Reaching out and fostering awareness in Earth care and concerns within the community has been what the supporting visual art projects have been about all along. Then along came covid-19 and everything was upended on its ear….so to speak…and we continue to move through the effects of so much change in our lives.
As the saying goes, “necessity is the Mother of invention” it can also be said now that it is also the “Mother of do-it-yourself” (I personally installed track lighting in my studio last week. Those three little wires coming out of the ceiling where I’d removed the old light fixture didn’t have to be so intimidating after all….given that I had already switched off the breaker.) The hardest thing was maneuvering the snake-y track and affixing it where it needed to be. Voila! New lighting to work by for this artist soul!
Necessity has also lead to re-imaging ways to have visual art continue to be an outlet for expressing and showcasing our appreciation, commitment and concerns for matters concerning our Earth. Art that was originally going to be displayed in downtown Port Angeles had to morph into a virtual display (for now) through this website. I hustled to gather folks willing and interested in participating in the virtual letter banner and I’m pleased to be able to showcase their community participation within these pages.
The message can speak for itself.
In the spirit of re-purposing a box of old poster board images of now vintage Chevrolets became the backing for each letter. Some participants used cut outs from old calendars to decorate. One had saved the foil wrapper from chocolate bars for the project. Her sons delighted in the smell of chocolate as she ironed each foil piece in preparation for its creative re-use. The crayons, colored markers, paint and pastels came out and images from magazines and seed catalogs came into use. An upcoming virtual banner will include knitting, drift wood and other three dimensional works.
The opportunity for participation continues with current do-at-home art projects encouraged for future public display. Check out the Inspire page and scroll down to see the line-up of what is current and planned for the near future.
Olympic Climate Action 