I am celebrating Beltane a bit early this year. I booked a short interfaith and artistic retreat at Adobe – an interfaith and spiritual retreat center in New Lebanon, NY about an hour and a half from me. It will be a chance for me to work through some things personally, as well as some time on my wildcrafting for my artwork. Over the years of collecting plants for my artwork I have gotten to know several edible plants and one of the things I want to do is make meals from my walks in the woods. I am planning to go the weekend before Beltane (end of April) so I have been doing some additional homework on figuring out what I could potentially make. I have also been devouring foraging videos on youtube, specifically Coastal Foraging – Outdoor Chef Life and Fisher Locker!! Makes me miss the oceans. Anyway, here is a round up of recipes I found on Pinterest I’d like to try during my retreat.
Category Archives: Blog
Inquiry: Mycoflora and Biodiversity now associated with the North American Mycoflora Project
Was notified today that my Mycoflora and Biodiversity project is now associated with the North American Mycoflora Project.
Personal Wellness at The Stonehedge Hotel Spa
TYNGSBOROUGH, MA – Continuing my personal wellness series, I did go to a Spa in November however I’ve just been so busy with the holidays that I haven’t had a chance or frankly motivation to post. But now I have and can post a few pics. Honestly I don’t have much to say other than it was a super casual but affordable experience. The food wasn’t really much to rave about and was a bite to eat but in a pinch it worked.
Ferrofluid Prints
Project: Ferrofluid Prints Year: Fall 2019
GAIA Exhibition Published
As the curator of the eco-exhibition Gaïa, it is an honor to announce that the travelling show has been selected for the purpose of an interesting environmental psychology research on climate change art. The study, conducted by two scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Laura Kim Sommer and Christian Andreas Klöckner, has been recently published on Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts by the American Psychological Association. It investigates the capacity from an artwork related to climate change to raise awareness in audiences. The exhibition Gaïa, exploring the link between Gender and Ecology, was presented in partnership with the Mairie de Paris, and organized in the broader context of ArtCOP21, an environmental arts festival which took place parallel to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Conference of the Parties [COP21]), in November 2015, in Paris. The show, which have seen the most artworks selected for the overall research, has been a particular interest for the scientific study which based its analysis from several installations from the exhibition (such as La Terre from Jisook Min, Sertella Septentrionalis from Laura Sanchez Filomeno) as well as participatory artworks such as « Gaïa » from Laurence Hochin. In this explorative study using cluster analysis, characteristics of the artworks were connected with emotional and cognitive audience responses.
The conclusion of the research stress the importance of moving « away from a dystopian way of depicting the problems of climate change, toward offering solutions, and emphasizing the beauty and interconnectedness of nature ». It also suggests to the activist artists to create a « personal connection to the causes and consequences and offer solutions. “Painting things black” and inducing fear is also not the best way to go, since it induces more fear, which reduces motivation » (O’Neill, Hulme, Turnpenny, & Screen, 2010) » The survey is a great example of how, contemporary arts and sciences, guided by a multidisciplinary approach, could work together to foster ecological awareness and encourage social changes. The research conclusions are also in line with the spirit in which the Gaïa exhibition has been curated, with an emphasis on poetic and somehow positive tone, aiming at infusing paths of hope, in front of a serious and urgent theme such as climate change.
written by Julia Rajacic
Studio Wrap-up Fall 2019
Hi! It’s been awhile since I’ve done a studio wrap-up post. But wanted to let my visitors know what’s been going on around here.
1) One of the primary things I’ve been working on is this website, as it’s my portal to the online and sometimes real life world. As an independent artist having a home to post my artwork is essential! It’s also one of the things that’s been overwhelming me because earlier I didn’t know where to even begin with all that I do and accomplish. I am also loving how far I’ve come and my connections really seem to love the site as well. Makes all the effort worth it. Now I just gotta work on getting customers to buy my media products! 🙂
I finally worked out an ecommerce solution that worked with my many different products. It’s more manual than woo commerce but definitely more flexible.
I am also working on cause-marketing for my science/outreach projects. I love how that’s coming along. I am working towards buying sublimation printing equipment so I can print merchandise styled towards these projects so I don’t have to pay for short-runs at other companies.
2) I will be reading in Salem again this year! I just won’t be doing double-shifts as that put a strain on my third-eye and I can’t have it shut off again! Though thankfully I am in a lot better headspace that I was this time last year so my performance should be a lot better.
