“The ecological art practices of today were born from the confluence of feminism and environmentalism in the 1970s.” Today, more than ever, it is crucial to search holistically for ways to address the climate crisis. One way of thinking is not enough and the culture of science, though effective for scientists, often falls short in communicating with the larger populace of non-scientists the importance of the issues we are all facing. I believe the methodology of art-based research and social practice presented to us by the mothers of the ecofeminist art movement is a valuable approach to creating a bridging and inclusive culture to adapt to a world in crisis. 99% of scientists now believe in human caused climate change and the world is reeling from the repercussions of years of drought, enormous forest and bush fires wiping out entire towns, atmospheric rivers causing endless winter storm damage and unheard of phenomena like Texas freezing over. These conditions are ramping up in an unprecedented manner and it comes with great cost. According to the psychiatrist Daniel Hochman, natural disasters equate to economic losses, psychological trauma, and other negative fall outs which can contribute to depression and increased suicide risk. Living in California for the past ten years I can attest to the psychological repercussion from relentless natural disasters, fires, floods and earthquakes, especially where the cost of living is so high to begin with. In the USA the belief and desire to mitigate the crisis is stymied by socio-political divide and a huge lack of belief and will to affect positive changes by much of the country. I am interested in how artists can intersect with climate science and social needs to facilitate public engagement for mitigating damage control for people and for the natural world. How can we utilize the problem solving nature of artistic thinking and the creative process to engage others on deeper levels where science fails to? How can art be employed for healing? I believe as artists working in this environment, we have responsibility to advocate, educate, inspire, facilitate and build community resiliency together. Art is a powerful vehicle for all of that. One of the key tenets of ecofeminism is the ability to create solutions working in the framework of interconnectivity with nature. We must be willing to be inclusive, to think differently and to learn from indigenous cultures who have passed down embodied practices through thousands of years of culture, in caring for each other and the earth. Centering the earth as a mother consciousness is a part of much indigenous wisdom. The practice of reverence that cultivates interconnection within the web of life and ideally a strong connection with the natural world, means co-creating a culture which values nature beyond the resource extractive perspective and enhances guardianship. So how can art making factor in? Thankfully there has been a trend recently by both male and female artists to bring our attention to critical environmental issues. Green artists such as Olafur Eliasson, David Maisel and Neziha Mestaoui have been carrying the baton through the vehicles of land art, photography and new technologies, bringing the issues to the international stage, connecting with a broader public audience and bending the boundaries of art at the same time. Pieces of melted icebergs in a refrigerated room for viewing in a gallery setting (Eliasson), art-sci collaboration for toxic waste remediation in “Revival Fields” (Mel Chin), beautiful yet haunting aerial photographs of pit mines exposing our extractive economies and values (Maisel) and “One Heart One Tree” (Mestaoui), a spectacular event to network audience participation for reforestation projects. By animating the Eiffel Tower with visual projections of trees growing in sync with human heartbeats of a paying audience linked to individual sensors, projects were funded by participants who could see a projected visualization of a tree growing with their name attached to it to feel part of a solution to climate change. Brilliant. These are just some of the contemporary artists bridging science, art and technology to inspire and awaken us to the necessary shifts that we need to see enacted by governmental action and policy worldwide. They are environmental art interventions. They stand on the shoulders of predecessors of artists like Agnes Denes and Betsy Damon for their groundbreaking agency in activism. They all add to the growing conversation of ecofeminist art which is garnering more attention again. “Agnes Denes: Absolutes and Intermediates” was a recent yet well-past due retrospective of her life’s work in The Shed in New York City. The artist was 88 years old. She is known for spearheading eco art projects including the largest human made forest art installation. Commissioned by the Finnish government and announced on World Environment Day in 1992, Tree Mountain continues to provide habitat for animals and a natural filter for groundwater. Planted by 11,000 people from all over the world, the trees grow in a mathematically derived swirling pattern. Denes also chose a variety of pine for the project that can live up to 400 years. Her hope is that the forest will act as a witness to future generations, telling them we were a society that cared for the environment. Denes herself wrote that Tree Mountain; “is designed to unite the human intellect with the majesty of nature.” and “the process of bioremediation restores the land from resource extraction use to one in harmony with nature, in this case, the creation of a virgin forest.” Perhaps some of the power of Denes’ work lies in the fact that;

"The work makes us look again, to become more curious and aware. At the same time, we join with the artist in the complexity and celebration of the mystery of life. Such reaction to her work may seem poetic, but Agnes Denes is a visionary.”

