what it was

by mary

ice looks nice

the last haul across the lake.

reCAPSULATION

there was the building: record colds and long days-into-nights of work, mostly on the ice, sometimes in an unheated abandoned soap factory.

then there was the living: music & guests, a cold spell of ice thick on the inside walls & cracking loud at night.

and there was the leaving: the boat changing hands, finding new in andover with max and leila.

"Leila and I are pleased to report that The Snuggery is snugly in its new home! We chose a sunny spot on the northern edge of the +50-acre slough which is a Minnesota "Designated Wetlands Area". With the bow generally facing northwest toward our house it looks most boat-like."

the grizzled end

we three.

(by sam)

& so.

ice capades

a spontaneous delight

Antarctic Living

Days turn to weeks, and the living gets good.
Days spent mending, fires stoked,
beards worn, and grown.
Dogs, skinned and stewed, songs sung,
friendships brewed.

Time devoted to the fine art of living, a week of quiet. Visitors come and gone.
Antarctica is in our hearts and minds and has gotten under our skin.

alive

from above

by MNkiteman

Celestial Navigation

Peggy, our Navigator, visited last weekend, and stole the shanty show.



She captivated audiences with math and scientific instruments.





She wore her beard so well.






She is well missed.

the town, some residents

taken by a man named layne kennedy, who visited us this morning

Shanty Goes Public

and so it begins,
we spend our weekend entertaining with beards. Minnesotans are so generous. Many offers of warm food, drinks and showers. (or is this a subtle hint? ) Upcomming weeks, much time for beautification and making homey, the little shack that is warming our hearts and noses by the minute.
Hellos and goodbyes to crew members, as the expedition wears on, we welcome friends old and new.

CONTACT

home.

paper to pixels,
we'll try to keep you updated
as the permafrost allows.

keep checking:
http://antarcticshanty.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/conatusjane/

send firewood & warm thoughts our way:
attn: IMPERIAL TRANSANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
care of ARTPOST SHANTY
PO BOX 7345
minneapolis, minnesota 55407

east to midwest

WEDNESDAY JAN 14

by molly:

the boat has been raised. the temperature has dropped to record lows. every hour of light spent working on the ice, work extended into darkness as well. full moon, low on the horizon, biggest of the year. a bald eagle flies by every day at sunset. northern lights faint in the clouds. 3 pairs of long underwear, 2 pairs of pants, 6 sweaters, 2 coats and the cold still cuts through it all. but spirits are high and the boat is taking beautiful shape. everything unknown, everything day by day by hour.

the state of things

there is too much to say

a thousand miles gone

and one hundred degrees dropped

we'll wax poetic from the ice

and slip & slide

with words

when possible.

mostly excerpts from here on out --

paper does not freeze like pixels.

The boat, she stands.

Ship Log: January 15th 2009

Vast terrain, traversed;
Slight set backs; relapse,
blown tires on four letter freeways, sleeps next to prisons and citizens with exceptionally large heads.
Arrival at our icy Minnesotan destination sees joyous re-union with crew members. Medicine lake; the work begins.

Construction of our soon to be home began on a sunny Saturday some five days ago. The ribs of our vessle errected one by one, all hands on deck, she stands by sun down.
Work hard, in failing hours of daylight, work harder by night, jumping in and out of dumpsters, scavenging scrap wood to piece together with hand tools encrusted with ice.
The work is hard, the conditions brutal, Minneapolis facing record lows.
Honing skills of wrapping, bundling, nailing and scavenging. Moral remains high, exhaustion ensuring deep dreamless sleeps after 18 hour days.
Yesterday we installed our dear wood stove, just in time, for minus 30 wind chills. The belly of our beast exhaling in relief. Heating, icy coating outside and in.

We are now faced with the task of making her livable. Generous hospitality of the greater art shanty community has provided the expedition thus far with roofs and central heating.
Soon we move into our new home, and will discover first hand the results of our toils.

Huts, hats, n' heat (or lack there of)

getting things started...

From one hut to the next, last night's voyage from thrift store in north Carolina, brings the expedition to rest, if only briefly, in a hut of true comfort, One with central heating and home cooked meals, in rural Virginia.


I wake up from dreams filled with lacking sweaters, and embarrassing novels discovered in my luggage.
Preparation: this is a difficult concept to conceive of, when embarking into the unknown.

we will fold and re-fold our wolly socks and long johns, pack tarp upon glove upon log, and hope for the best, as we drive north, away from green leaves in january, to frozen windswept ice and cold cold cold.

Did you catch me saying i loved winter? yes, i do, and will try to remember my reasonings for this in a mere 6 days, when luxuries such as lightswitches and plumbing go down the drain and get frozen in the pipes along the way.

the now of things

i am, at this very moment,
gathering myself for the send-off
and dealing with a paralyzing fear of failure.

in a skewed green room i simmered for hours last night
realizing shackleton's endurance
came from wrestling the expedition's rational failure
in order to be eternalized as a shifted sort of success.

i can only hope that this night will be different.
that i will close my eyes and slow my breathing
and sir ernest will bend to whisper in my dreamtime

i am understanding things daily.

impossibility allows excellence,
adversity allows affection,
capsizing leads to courage.

& so, we have predestined ourselves to fail, to fall,
to stand on ground that will shift beneath us
and force our thinking
into an expanse
one simply
cannot
be rescued
from.

fortitudime vincimus