Art Monastery Project: Creativity, Community, Contemplation and a Compost Toilet

What happens when you take a bunch of artists and put them together in a beautiful house in rural Vermont with a shared schedule dedicated to creativity? The Art Monastery Project. While in-residence at the monastery, Shawn Shafner (The Puru) hosts a roundtable of "Artmonks" at their finest. St. Francis, King Solomon, Buddha and a bunch of Rabbis all appear, alongside bat guano, bugs, and indigenous wisdom. Plus Abbess and co-founder Betsy McCall passes on a blessing to say when peeing on the planet. Core member Raphael Sacks explains why he's been sprinkling coyote urine on the garden. Voice doula Kaitlin June sings the blessings of our odor-free dry toilet, and chef Emma Wyman pitches in to thank the Muse. Holy shit? You bet your art.   Also mentioned: Anaya Cullen, costume designer, Neva Cockrell, Gerry McCulloch, Goldsmith's University, pirkei avot, physical theater, alternative lifestyle, spiritual practice, community living, painting, video, Aberdeen Farm, maple syrup, plant genetics, beer, sausage, Eco Institute at Pickards Mountain, Diogenes of Sinope, ascetic, urinal, pee recycling, urine diversion, humanure, humus, hummus, Rich Earth Institute, Kim Nace, Abe Noe-Hays, tangaryo, menstruation, Joel and Michelle Levy, Integratron, Mojave Desert, urine as fertilizer, Nitrogen, woodchuck repellent, nun's cap, Carol Steinfeld, Mathew Lippincott, Bootstraps, Earthdance Massachusetts, contact improv, race, class, transforming the shit, purity, impurity