Seeking the Sacred on the Farm

Ricky Baruc, Deb Habib, and their teenage son Levi Baruch feature their artwork of meditation benches, pottery, and mandalas in this unusual and delightful family exhibition. Aspiring to live an engaged and loving life, the co-creators of Seeds of Solidarity Farm and Education Center in Orange MA, live and work on the part solar powered farm. Their mission is to ‘awaken the power among youth, schools and families to Grow Food Everywhere to transform hunger to health, and create resilient lives and communities.’ Ricky and Deb are currently working on their first book, Making Love While Farming: A Field Guide to a Life of Joy.
 
Ricky Baruc walks in two worlds as an artist and farmer. He says, “In the forest I cut cedar trees by hand and then mill them into boards. In the fields I grow ancient heirloom corn, wheat, sage and tobacco and use these to inlay sacred symbols on meditation benches, altars and furniture.  I work with the natural curves that the forest creates to make furniture and art.”

He grew up in New Rochelle, NY. Then, while sitting in a business class (on his mother’s recommendation) during his second year of college studying Marine Biology, he had an epiphany that he did not know how to work with his hands. After dropping out soon after, he spent the next 30 years of his life working with his hands as a carpenter, woodworker, and farmer.
 
Deb Habib, born in New York City to a Turkish and a Russian Jew, found her way to home in rural Orange MA by way of a journey inspired by travels in the U.S. India, Cuba and the Middle East. She studied Environmental Design (CU Boulder), received a Masters degree from Antioch New England, and a Doctorate in Cultural Diversity and Curriculum Reform from UMASS Amherst. In her words, “I resonate with clay, and this has been part of my expression and a place of centering since I was a young child. Cooking is an important artistic expression, and serving food in pottery that I make unites two favorite mediums.”
 
Levi Baruch, seventeen years old, has been encouraged by his parents Ricky and Deb to find his own passions and pursue them. Currently looking forward to his evolution as an artist he says, “I hand draw my mandala designs with pen and ink. It is my hope that you find a piece that resonates with you, and that you can share that beauty with someone you love.”