New ideas growing in BC

Spring has finally sprung in Toronto after a long winter, and I feel like new ideas and approaches to eco-art education are popping up around me like tulips and daffodils!  I’ve been busy finishing off a year of teaching, writing, and presenting at conferences, hence the lack of blogging.  But in my travels I’ve been meeting some fascinating artists and educators, all dedicated to more sustainable ways of art-making.  One of these is an artist from Vancouver named Sharon Kallis   What caught my eye was her work with natural materials, in particular invasive species; I hadn’t thought of art-making as a way to creatively re-purpose the biomatter that comes from getting rid of large amounts of plants like English Ivy (in BC), grapevine or dog strangling vine (here in Ontario.)  Sharon has done some really interesting things with the ivy in particular, so check out her website to learn more  [http://sharonkallis.com/community-engaged-practice/]

Another project I learned about recently is also from Vancouver – I met jil p. weaving at the same time as Sharon.  This project took its starting point from the destructive wind storm that hit Stanley Park in 2006, and used artists as one of its ways of addressing the physical and emotional damage caused by this event.  In many ways, I think it presents a model for how to deal with environmental damage in sensitive and innovative ways.  Check it out at [http://www.stanleyparkecology.ca/programs/public/SPEA.php].

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HilaryInwood, May 8th 2011 | Posted in Eco-artists, nature-based art

Wisconsin place-based murals are impressive

I love that the Shades of Green article mentioned last time is instigating dialogue with others interested in eco-art education – I’ve been hearing from people around the world who are doing wonderful eco-art projects in their own communities. One of these is Laurie Tenpas, an art educator and artist in Wisconsin who has been exploring place-based approaches in her community art projects. Here’s her description: “I have co-created two large scale community based murals on buildings downtown in our small town of Nekoosa, Wisconsin. One building is two stories tall and 50 feet long; the other is 70 feet long and 16 feet high. Both murals depict a sense of place – one with our community’s origins with the native Ho-Chunk Indian culture and the other with threatened or endangered native Wisconsin plants, birds, and insects, which includes life size paintings depicting community members. The murals are constructed of paintings and tiles made of stained glass, mirror and ceramic. (You can view some of the images at [www.tenpaswindsstudio.com] by going to the illustrator muralist link.) I love that someone else feels that education of our youth concerning our connections to the environment can be effectively taught through art!” Thanks for sharing your work Laurie – it’s inspiring to see these amazing works!

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HilaryInwood, February 24th 2011 | Posted in Eco-artists

Quilt of Possibilities on exhibit in Toronto

I wanted to share a great environmental art project that is currently on exhibit in Toronto called the ‘Quilt of Possibilities’. It’s a quilt celebrating Ontario’s Greenbelt in all of its forms – each quilt square was created by a different artist. My friend Dorie Preston and her daughter are both part of it, as are many other local artists. It’s a wonderful collaborative piece that speaks volumes about the way art can be used to raise environmental awareness for artists and viewers in a beautiful and engaging way. It’s on view until Dec 12th at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery in Toronto – here’s the link if you‘d like to learn more!

http://www.craft.on.ca/Programs/Greenbelt#Tour

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HilaryInwood, December 3rd 2010 | Posted in Eco-artists, Uncategorized

Green Arts at Evergreen Brick Works

I have been lucky over the last year to be involved in a small way in the thinking around ‘Green Arts’ at the new Evergreen Brick Works site, which has just opened in Toronto in October. Evergreen Brick Works is quickly becoming the environmental community centre of the city, with environmental education programs for schools, a plant nursery of indigenous plant species, a series of demonstration gardens, and a wonderful market featuring organic and fair trade food. It will also become the centre of environmental arts in Canada over time, acting as a much needed hub for artists, musicians, dancers and actors who share similar goals in sustainability through their practice.

The rejuvenation of the site is an art installation in its own right – the century old brick kilns and factory buildings are taking on a new life as classrooms, meeting places, exhibit spaces and performance venues. Artist-in-residence Ferruccio Sardella worked closely with the architects to ensure that the some of the patina and history of these spaces was left intact, including some of the existing street art, like the large graffiti murals that were created on the walls years ago. Ferruccio’s own works are slowly being added to the site, not only to build its own eco-art collection but also to materialize Evergreen’s ideals in aesthetic form. Other works on site include Dan Bergeron’s large-scale photo murals of the former brick workers in the kiln buildings, and art videos inside the kilns themselves!


Landscape architect Heidi Campbell is working on a creative, interactive space for children to play and create their own eco-artworks made of natural and found materials – this should be ready for the spring of 2011. Artists Shannon Crossman and Morgan Zigler have been supporting its development by sharing their innovative activities with children and families in the children’s garden over the past two summers.

Be sure to visit the Evergreen Brick Works website for more info at [http://ebw.evergreen.ca/] or better yet, visit in person!

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HilaryInwood, November 3rd 2010 | Posted in Eco-art sites, Eco-artists, nature-based art, Uncategorized

Best eco-art site found this summer!

I’ve had a lovely few weeks of vacation, and was lucky enough to visit a wonderful eco-art spot in England as part of my travels. I’ve been wanting to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for a few years, as I knew that Andy Goldsworthy had exhibited there on a number of occasions. It was well worth the pilgrimage to the north of England – acres and acres of farmland and forest, with dozens of art sculptures and installations sprinkled throughout the park. Like many museums in Britain it was free to the public, with only a small fee for parking.

What a place! I got to combine two of my favourite activities – hiking and looking at art – in one stunning location in the Yorkshire hills. I was thrilled to experience Goldsworthy’s work firsthand, walking in and around his Shadow Stonefold, Outclosure and Hanging Tree installations from 2007. His stonework is absolutely beautiful, and the siting is inspired. My teenage boys seemed to enjoy their interactive elements as much as I did. I also enjoyed seeing James Turrell’s Deer Shelter Skyspace (also from 2007). His work emphasizes our connection to the sky, and again was a wonderful integration with the open fields and animals of the park.

It was also lovely to see Henry Moore sculptures in their ‘natural setting’, surrounded by the very countryside that inspired them. See the accompanying photo one of these surrounded by English sheep and Canadian geese – a thoughtful addition for a bunch of visiting Canucks!

The highlight of the day however was a retrospective of the work of David Nash, who is a nature-based artist working mainly with trees and wood. What a stunning series of works – I was completely captivated. His work honours the beauty and majesty of trees while articulating his own relationship to them through his connections to the present and the past. If you’re not familiar with his artistry, check out the YSP website for a great series of links on his work [http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=691].

So if you’re heading to England, I highly recommend making the Yorkshire Sculpture Park one of your destinations – it is a wonderful place for nature-based and environmental art!

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HilaryInwood, September 2nd 2010 | Posted in Eco-art sites, Eco-artists, nature-based art
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