At the moment the biggest news everywhere seems to be the Election and the Climate Emergency. I was inspired by this photo last week of the creative endeavors of some of the Extinction Rebellion movement, who parked this pink boat in the middle of a London street. And it seems that their efforts of bringing London to a standstill, haven't gone in vain, as the House of Commons in England, subsequently declared there to be a Climate Emergency, the first government in the world to do so.
At the moment the biggest news everywhere seems to be the Election and the Climate Emergency. I was inspired by this photo last week of the creative endeavours of some of the Extinction Rebellion movement, who parked this pink boat in the middle of a London street. And it seems that their efforts of bringing London to a standstill, haven't gone in vain, as the House of Commons in England, subsequently declared there to be a Climate Emergency, the first government in the world to do so.
Hopefully, our elections in a couple of weeks will get rid of the current mob who have done nothing but destroy any climate policy we might once have had!
I wonder what we, as artists, can do in Australia to help lower our carbon footprint? Take a look around your studio and ask yourself:
1. What in my art practice causes pollution in it's production?
2. Are there paints and brushes that are produced more ethically than those I currently use?
3. What might I use that is more easily recycled or alternatively doesn't need to be recycled at all?
An example of number 3 - would be to stop using disposable palettes. Yes I know how convenient they are, especially when you are travelling to classes or painting plein air. But how many trees do you think are chopped down every year to create paper artist's palettes. And trees are the worlds lungs. So I guess that rules out wooden palettes as well. Darn it! So really, what does that leave us with - glass or plastic? Well if fossil fuels go then I guess most plastics will as well. The only other option is recycling something that has had its day and repurposing it. I have done that with my palette actually.
I'm using an old MDF offcut that was originally the top of a desk/table item. So, we are creative people, lets get behind this and make a difference. Never ever think that you can't make a difference.
Of course the other thing we could do is go out and plant a few trees, or sponsor someone else to do so.
Here are some links to help out with that.
http://www.plantatreeforme.org.au/ - helps regeneration for endangered species
https://trees.org/sponsors/ - Corporates sponsors drive larger projects here
https://onetreeplanted.org/ - One Dollar plants one tree
NEXT WEEK: What is your most important resource?
Comments