Journal
Writing from the art.
We Can All Use a Little Hope
It was an honor to unveil a new Climate Art and Action Project at the Festival of the Steh-Chass's youth camp yesterday. I worked with over 30 youth, discussing climate change, sea level rise, and the impacts they are already witnessing. And, of course, solutions. The smoke from western forest fires had only recently cleared and was fresh in their minds. It was easy to see that for many of them, climate change was all too real, and all too daunting. Yet they responded not just with worries and anxiety, which I imagine most of us have in the face of this looming threat, but with Hope.
Design Collaboration: Less Waste, More Food
At the beginning of March, I kicked off the Less Waste, More Food Art in Action Project with 4 design workshops, involving 100 students, at Salish Middle School and North Thurston High School. In these workshops, I presented about the problems of wasting food. In the US we waste 40% of the food we grow! This wasted food has huge social and environmental impacts, including:
Artist Statement
I recently updated my artist statement for a proposal and thought I would share! My artworks explore the interface between participant, viewer, and subject, resulting in immersive works that compel change. They are process oriented, drawing from relevant environmental and social issues. The finished artworks themselves are multi-layered, pulling the viewer in. The underlying collaboration and community participation is Art in Action.
Welcome to the Unknown: Design Collaboration
It is exciting, and a little scary, to embark on this collaborative art-venture with the Thurston County Food Bank. There are so many unknowns. I know that it will result in a permanent exterior art installation and involve over 1,000 people along the way.
I Am Thrilled to Share This News!
I am thrilled to share this news with you: I was chosen to lead a groundbreaking project for the Thurston County Food Bank, as their Artist in Residence! This would not have been possible without the support of so many amazing people.
Thanks to a waste prevention grant from the Department of Ecology, we are embarking on a collaborative, multi-faceted Art and Action project. The focus of the project is:
No, Not Aliens. Plankton!
“What is that? Some crazy space scene?” I smiled at the question, secretly pleased. You see, the organisms in the mural I was painting do look completely out of this world. The iridescent shapes on the mural, standing out from the dark, black background, look like nothing other than bizarre space ships flying through space.
Moving From the Center and Into Action: Part 3
Of all of the places I could really move into action, why climate change? This is a question that I find somewhat difficult to answer as there are so many elements involved. Let’s see if I can break it down. It’s an opportunity for me to learn.
Moving from the Center and into Action: Part 2
Sometimes, when finding my center, I imagine myself in the radiant center of a flower, with the petals representing all of the different aspects of myself that I move in and out of all day long. Other times, it’s more like a hurricane.