meredith cutler :: arts marketing :: artist

Yesterday wrapped as a "less-than-stellar" studio day for me; one of those days where every project I touched turned to dust between my fingers. Rather than torching my studio and giving up art forever, I chose to boost my morale by watching this video from Aardman Animations Ltd.

In times like these, I find that a good cartoon is usually the best remedy.

Did you love your earth today? With all of the mass-blasted awareness campaigns, you should have at LEAST worn your organic cotton undies...

Other than harranguing my husband about taking out the recycling, I made a few personal offerings to the miserly annual custom of honoring the earth; although, to be honest, I prefer to employ these steps as often as possible in my status-quo, "un"-Earth Day life.

"un"-Earth Day Offering #1: Leave the car at home, but go out anyway!

Above: "Ceya's Gianni Motta", Oil Painting on panel by Taliah Lempert

Enjoy the weather, wave to your neighbors, watch the trees magically blossom in April (care of global warming), show off those new kicks...or that new bike!

"un"-Earth Day Offering #2: Creative upcycling!

Above: Upcycled Wildlife Fact File Envelopes by me @ crostini*VS

If you can't use it, reinvent it into something new! I receive so much junk mail, it's criminal. While I've gone paperless on every account that gives me the option, it seems that evil direct mail campaigns just won't die. Solution? Create some pretty envelopes for your own use by upcycling catalogs and leaflets, or by turning those pre-addressed security envelopes that come with your bills inside out! (Who knew that there were such a variety of patterns inside). Click here for a cool Design*Sponge tutorial on Inside-Out Security Envelopes by Derek and Lauren of The Curiosity Shoppe.

"un"-Earth Day Offering #3: Explore, educate yourself and share what you learn!

There are many great role models and resources for going green. Keep an eye out for strategies, initiatives and resources that move you, and share them with family, friends and the world! The internet and blogosphere are great sounding boards. Here are a few of my favorites:

Above: Handmade, "Plantable Greeting Cards" on recycled paper with embedded seeds - by retrowhale

TreeHugger.com, Mike Reynolds Earthships, BuyGreen.com, Etsy.com's Vintage Product Category, Public Libraries!, Community Supported Agriculture, freecycle.org, "The Control of Nature" by John McPhee, Green House Framing reclaimed wooden picture frames

Agreed, a light fortnight it has been for posting, patient readers. I've sorely missed these good times as I've been wrangling words for deadlines outside of the cozy blogosphere! Meanwhile, the veil of grey and chill has finally lifted from Providence, leaving behind a shiny blue sky and chorus of twittering birds to punctuate the sneezing of the allergy prone, as Spring swings into full bloom. I couldn't be more thrilled, because I love a good walkabout with gallery stops to fuel the way!

Providence offers its monthly Gallery Night this evening, and I can make a few suggestions, if you are so inclined to join in the fun. All of these shows will be up for some time, so consider it an open invitation to grab some culture!

5 Traverse Gallery presents a dual show, featuring large and small-scale mixed media works by Neil T. Walsh (esteemed Director of AS220) and William Schaff. Don't miss Schaff's "Adrift, The Boat Series" (pictured above) in the glass case by the front window!

Above: "Do Cinderblocks Dream of Being Styrofoam?" by Shirley Tse

Also on the East Side, get a double-whammy at the RISD Museum (free to the public on Gallery Night!) To spark some conversation, they have "Evolution/Revolution", a textiles innovation and fashion show on the upper level, and the concise and environmentally controversial "Styrofoam" show on view in the lower gallery. Take it all in at 224 Benefit Street, Providence.

Recommended Local Dining: Hungry? Grab some killer sushi at Tokyo, where the rice is small but the fish is large (as it should be). Feel free to BYOB though, as they do not offer a bar menu.

It must be in part my starving artist background that has provided me with the drive and enjoyment for finding creative ways to upcycle found materials in my own artwork, as well as fostered a sharp eye for methods with which to keep my own household's footprint as small as possible. Even with the everyday efforts of like-minded citizens, in our emissions-belching, stuff-hungry society, there is always room for improvement; and innovation, risk and creativity are the ingredients for impactful answers.

This is why I was particularly inspired and enraged by UK filmmaker Oliver Hodges' documentary Garbage Warrior; an in-depth piece on the ongoing materials, methods and community-building research by visionary architect and humanitarian aid worker Mike Reynolds, and the struggles he has faced in his quest to innovate sustainable living solutions for our increasingly endangered society.

In engineering his "Earthships", which are fully self-sustaining living solutions suitable for human occupancy in even the most extreme conditions, Reynolds has innovated some seriously forward-thinking construction solutions such as the use of packed-earth tires (as heat conserving core for structural walls) and the use of upcycled glass and plastic bottles as light providers and architectural art. Oh yeah, his housing developments often include built-in agricultural solutions, so that you can save yourself the gasoline you would otherwise spend trucking to and from the grocery store (buying sad, packaged goods that much to the oil companies' delight - have been trucked and flown in from the ends of the earth!)

What infuriated me about the film was the exhaustive struggle that Reynolds faced in obtaining permission to practice the experimental investigations that have paid off in such promising advances. Legal opponents of his work, (which ironically, leaves utility-companies and red-tape-happy contractors pressing their noses up against the glass of his earthships) helped to revoke his state and national architects license for some years in the 1990's.  I'll leave it to you to watch the film, but coming up on tax time (as we are all doing here in the U.S.), it pained me to watch most of the scenes involving legislature holdups and bill management as he worked with due diligence to leave room in New Mexico's state law for experimental sustainable housing sub-divisions.

Ultimately, Garbage Warrior is a film worth watching, however riled up it made me. Earthships may not be your idea of a dream home, but there is insight and inspiration to be gained from watching this film, even if just to remember never to let the *man* throw you down for having your own point of view, or to ever subdue your creative fire.

Some might call them the terrible twos, but I think that two is company. I also believe in: "take two of these and call me in the morning!" Okay, the truth is that today is not only our 2 month wedding anniversary, but also the 2 year anniversary of our first date. (Awww). I realize that I am pushing the boundaries of cheese here, but the coincidence seemed both auspicious and short-lived, so I'll get to the point and declare that "today's posting is brought to you by the number 2."

Photo Credit: Folk Artist Alan Moore: Counting With Numbers - 2 Question Mark

Photo Credit: Cat Bishop: Clock Couple - 8"x10" Photo Print