I recently submitted my artwork for the Sustainability Week Art Showcase. It was just accepted to be shown on Wednesday, April 11 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Blacklock House on 18 Bull Street. The event is free and open to the community and will provide snacks and great music – so I would definitely encourage anyone interested to come attend!

The prompt asked for work which related to your interpretation of sustainability, community, social/environmental justice, mindfulness, or earth appreciation. I decided to apply because essentially all of the personal and school work which I have created in the past year has dealt with such topics. I thought I would use this blog to talk about how the work I submitted relates to such topics.

I finished up this 18 x 24” monoprint about a month ago and it represents one of my first attempts at printmaking. This print is meaningful to me as it is representative of my personal growth over the last semester. I have made a lot of changes in my daily life and gone through a lot of spiritual growth within the last year. One of those changes has been my interest and dedication to my yoga practice. It has helped me to cultivate mindfulness throughout my everyday life and for that, it is extremely significant to me. At the studio I attend, they often say to “make space.” This applies to both making external and internal space. I began to think deeply about this concept and realized that in this observed space comes the ability for growth. Therefore, this is my visual representation of that idea. I thought about what kind of beauty and healing this space could allow for. Each of the plants shown are indigenous to the Americas and known for their healing properties.

I created this 12 x 12” oil painting in December for a series on my memories of summer travel. I made three paintings all from 35mm film photography I had shot while hiking in Boulder, Colorado. This painting is a cropped element from the photograph I attached above. As its easier to see in the source, there’s a hiking backpack and boot. Although not typically thrilling subject matter, I really enjoyed working on this painting because it allowed me to reflect on the day I had spent alone on the mountain. It allowed me to return to that tranquility and happiness even in the midst of finals.

I think that the second best thing to actually being in nature is drawing it, so I really encourage everyone to do so even if you don’t consider yourself an ‘artist.’ For me, drawing and painting is very meditative and really forces me to embrace the present moment without the distraction of an internal monologue. It is almost like journaling where you allow yourself to just do without thinking about how it will turn out or what you will draw next. I hope that at the very least my art inspires people to go outside, appreciate our community and our Earth.