Sophomore Spotlight: Chris Allen

Chris Allen, With Her Chicken Mural In Progress

The start of the 2014 apprenticeship marks a return to the farm for EarthDance’s four second-year apprentices, each of whom will pursue a special project as they deepen their agricultural education.  This month, we’ll cast a Sophomore Spotlight on Chris Allen, whose focus project is a fun one: Art on the Farm!

Chris is the sort of person who seems to have lived extra lives.  She’s had more experiences than you would think could be packed into her Earthly years so far.  She always has a story to tell, because she is always trying something new, from Toastmasters classes, taking a workshop about learning to farm with horses and mules, or helping plant exotic truffles at a farm in the Ozarks.

The Cocktail Coop in Action

Chris has already begun her project work: she began by painting an adorable chicken mural on the inside of a movable “chicken tractor,” recently dubbed the Cocktail Coop, where guests at EarthDance’s Feast on the Farm enjoyed farm-inspired libations.

Here, in her own words, is Chris “Cucumber” Allen.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I was a graphic designer for 25 years with McCarthy construction, designing everything from vehicle, signage and display, to print, web and video. For a long time I was the only in-house designer, so there was a lot of variety. It was a great place to work, my coworkers are like family. In 2009, I took early retirement and while deciding what to be when I grew up, started teaching web design at East Central College in Union and cooking at a B&B outside of Clarksville on weekends.

I lost my first husband in 2004 to cancer, but gained a smart, funny grandson the same year. I have 3 grown children, Art, Angie and Alex and when my husband, Ken and I married in 2011, I gained 6 bonus children and 6 granddaughters. Another grandson was born last December and we have a new one coming in May. Family is important to both of us, so we try to spend time with them whenever we can. In addition to farming, last year I started a web design business.

What motivated you to enroll in the apprenticeship in 2013?

I have always loved food and have dabbled in growing gardens, but have never been very good at it. The B&B I was working at is a not-for-profit Community for developmentally disabled adults. They have a restaurant and 60 acres, half-pasture, half-wooded. I wanted to learn more about farming to improve my own gardening skills and to potentially find an additional form of income for the Village of the Blue Rose.

Tell us about the project that you are exploring for Village of the Blue Rose.

It didn’t take me long to realize that vegetable farming is more labor-intensive than the Village could support. But the apprenticeship exposed us to lots of different farmers and gave us lots of educational opportunities. For a while, I was thinking about making specialty vinegars at the village. With their woods, I started thinking about mushrooms and/or nut trees. While researching those, I found out that some parts of the United States are growing truffles. At one of our planning meetings, I was encouraged to look at truffles more closely. I contacted a professor with the University of MO at Columbia in the Agroforestry Department. He has a truffle culture program they are pursuing and I was able to participate in the first planting on a farm in the Ozarks in December. We are in the process now of getting our house ready to sell so we can be closer to the Village. The possibilities are very exciting.

Tell us about your plans for your Sophomore project, and how you decided to pursue it.

Last year while my grandson was in New York, I painted a mural on his bedroom wall of an ice cave for a dragon. It was a lot of fun and made me think about creating a mural on the equipment trailer at the farm. We could paint the EarthDance logo on top of the trailer so people taking off and landing at Lambert would be able to identify the farm. Whatever EarthDance needs I am happy work on, including painting some fun chickens on the inside of one of the chicken coops.

Anything you’d like to share about your experiences with EarthDance so far?

The staff does a great job of creating educational opportunities – we have had our share of struggles with weather, and pests and weeds – those are great opportunities to learn something new. I enjoy the sense of humor that everyone has about themselves and being outdoors. I am amazed at the passion and dedication of all the farmers I have met through EarthDance. Even on the cold, rainy days, I never missed being in an office. It is always a great day to be a farmer!