3) I went on my first research trip this past May to Greenland! It went swimmingly well and launched a whole new component to my artistic practice – traveling exhibitions! This also helped me reorganize some of my current art projects. I have been developing the exhibition stemming from this surrounding the modernization of Greenland and how they learned to co-exist with it.
The museums I’ve reached out to so far have given a positive response. So far this exhibition is projected to be at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA and the Museum of Science in Boston, MA. I’ve been talking to a few other locations especially in the North Western coast of the US as that is where the Inuit originated.
4) I booked my first client through my website! They want a brochure, logo and some other materials and are a furniture company. I am over the moon that they reached out as I will be paying off Greenland earlier than I thought!
5) Research-wise: I have made progress in my Cymatics and MagKnotic projects. I made the plunge and bought the materials for my Cymatics setup after a disappointing purchase from Etsy from a seller that sold these setups. I studied their product images and bought the materials… I also have been working on my MagKnotic setup and after experiencing some frustrations with trying to do this on my own I went and studied the paper a bit more and found a reference to someone who was making these setups.
I think when I get the chance, I will buy one of their setups. I will end up spending the same amount of money trying to do it myself and buying a pre-made setup. I never intended this project to be about building the setup it was more about achieving the image result.
6) I’m headed to Curaçao for my 30th Birthday! Because of my newest client I will be able to go on a trip on my 30th birthday! Initially I didn’t think I would be going anywhere next year because of paying off Greenland but that’s not an issue anymore.
7) I’ve been motivated to get back into mushroom hunting and submitted my project to the organization that handles this project, it involves sequencing fungi DNA and ID. You can see this project under the Science & Research tab. I am glad I still have the interest after being kicked out of the PVMA. I’ve been struggling to move on from that and I think returning my focus to this research interest will help.
8) I did my first engagement shoot in Boston with my brother and his girlfriend. I am really pleased with the results of this shoot and they are too!
I believe that is all, phew! The last several months have been intense but that’s nothing new. I am excited about the progress I’ve made and what is to come!
Media Library Photos: Arctic Flora Collection
Introducing the Arctic Flora Collection.
A selection of images from my arctic travels for your spiritual,
inspirational or motivational graphic needs or home decor solutions.
$5.00 per image – profit goes to support research in creative conservation.
Lifestyle: Fashion – Autumn Outfit 01
I’ve been working on my closet and slowly replacing items I’ve had for years. A few years ago I fell in love with ModCloth and they are definitely worth the price. I recently bought some items and wanted to show it off in a short shoot! Still getting the hang of taking my own portraits for blogging so bear with me.
Freebie: 5 Free Photos 02
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Inquiry: the Need for Survival in Plant-Based Cultures?
This week at work there was a presentation on the sustainability efforts and Microplastics. I was able to share a cool experience I had in Greenland about a woman who lived at the dorm while I was there who was working toward her PhD. She and her team were using microscopy to determine if the substances they were making were dissolving the plastic and from there I suppose you could develop environmentally-friendly packaging.
But recently that got me thinking about my project, initially my project was proposed as something to document the affects of climate change through my photography/imaging techniques. While in Greenland I took two plant-based subjects and photographed them four times through four different imaging techniques to get the artwork. After the fact and some thinking, the project is developing around the need of survival and the juxtaposition of aesthetics and art. But after this recent presentation and the woman who lived at the dorm sharing what she was doing, it gave me insight as to what climate change is doing to the environment of Greenland NOW rather than in the past or future. That the effects of pollution (and climate change) is impairing our need for survival.
This got me thinking about how other parts of the world survive. Greenland is very much a hunting culture (for both land and sea) so what about plant-based cultures and habitats, what are their needs for survival and how is pollution, microplastics and/or petroleum affecting their communities?
I am excited for how this development of the project will lead. Foraging is definitely a huge aspect of the need for survival and am wondering how other communities translate the organic byproducts into other parts of their society.
Personal Wellness at a Hillside Town Spa
LEE, MA – I have been on a personal wellness quest and figuring out the best anxiety and pain management for myself. So far I have discovered water or hydrotherapy does wonders for me. During the summer lakeside beaches really are a huge benefit but they are not open year around. I found a place recently that offers holistic baths which are a nice option because hot tub therapies usually require at least two people, which makes it awkward for myself. I was a bit early to my appointment so I explored Lee. A few years ago I visited a cafe that was known for their crepes, ironically called the Starving Artist Cafe but they were unfortunately closed. I took a few photos, so here they are from my experience.
Freebie: 5 Free Photos
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