunteers designed and constructed the gateway to the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve with contributions from VMPF donations and a grant from the San Diego Community Foundation. Local artists James Hubbell, Mirko Mrikajek and Bill Porter, along with many other volunteers participated in weekly work parties for over a year to complete this impressive entrance to the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve.

(excerpt from the Volcan Mountain Preserve Foundation's web site)

www.volcanmt.org