This is just what it sounds like–almost random bits and pieces related to the Environmental Art Class that Lindy Bishop is teaching in Elk Rapids. I’m stowing things here as I come to them. Eventually I’ll figure out how they fit into what I’m learning. I think it’s like the scraps in my writing mulch pile, but this one has photos and chestnut burrs in it.
TLV posts about the Environmental Art class
- Announcement
- First class–exploratory stage, with Katherine’s slideshow
- More photos from the first class
- Lindy Bishop’s photos—Dam Beach/upper harbor
- Second class—Mind-dumping beach bums
- Third class—What would Andy Goldsworthy do?
- Shadows – Katherine Berst’s take on Week 3
- Sketches for the proposed Library Hill installation
- Fourth class—Raining frogs and flowers
- Fifth class–um, I believe the Cowboy ate my homework
- Sixth class—Seeing the forest in the trees (two slideshows feature the final installations)
Postcards
Katherine has been going to the class too, and talking about it with her has been one of the best parts of the process. She sent these postcards, made while she was on vacation in the other Bay Area.
A curated list of blogs and websites worth exploring
- An Australian blog, Art in Geelong, with its special focus on aboriginal art
- The website for Danish landscape sculptor Jørn Rønnav
- The Artist at Exit 0, who writes, After exploring the area and collecting materials, I soon had another temporary studio going . . . . How could I resist going along for the ride?
- Ken Scott’s extraordinary imagination on display on Flickr’s Hive Mind
- Papermaking and Book Arts specialist Melissa Jay Craig, who wrote a post from Penland that I happen to like very much.
Stuff I’m assembling
- Chestnut burrs
- Petoskey stones
- Birchbark
- Pine needles
- Shelf fungi
- Sand
- Ellsworth shale
- Cherry pits
- Maple sap
Stuff I’m thinking about
- Nests
- Baskets
- Pussywillows and Willow weaving
- Witness trees
- Cairns
- Frames
- Kaleidoscopes
Torch Lake Views 
artingeelong
July 16, 2011
Hi! Thanks for the link to Art in Geelong.
Actually there is no specific focus on aboriginal art – the website features all kinds of art and artists in the region. If anything an environmental theme does seem to crop up regularly – I guess that’s the zeitgeist.
Great to see you documenting the stories of your community.
Gerry
July 16, 2011
I stand corrected–to the surprise of no one who visits here on a regular basis. I can’t even remember why I said that back then, but I’m glad I put your site on the list. I went back today and was enchanted with Rachel Burke’s work. I think that artists all over the world are exploring our relationship to the land beneath our feet and how we use it. This turns out to be particularly interesting in an agrarian community like ours that inexplicably turns out visual and literary artists by the bushel.
I’m glad you dropped by. Come again!
Lindy Bishop
October 15, 2011
Thanks for your participation and coverage of the Environmental Art Class Project Gerry. You, Katherine and Babs were great as fellow mentors for the students. I am working on finishing the video summary of this project and will send a You Tube link within the next couple of weeks. Hoping to offer it again Spring of 2012.
Gerry
October 15, 2011
Thank you, Lindy–watching you and those students was downright invigorating. I learned a great deal–possibly even as much as they did!–and I thank you, and them, for allowing me to participate.
Fellow mentors? Really? Cool. (Katherine and I still say that. Not sure about Babs.)
flandrumhill
July 2, 2012
Very, very cool Gerry. I love this stuff. I wonder what the boys who left the class were expecting (that didn’t materialize) and why they might have had those expectations in the first place.
One of the first bloggers I got to know is Linda in England. She’s a talented environmental artist. Her site can be found at http://www.throughstones.wordpress.com
Gerry
July 2, 2012
I confess I find it compelling too. Life grew complicated, the river flowed on, and all the participants in this project are doing other things now. Katherine and I never did our own installation. Maybe this winter. You never know.