Contributors
Lisa Congdon
Fine artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon is best known for her colorful abstract paintings, intricate line drawings, pattern design & hand lettering. She works for clients around the world including the MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, Simon & Schuster, and Random House Publishing, among many others. She exhibits her work around the country, including in shows at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Bedford Gallery in California. A selection of her works are currently available through New York’s Uprise Gallery. Lisa writes a popular daily blog about her work, life and inspiration called Today is Going to be Awesome. She is the author of six books, including the starving-artist-myth-smashing Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist, and illustrated books The Joy of Swimming, Fortune Favors the Brave, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One, Twenty Ways to Draw a Tulip and A Collection a Day. Her seventh book, A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives will be released by Chronicle Books in October 2017. She was named one of 40 Women Over 40 to Watch in 2015. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Linsey Gray Frost
Linsey utilizes art in two ways—expression and investigation. When not pulling images and ideas from within, she uses art to inform herself as much about a subject as possible. With a particular interest in architecture, she finds herself submerged in investigations of how these very different forms are composed. See more of her work at linseygray.blogspot.com.
Lily Bell
Lily has been living at Fosen Folkehøgskole in Norway for the past year, where she learned all sorts of traditional skills, from square-sail sailing to sheep shearing. What brings her the most joy is singing together, wild folk dancing and making feasts with her dear friends. She is excited to learn more about seeds and the stories they carry.
Liba Brent
Liba was born in the Czech Republic and moved to the United States in 1985. She studied Sociology and Russian at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and received a Ph.D. in Sociology in 2003. She started working in international development as a graduate student in 2000 and it became my carrier. For the last 12 years Liba managed projects funded by IFAD that focused on creating new earning opportunities for farmers and rural women in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Leslie Tate
Leslie is a freelance writer and devoted mama who lives in Abita Springs, Louisiana. She is interested in folk wisdom, natural healing, cultivating compassion, and lending her voice to the growing movement of people yearning for a simpler and more authentic life.
Lesley Heiser
Lesley Heiser is a Maine writer whose work appears in Boulevard, Puerto del Sol, Ms. magazine, and many other publications. She's been awarded the Maine Literary Award in both short nonfiction and short fiction from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She has an MFA in fiction from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine.
Lesley Anne Numbers
Lesley runs a one-woman printmaking operation. Her hand-drawn screen prints reflect a deeply rooted love for authentic music, good food, vintage textiles, and all of the beautiful forms and colors in nature. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, daughter, and snaggle-toothed dog. See more of her work at lesleyannenumbers.com.
Leah Batt
Leah Batt is a Maine-based knitting, embroidery, and sewing designer with a deep love of all things home and handmade. Inspired by American landscapes, history, and art, her designs have appeared in Taproot Magazine, Maine Knits, Twist Collective, and Knitscene. She also spins, gardens, and bakes a delicious pie. You can find her on Instagram @MsCleaver and at mscleaver.com.
Lauren Pignatello
Lauren Pignatello is a mother of 7, traditional folk herbalist and ACS award winning cheese and yogurt maker. Lauren started studying herbs as a teen growing up in NYC. She moved to the rocky coast of Maine and grew a family as well as a family business, Swallowtail Farm, with Sean Pignatello. Lauren recently opened a farm cafe and apothecary, Milk and Honey of Swallowtail Farm in Portland, Maine, where she gives consultations and herbal classes on healing and community herbalism as well as dairy making classes.
Laura Poulette
Laura Poulette is an artist and illustrator profoundly inspired by the botanical diversity of the forests and meadows surrounding her home and studio in the hills of Kentucky. She lives with her husband and two kids on a homestead they are (slowly!) building themselves. See more of her work at laurapoulette.com.
Lara Call Gastinger
Lara Call Gastinger is a botanical artist and illustrator in Charlottesville, Virginia and was the chief illustrator for the Flora of Virginia. She received a gold medal at the Royal Horticultural Society garden show in London and her work has been in several national exhibits including acceptance into the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
To see more of Lara’s work, please visit laracallgastinger.com or instagram.com/laragastinger
Langdon Cook
Langdon writes about wild foods and the outdoors. His books include Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Foragerand forthcoming The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground Economy. Cook has been profiled in Bon Appetit,Whole Living, and Salon.com. Cook lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.