Since the 1960s, she has participated in more than 6000 exhibitions at galleries and museums throughout the world;

“A pioneer of several art movements, she is difficult to categorize. Investigating science, philosophy, linguistics, psychology, poetry, history, and music, Denes' artistic practice is distinctive in terms of its aesthetics and engagement with socio-political issues.”

Now the world is starting to catch up.

My understanding of ecofeminist thinking partly stems from the second wave feminist artist Betsy Damon. Damon’s legacy with her ongoing eco art installation, Living Water Garden, models ecofeminist practice in its unifying approach of environmentalism and feminist thinking. As Damon says in her book Water Talks, “nothing is worth saying unless it acknowledges interconnectivity” (p 5 ) Damon’s practice provides a model of the ideal trifecta that I personally aspire to; inspiring advocacy, strong personal aesthetic with a dedicated practice and practical applications for environmental and community resiliences.

“Applying feminist strategies of collaboration, consciousness-raising, and activism honed through her early career in the Feminist Art Movement, artist Betsy Damon addresses human caused water scarcity through art as social practice.”

Betsy Damon’s legacy is her art practice centered in living water systems and founding Keepers of the Waters, a nonprofit focused on ecological planning, advocacy and education. Damon was a semi-finalist for the Buckminster Fuller Award and a finalist for the Stockholm Water Prize. Damon has lectured widely in the U.S, Europe and China. She’s been a visiting artist at countless colleges and universities.

“Her prints, performances, installations, and eco art works made since 1991, including The Living Water Garden and Living Waters of Larimer convey the importance of restoring sustainable systems, which, she believes, requires communities to take control of their water. She approaches the problem from the position of eco-justice, arguing that the privatization of natural resources is incompatible with the universal right of all life to clean water. In these projects and in her current project with the Lakota, Damon continues to implement strategies of consciousness-raising and community-building inspired by feminism, using principles of connection learned from water.”

With these examples of environmental art interventions, especially those based in inclusive feminist thinking, we can see how important art can be in developing different approaches about our water, land and communities in a solution focused way.

"Water has taught me critical lessons about myself as a human being sharing this planet. These are lessons about inherent connections, collaboration, and relationships." --Betsy Damon

This brings me to the motivation for my “artivist” social practice; inspired by the words of art critic Eleanor Heartney; “as the climate crisis deepens and we look for answers, this (ecofeminist art) may be the art that matters most.” The exploration of ecofeminist artists informs the direction of my own work for my own mental health and desire to participate in solutions. Currently I am working on a project called Coralizing which seeks to engage people with climate and human impacted, endangered coral reefs. Following the ecofeminist trail, I am exploring how to express human interconnectivity within the web of life whilst highlighting the fragility of coral reefs in crisis with my ceramic and glass sculptures. My exploration will also lead me into collaboration with coral regeneration groups, the research and fabrication of practical applications for ceramic sculpture in coral fragging projects and how to analyze the effectiveness of art installations for advocacy. The goal of my MFA final thesis work is to realize my vision for an immersive art experience called Ocean INSIDE which will be the culmination of the next couple of years of my art-based research. Stay tuned...

References
Wildy, Jade. “The Artistic Progressions of Ecofeminism: The Changing Focus of Women in Environmental Art.” International Journal of the Arts in Society, vol. 6, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 53– 65. Filippone, Christine. “For the Blood of Gaia: Betsy Damon’s Quest for Living Water.” Woman’s Art Journal, vol. 39, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 3–11. Slade, Roy. “Agnes Denes: Perspectives” Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Alaimo, Stacy & Hekman, Susan (eds.) Material Feminisms. Indiana University Press. (2008) MacGregor, Sherilyn. “Making matter great again? Ecofeminism, new materialism and the everyday turn in environmental politics”. Environmental Politics, 30:1-2, 41-60, (2021) Estevez-Saa, Margarita. Lorenzon-Modia, Maria. “The Ethics and Aesthetics of Eco-caring”, Contemporary Debates on Ecofeminism, Women’s Studies Journal, Feb 2018 Heartney, Eleanor. “Engineered Content.” Art in America. 1 May 2018. ARTnews.com. 25 Oct. 2021 Rahmani, Aviva, “Blued Trees as Policy: art, law, science and the Anthropocene.” Art, Theory and Practice in the Anthropocene. Ed. (2019) Lipton, Amy. “Remediate/Re-vision exhibition at Wave Hill.” ecoartspace blog. 18 Aug. 2010. Ecoartspace. 26 Oct. 2021 . Wallen, Ruth. “Ecological Art: A Call for Visionary Intervention in A Time of Crisis.” Leonardo, 45:3 (2012) 234–42. JSTOR. Web. 25 Oct. 2021 Carruth, Allison. "Urban Ecologies and Social Practice Art." Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities, vol. 1 no. 1, 2014. Damon, Betsy. Water Talks Empowering Communities to Know, Restore and Preserve Their Waters. Portalbooks, 2022. Damon, Betsy, and Anne H. Mavor. “The Living Water Garden.” Whole Earth, no. 100, Spring 2000. Heartney, Eleanor. “All or Nothing.” Art in America, vol. 108, no. 5, May 2020, pp. 40–49. Boswell, Peter. “ Invisible Aesthetic: Revisiting Mel Chin’s Revival Field.” Sightlines, Oct 9 2017 Doggett, Lisa “Stressed out about climate change?” Health News, NPR.org. Sep 3, 2023

