Spring News and Art!

Hi Friends,

It’s been fairly cold and snowy here in Steamboat, but the daffodils and tulips are blooming, so it must be spring! As is appropriate for spring, new things are underway that I wanted to share.

I’m now working part time for Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC), a wonderful organization that I have done illustration and volunteer work for over many years. I am making artwork, doing some writing, and helping with events. My official title is Creative Climate Communications Associate, and it’s such a great match with my skills and interests!

There is no greater treasure than all of the sunrises and sunsets glowing golden over this rich, wild land.

YVSC’s big event and fundraiser is coming up soon, Insight: Art for Climate Action. This year, artwork will be hanging at the Steamboat Creates Depot for June with an opening reception June 7, 5-8 pm. All of the artwork will also be listed online for bidding. This leads up to the main event Saturday, June 29 at the Larson Barn just outside of Steamboat Springs. I hope you will be able to see the artwork in person or online, there are so many great pieces! I’ll share online links on social media soon.

Above, you can see one of my submissions for the Insight event, No Greater Treasure. This is a collage made from parts of linocut prints that didn’t quite make the edition. One way I challenge myself as an artist is to reuse materials whenever possible, keeping things from landing in the trash. With some care, scissors, and fun, these pieces assembled into a glowing landscape, so much better than any of the prints on their own. It’s the same when people come together toward a common goal. All of our different skills and experiences working to combat climate change can achieve so much more collectively than an individual on their own.

I made a second piece for Insight as well! I am excited about a future with clean, renewable energy as the norm. I think people will look back at the era of fossil fuels the way we now look at the era of cooking and heating with fire. It’s a wasteful, messy way to gain energy, but a phase we went through before arriving at something much better. To honor the future we are working to achieve, my artwork celebrates the sun, one of our greatest sources for renewable energy.

Solar

This piece was made by printing hand-carved stamps in a symmetrical pattern with gold, copper, and silver ink onto black paper, and then I cut out parts of the black paper. Behind this is a sheet of golden paper to emphasize the idea of the sun. I was given a round black frame that was lightly scratched and unusable, so I scratched it intentionally with sandpaper and rubbed gold paint onto the surface. It turned out looking like a perfect frame for the sun.

And one more bit of news, I’ve started a newsletter on Substack called Creative Climate Action. I plan to post every other week with interesting action items that you can tackle and get friends and family inspired to try as well. I’ve only written two so far, but another is coming out May 20. I hope you will subscribe, and send me ideas and feedback!