As part of our ongoing investigation into material, process, and place, we cultivated sorghum (broomcorn) on the property in preparation for The Broommaker, a residency with artist Hunter Elliott. Rather than arriving with ready-made materials, the project unfolded from the ground up, inviting the community to witness and participate in the full life cycle of a living material.

Across the growing season, broomcorn was planted, tended, and harvested on SHED’s land, becoming a visible marker of time and labor. The crop’s presence transformed the site into an open field of inquiry: visitors encountered rows of green stalks in summer, drying bundles in autumn, and finally material ready for making in winter. This slow arc of care and observation served as an unmediated invitation into the rhythms that shape craft, ecology, and everyday life.

The broomcorn we grew transformed into functional handbrooms, sculptural work, and experimental objects. By grounding the residency in a material grown on site, the project collapsed the distance between land, labor, and object — making tangible the often-invisible steps that shape how things come to be.