  

Scuba!
Below is a video shot by Melissa Davidson on our scuba trip to Cozumel.
Below that is a video in the studio of the new body of ceramic work called Divers inspired by the experience.

The unification of art and science as a singular technology “Art-Sci” synthesized with digital new media can potentially create deeper learning experiences and broader education potentials. This is a good reason why project development should receive funding where traditionally science grants are favored over art grants in general. Art is the most holistic discipline and should be revered as such. It incorporates science, technological advancement, historical record keeping, anthropology, philosophy, aesthetics, design, engineering, problem solving, creative thinking, collaboration, psychology, self-advocacy, social advocacy, environmental advocacy, political commentary, thought provocation, inspiration, motivation, spiritual connection, physiological effects, development of intuition and instinct as well as benefits for mental health and creating community!  
Importantly, experiencing art can create an emotional response and potentially an emotional investment in environmental issues that science alone cannot.
A great example of this synthesis of art, science, technology and environmentalism is the  work by the late Nazhia Mestaoui. Her projects ask for audience participation, not only in the immediacy of using the sensor technology in her project to create a visual experience but also by directly connecting their participation to a reforestation project in the real world.
Mestaoui passed away in 2020 during her prime leaving behind a legacy of ingenious work that shows how art and contemporary technology can be used to engage people to have actionable responses in environmental issues. Her works asks the question what more can be achieved in this way?

To see a TedTalk from the artist herself copy and paste the link below
 https://youtu.be/LtQpJ_5j_GQ 


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From the holistic perspective art is about a lot of things. If we voyage into the advanced studies arena of art and academia or the art world in general we really have to believe in ourselves and the conviction of our work. This becomes a precarious position as we receive critique and popular opinion about our place in that world from the hierarchy in place whether teacher/student or those in positions of power denying or supporting the very personal work of the artist. This is a mirror of other hierarchical systems in society like those in the medical field, the financial, the political and the various imbalances and injustices that result. So how then can art making help us with our own ability for self-advocacy? Our art is about our voice, our perspective, a personal language that only we can create. It is about deciding that that voice has a value not governed by the art market or really anyone else's taste and opinion but about its ability to be authentically expressed, felt and seen. It's about the decisions we make in the process that empower our own aesthetic and instinct. In a world where we might have to self-advocate for appropriate medical care, basic human rights and safety, can we use our art making to hone this skill that isn't taught and often seen as a defiant stance by those in positions of power?  Can we teach others to self-advocate using art?

One of the things that I find so enriching about having an art practice, is being around others who are also passionate about making and learning. The past couple of weekends I was part of a ceramics pit fire on the beach. Something I had wanted to do since living in coastal California. Being able to safely have a fire was also quite special. There is something so ancient and connecting about gathering around a fire with others. Firing ceramics in a live fire adds another layer of ancestry to the process.

There's quite a bit of prep that goes into it from making sure the fire is permitted in the location, no birds are nesting, the size of the fire (30 cm diameter max on Humboldt beaches), shlepping kindling, supplies, pots, food etc.. down to the site, drying out the sand with a pre-fire and making a bed of coals to lay the pots on, gathering wood to keep the fire going for several hours, making sure the fire is protected from too much off shore wind... We mostly brought bisque, high fire vessels that would have a better chance of surviving the process. We gathered feathers and seaweed, brought copper mesh and wire to wrap around some pots and in some cases wrapped them in foil. All of these things can be used to make marks on the pieces when exposed to the fire or pots just pulled from he fire.

