As was the case for my last post, I’m feeling the need to tell you about some community outreach I was (and am) involved in.
Hold on to your seats because this covers the “Stop MVP” Water Protection River trip organized by 7 Directions of Service !
…Plus I’ll be introducing you to some more newly released earth centered artworks !
Last spring, not too long after the “Water Is Life Workshop” event, 7 Directions of Service put together a group canoe/kayak trip that was part pipeline protest and part community bonding nature excursion. This indigenous-led outing raised awareness of some very crucial environmental issues relating to the MVP pipeline! The ultimate goal here is to protect our local water sources by cancelling the MVP and the proposed MVP Southgate Extension.
Who’s 7 Directions of Service??
It’s a grassroots organization founded by Indigenous activists Crystal Cavalier-Keck and Jason Campos-Keck. They operate out of Orange and Alamance counties (near where I live) on what is actually Crystal’s ancestral Occaneechi-Saponi homeland.
What’s the MVP ??
MVP stands for Mountain Valley Pipeline. This is a hazardous and unnecessary pipeline being constructed to transport fracked natural gas across the Virginias and North Carolina to destinations further south (west). The proposed 73-mile long MVP Southgate Extension is slated to crisscross over the Dan and Haw Rivers. It would have a detrimental effect on the health of the land, water and living beings in our community, violating a myriad of permit conditions, laws and regulations.
The entire ecosystem of the Piedmont region is at stake and our ecosystems have a right to exist and be safeguarded!
“Stop MVP” Water Protection River Trip
The Dan River and Haw River water sheds are in the MVP Southgate Extension’s line of fire. Entire habitats and recreational sites would be destroyed, and water quality would suffer greatly for anyone downstream.
Rolling on the Dan River-Full Photo Gallery
Another Kind of Pollution 🙁 ;- (
…and Now for Some Newly Released Ecologically Themed Works !
“Linear Elements- Entwined”
“Linear Elements-Entwined” shows the intimate connection between the levels of an ecosystem. Water, land, trees and sky are entwined as these elements swirl together as one. Upon further inspection one catches an internal view of embedded buried manmade waste as well. This image is from a mini collage series entitled “Linear Elements.”
Original Medium: mixed media paper collage using photos, photo copies, oil pastel and marbled paper (6 pieces)
Print Format: smooth fine art paper (Hahnemuehle Photo Rag)
Dimensions: multiple sizes
“Linear Elements- Nurture Nature”
“Linear Elements-Nurture Nature” is a mixed media collage illustrating our traditional indigenous strategy for sustainable development practices and coexistence with other living beings. This outlook is a model for the future survival of humanity on earth. We will need to become good stewards to Mother Earth as we shift our focus to environmental restoration.
Please read the quote below, so eloquently expressed by Iroquois Clan Mother Audrey Shenandoah, who was invited to speak at the opening of The Global Forum on Environment and Development for Survival held in Moscow, USSR in 1990.
“There is no word for ‘nature’ in my language. Nature, in English, seems to refer to that which is separate from human beings. It is a distinction we don’t recognize. The closest words to the idea of ‘nature’ translate to refer to things which support life. It is foolish arrogance for humans to think themselves superior to all the life-support system. How can one be superior to that upon which one depends for life?
Original Medium: mixed media paper collage using photos, photo copies, dry point etching and wall paper sample (8 pieces)
Print Format: smooth fine art paper (Hahnemuehle Photo Rag)
Dimensions: multiple sizes
“Linear Elements- Moon Song”
“Linear Elements-Moon Song” is a celebration of the moon and its influence on the earth’s sacred cycles. Grandmother Moon “has a direct relationship to the females of the species of all living things; the sun and the stars; and our spiritual beings of the sky world. They still carry on the original instructions in this great cycle of life.” (Audrey Shenandoah, Onondaga Clan Mother-Global forum on Environment and Development for Survival, Moscow, January 1990).
Original Medium: mixed media photo collage (6 pieces)
Print Format: smooth fine art paper (Hahnemuehle Photo Rag)
Dimensions: multiple sizes
Each limited edition print is marked with my special signature chop, which differentiates it from any open edition formats:
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”
— Jacques Yves Cousteau
