
Is time linear, or cyclical?
According to analog watches, time goes around in circles.
According to calendars and planners and most of Western culture, time moves ever forward.
And few of us take seriously the cycles of nature when we contemplate time and how we move through it.
Brian Tourville has been thinking about time, and how our disconnection from the rhythms and cycles of the natural world contribute to our alienation from it.
Brian and I met in 2012, at a Permaculture Design Course in Western Massachusetts. We were on the same “team” tasked with creating a sustainability plan for a farm property, and we kicked ass thanks to his impressive mapping, photoshopping, and designing skills.
We sort of lost touch, until I found an email address and reached out to him last year. Only to discover that he now lives about a mile and half away from me. So we've reconnected over our love of gardening, nature, and nature-based philosophy.
Brian joined me in Sun Studio (the Plant Yourself Podcast shed) to talk about his notions of “nature time,” and how we can reconnect with our own nature by orienting ourselves to the natural cycles all around us.
He also shared a calendar that he's designed, called “The Space of a Year,” which is now for sale online at http://thespaceofayear.artspan.com.
If your holiday gift giving includes nature lovers and those with a cosmological bent, check it out. The Artspan site offers a lot of options, but this is what I recommend:
- Choose the 35″ x 23″ or the 24″ x 23″ size
- Choose the “Prints” tab (not “Original”)
- Paper prints – no glass, no frame, no mat, choose Premium Archival Matte paper
Since we spend some time referring to the calendar, I recommend checking out the YouTube version of this podcast, which you can watch below.

Also, here's a PDF showing the full calendar and details, along with links to purchase and join the conversation on social media.
Brian's fairly shy of the limelight (as you'll notice if you click the “About the artist” link on ArtSpan and find “Just some guy”), so I'm delighted that he agreed to visit Sun Studio and do the video thing with me!
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
PDF of the calendar with detailed images
A Space of a Year on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter
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Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
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Thanks for having me on! It was a great time! Keep up the good work 🙂