It wasn't until I was burned out, dizzy for three months and at the end of a grueling schedule that I finally said screw it I am am going to take ceramics classes here on the Mendocino coast. I need to get grounded and slow down, do something I've always wanted to and heal my short circuited brain. Once I started working with clay, I became obsessed. It happens that way for some people. We are called Clayheads. Some endorphin response happens when shaping lumps of earth into works of art, discoveries are made and thousands of years of genetic memory get switched on. The thread of global ancestry is illuminated, from the first artworks known, it continues to weave its way through our fingers, transformed into clay becoming new form from the inner and the ancient. 
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Then there's the deliciousness of transformation: soft moulded clay slumped, smoothed, squished into formations, which are then dried and fired into a hardened "bisqued" version. In this piece "Turkey Tail Man", I started out knowing one thing: I want to loosely shape a face. Once the personality came through and revealed a male, it was evident that he required turkey tail mushrooms to become his true self. In the above picture and video below you can see a stain I am using to bring out the details of the sculpture now it has been fired.

The piece will be fired again and the stain will be alchemized into the clay transforming the look into a finish. Carved within the face is an archetypal script I call sacred circuitry which is found in most of my ceramic work.

 When I first start to inquire about returning to school, I walked into the foyer at Berkeley City College and was so overwhelmed, it took another year for me to go back. The first time I was going through a rough patch of my life. I was living in chronic pain, depression and grief whilst surviving an abusive relationship. I had sustained an injury during my career as a massage therapist and was feeling painfully incapacitated, combined with the toxic environment and the tunnel vision of depression, I could not see any way out. At times I was suicidal. I was living in the Bay Area at the time when renting something affordable was becoming impossible and the amount of homeless people seen on the streets growing daily. I started living in a state of fear, living with an unpredictable, violent man who had no problem putting his hands around my throat, throwing me down on the floor and leaving me with bruises or living on the street, unable to work with my disability. Who was this person? Throughout my life people had told me what a strong person I was, fearless even. I was no wallflower. Where was the warrior goddess who has already survived so much? During these dark days I really came to understand the crippling effects of depression and the burning sting of victim shaming. I learned a hell of a lot about domestic violence, how pointless going to court can be and how much work there is to do on a societal level.
One day, driving on the freeway, I saw a giant billboard which said; "Now offering Multimedia Arts at Berkeley City College". It was like an arrow piercing the fog of hopelessness and maybe a way for me to find my feet again. I talked with other friends who had gone back to college and shared with them how I was so overwhelmed the first time, I didn't think I could go back to school. When they explained that they had gone through a similar experience I didn't feel so stupid and with assistance started the first steps. I returned to college at the age of 37 and at that time it was a lifeline.
I have been in school now for five years. It turns out I am a good student. I was on the Dean's list last semester, I am a member of the Phi Theta Kappa and The National Society of Leadership. I am on track to graduate this year and considering a variety of options. My overall goals are;
to facilitate art wellness practices for others, to research the therapeutic effects of ceramics and art journaling, to become proficient at visually communicating important environmental and scientific issues, to support and expand the crucial art of ecofeminism through education and focused art making, to continue to advocate for survivors of domestic violence. In addition I am learning to scuba dive with a goal of participating in coral restoration projects.
When I started on the journey of my college education, I did not know where it would lead me. I have so many interests both in art and environmental studies and now feel I am able to explore my full potential by staying the course. The most important change though, in all of this learning and enrichment, is the fact that I now believe I can do it and want to. As a result, I can encourage others to believe in themselves.

​With love
Gaiagyrl.

Musings about art and technology...

Art is the most holistic technology we have. Art encompasses the inner and outer realities, the inspiration and the idea, the creative process and the result.  The results can be unlimited, unlike modern science which demands a negation of a hypothesis or pseudo science which seeks proof of a hypothesis. Art is a quantum technology and could use every  technology ever known in it's unending evolution of expression as long as humans are around to be its subject. Art is a vehicle for the energy of life itself becoming manifest through the human experience and all it's ideas. Technology is the process of how ideas come to fruition through practical application. Technology is a gateway to the material expression of ideas. Technology can also be considered a form of science in the way that it has a documented history of ideas which have a self-feeding influence on society. The ability to make cave paintings to the advent of agrarian society, industry, space exploration and the integration of digital age in modern culture are all due to technology, but without the impulse of the creative spirit and its need for expression, technology would not exist.
The use of technology and art both come from the impulse to manipulate the physical world for the perceived betterment of human experience. Modern science prefers to measure it, finding expression through logic deduction in order to create. We evolve due to our ability to make art and create technologies. The scientific method is also a technology. Ultimately there is no need to dice them up as we are in an era now where the holistic utilization of interdisciplinary technology is needed for the betterment of humans and our relationship to our planet.