I gawked at the sight before me and then pointed to my camera, indicating that I wanted to take a picture. The three men shifted slightly as I squatted down to take the shot. When I later reviewed the photo, I was struck by the sense of ease their posture emanated.

One of the farmers came over, "You've never seen this before?" He had to shout over the sound of the tractor powering the grain chute to be heard, but even with all the noise I sensed incredulity in his tone. His family had grown corn for generations. Was it possible one could get a ways into their adult life without confronting a stream of golden corn kernels? I tried to explain that I was from Los Angeles and no, I'd never seen grain gush out of a wagon and get sucked into an enormous grain tower.

Wayne, as I would later learn was his name, invited my mother and I to harvest some corn with him in his combine, which waited for him about a mile down the road. My mom was immediately on board and I warmed to his friendly and genuine offer.

Grain towers are often the tallest features in rural Midwestern landscapes. They rise above fields of corn and soybeans and as in Riverside, Iowa, add an industrial edge to small towns.

Riding in Wayne's combine, harvesting corn grown on land he rented from his aunt was a unique and unforgettable experience. His combine harvested six rows of corn at once. The biggest combines harvest 16 rows at once. The machinery is impressive, simultaneously cutting stalks, ingesting ears, husking them, and shearing off kernels, which burst out of a spigot, filling tractor's bed. At one point during the ride, the tractor's cabin got dark, and I noticed that the back window of the cab had been completely drowned with kernels, blocking out the sunlight. After harvesting 12 rows of corn, Wayne transferred the kernels from the combine to a wagon pulled by a different tractor. The other tractor transports the load to the elevator where it is weighed and unloaded.

Thank you, Wayne, for this memorable and educational experience.

Fields begin to turn early fall, verdant green becoming a rich gold, and finally a crisping to brown. Once thoroughly dried, corn and beans are harvested. This year, harvests began mid-October and lasted through the end of the month.

I can't do a post titled "Iowa Gold" without also including some Hawkeye-related photos. College football is a deeply ingrained culture here. Tailgating for a Saturday morning game oftentimes begins early Friday. Perhaps more entertaining than the football itself (for the less sports-oriented), are the creative ways in which fans show their colors.

These donkeys were not too excited to be decked out and dragged through the Hawkeye homecoming parade.

This post is the second in the color series.

Here are my highlight reels for the 20th Anniversary Iowa Women's Music Festival. Being part of the Festival was such an amazing experience. It was a huge privilege to have the opportunity to meet women changing the world with their music. The positive vibe that was generated between the performers and audience was powerful, and I will hold that feeling with me as I move forward with new work and new projects.

The video below features a clip from each of the Festival performers:  Jillian Noah, Summer Osborne, the Iowa Power Women (Natalie Brown, Lojo Russo, Gayla Drake, Kimberli Maloy, Laurie Haag, and Kim-Char Meredith), Claudia Schmidt, God Des and She, Andrea Gibson, and the Annie Mack Band. 

The 2013 IWMF fundraiser featured Summer Osborne, Zoe Lewis and comedian Julie Goldman.  Julie Goldman had me in stitches for the entire hour plus of her jokes. I especially loved her description of the Los Angeles "affect" and of the camping-workshop-wedding she attended in the Bay Area. 

The heavy rain that started and stopped with the Iowa Women's Music Festival on Saturday dampened wool socks worn with Tevas, but not spirits as talented artists from all over the country rocked the Johnson County Fairgrounds. The performances were empowering, fun, and inspiring. It came as no surprise that as the cool blues of the last set by Annie Mack Band faded from the barn, a full double rainbow flickered into being. 

For me, one of the highlights of the festival was riding the roller coaster of Andrea Gibson's spoken word performance. Her poetry is at once deeply personal and universal, emotional and visual, striking and soothing. I found myself alternately weeping and laughing, sometimes laughing while weeping. She broke us to pieces with poems like "Ashes" and put us back together again with "A Letter to My Dog on the Human Condition."

The highlight of my week was learning that a video clip I put together was posted on a site Andrea and her tour manager, Kelsey Gibb, created called Stay Here With Me.   The website aims to generate community around how art can play a critical role in helping to live with depression. In the clip below, Andrea and Kelsey talk about why they created the site and Andrea performs "The Madness Vase." 

Stay tuned for a highlights reel of the festival!