Your Stewards
Erik Jacobs and Dina Rudick are your farmers next door. But farmers we have not always been.
Plough & Stars Project began in 2013 when Erik decided to push pause on his photography career and start a farm. It was a time of spiritual searching and restlessness. Eight seasons of farming, two kids and a bout of cancer later and we’re here to report that the Mysteries have only deepened.
We are hungry for the planet’s next story. One where human endeavoring enriches this web of interconnected relationships rather than diminishes it. We believe in the power of art and well-grown food to inspire change and provide well-being within ecological limits. We are awestruck by the miracle of our time here and all the things that transcend it. Plus hope. So much hope. It’s all wrapped into this ongoing experiment exploring beauty at the intersection of farming, art and community.
The video below shot by filmmaker Dylan Trivette speaks to the early inspiration behind this venture. If you’re curious to know more about our path before this somewhat improbable point, here you go:
Erik Jacobs is a farmer, award-winning photographer and lover of words with a particular yen for stories that connects us to each other and to the sacred and coherent essence of life on this planet. A selection of his editorial work can be seen at JacobsPhotographic.us.
Dina Rudick has worked as a staff photographer and videographer for the Boston Globe for 10 years. During her tenure, the Globe has sent her around the world to cover stories ranging from the tsunami in Southeast Asia, USAID efforts in Pakistan, to women's health and the earthquake in Haiti. In addition to her photo work, Dina helped to lead the Globe photography department's transition to online video and in 2009 she won an Emmy for her effort, the first ever awarded to the Boston Globe. Dina is also an adjunct faculty member at Boston University's School of Journalism and has worked as a media consultant and media trainer of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. Her work can be seen at www.dinarudick.com.
Together, Erik and Dina also run the video production company Anthem Multimedia, which works with mission-driven clients to create authentic messages across a range of media that speak with economy and motivate to action. We met while working for the Boston Globe, fell for each other in New Orleans while covering Hurricane Katrina and married in 2006. Although we currently call Boston our home, Erik was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina and Dina, in Canton, Ohio.