Do you believe Mother Nature has rights?

Go and check it out at www.naturerightsafrica.org

Browse the Archives or hop over to...

You might have seen this coming, judging mainly from the increasing silences between posts... This blog will no longer be updated, but will remain as resource to Green Artists. Please hop over to the links page for websites, blogs and other information about Greening your Art!

If you'd like to read more of the editor's writing, then follow the digital trail that leads to the following blogs:

• www.landartsouthafrica.blogspot.com
  About land art projects and earth works in South Africa, or by South African artists
• www.kalaharitomboy.co.za
  Creative Living, including eco art, which is where my experiments in creating my own eco-friendly painting materials will be published and shared from now on!

Happy reading, and keep creating eco-conscious art!!

Delays, silence and "real world" activity

I apologize for the relative inactivity on the blog. The absence of updates and posts by no means means that nothing is happening in the world of "Green Art". Actually, quite the opposite is true! I, and I'm sure the other writers who occasionally publish to the blog, have been busy in the 'real' or non-digital world with a variety of projects and other 'responsibilities'. For me one of these projects are the second Green Art exhibition to be held at the Green Expo, at the CTICC in Cape Town at the end of November. For more information about the exhibition, check out www.artlovenature.co.za/greenart, or contact me at art@janetbotes.co.za to get involved in some way.

Not so much art related, but equally important is the anti-GMO marches against Monsanto on 25 May 2013. Nutrition and nourishment is essential if you want to be a healthy, happy and creative person, and the dangers that Genetically Modified food poses are a very important issue that we should all be aware of and also fight as much as we possibly can. Follow http://www.acbio.org.za/ for updates about Genetically Modified food issues in Africa, and http://labelgmfoods.org.za/. There is also a Facebook group called Artists Against Monsanto - https://www.facebook.com/ArtistsAgainstMonsanto. Here's an image from their wall, by Jonte Fuchsbau, of the Berlin march against Monsanto:

What has been happening in your life and in your studio? Have you experimented with any new earth-friendly techniques? Some of the best ways, in my opinion, to create art that keeps the environment in mind is to:

• Make your own paint, pastels and ink. There are many resources and recipes that you can find with just a little bit of research on the internet and in your local library. 
• Look at the artistic methods of the artists from previous centuries - wax art, egg tempera and plant dyes are some examples of 'old' techniques that are, in fact, timeless and much lighter in impact on the earth. 
• Make things - sculptures, collage works, accessories, tools, artwork frames - from 'waste' materials, especially using materials like foil and non-recyclable plastic that would end up on a landfill. 
• Reuse food packaging to store your art materials and trinkets, you can also paint or decorate them if you don't like the 'look' of them.

...there are so many more ways. Feel free to share some of your ideas and methods as a comment below!

Nature in Expressive Movement

In 2010 Karl Cronin from San Francisco got backing from sponsors on Kickstarter for a project in which he documents the movement patterns of plants and animals. It's facinating work and I love watching his reenactments of these movement patterns. View the Somatic Natural History Archive at naturalhistory.us and dryearth.org



You can also read more about the project at Cargo Collective, the Movement Research Blog, and a review by Cathy Fitzgerald entitled "Performance artist creates movement portraits of 10,000 plants and animals".



When looking at a project like this, I am reminded how endless the possibilities are for art or creativity to express and explore our natural world, and to educate people about the wonders of nature! 

Are you working on a project focused on appreciating, researching, archiving, expressing and/or exploring the natural environment, animals or the landscape? Share it on this blog - email your story to artlovenature@gmail.com. 

THE GUN & THE PEN by Stan Aneto

THE GUN & THE PEN – Stan Aneto 2013

My gun's got loaded 

my pen on the white paper of tears

should I be more concerned 

about animals and plants 

than humanity on a final push of extinction...?

They call me the earthman

Coined from an untamed affair with nature

an unscripted romance ordained by divinity

Long before my placenta was trimmed

it is a sacred calling to curate and caress

but should I be more concerned

about plants and animals

than humanity on a final push of extinction...?

The mind of poetry is insatiable

Bottomless like the pit of hell

Cos the issues on my table are endless

I am much worried about the shedding of blood

As I am worried about frequent flood

I am much worried about genocide

As I am worried about ecocide

I am much worried about nuclear warning

As I am worried about global warming

I am as much worried about mindless shelling

As I am worried about senseless tree felling

I am much worried about human rights

As I am worried about animal rights 

I am much worried about corruption

As I am worried about pollution

For I see the inordinate pursuit of riches

Increasing the scale of endangered species

The mind of poetry is insatiable

Bottomless like the pit of hell

So I bless my pen and paper