Karen Viola

The still-unfolding story of life on Earth and the complex, interconnected ways living beings express themselves is an abiding source of wonder and awe for me, which has led me to an interdisciplinary creative practice focused on cultivating a visceral sense of belongingness to the living land and its roots, with which our human lives are so entwined. The What’s Next for Earth project resonates and grounds me on this path, for which I am deeply grateful.

Make Mends Meet

Mending a favorite sweater

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I offer my small, artful task of mending a favorite sweater, a delightful process reflected in the result, a 5-inch diameter patch of cotton covering a big elbow hole and a spontaneously-invented stitch which was only possible because of another artist’s beautiful idea to organize a group, free and open to all, called ‘Make Mends Meet’ where “nothing is beyond mending and repair, including yourself.”

I uphold these resonating words of Kathrin Achenbach, which further describe her tactile textile initiative: “Mending is an act of defiance in a world, where we throw out what we don’t love or need any longer instead of sharing, repairing or reinventing what we already own. We repair the social fabric while mending clothes, shoes, pillows and everything else that’s soft and subject to wear and tear.“

These are no small acts. I sat for three hours with a number of very interesting people sharing threads, scraps, and stories. Connections were made and relationships seeded, not to mention my sweater looks better than ever!

How do we become resilient in the face of these overwhelmingly distressing times? Two words: Join others.

As Heinberg asserts: “Every action you take makes a difference one way or the other, and, if you give some thought to it, you can find actions big and small that will work for you, given your interests, skills, and opportunities.”

I have never been more aware of the importance of thoughtful actions now that I am new in town (Ithaca, land of Cayuga Nation). I am grateful to have found ‘Make Mends Meet’ and its umbrella organization, ‘The Soil Factory,’ an experimental space that explores art, science, and sustainability. I look forward to more joining and more thoughtful actions.
©
2024
  • Karen Viola

Treasure School

Installation

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‘Treasure School’ is my offering to the What’s Next for Earth art call, Meeting Essential Community Needs, based on the Think Resilience course by Post Carbon Institute. Water is not only an essential need for communities; water makes life possible on Earth. As Richard Heinberg explains in this chapter, “The key to water resilience is the health of natural regional lakes, rivers, and streams. So, making sure they are free from pollutants and that indigenous species are thriving should be the principal resilience work in this area.”

This artwork supports the work of Riverkeeper, which has been doing this essential work for decades, protecting the Hudson River and the surrounding watersheds, which provide clean drinking water to billions of people in New York. The work included a culminating slide presentation for Washington Irving School students whose decorated fish were integral to the art.

The piece is constructed almost entirely out of fused polyethylene plastic packaging in the shape of the largest Atlantic sturgeon ever sighted in the Hudson River, at 14 feet long. The Atlantic sturgeon is one of many fish species listed as endangered. Additional embellishments were made from bottles, caps, and other trash removed from the Hudson Estuary at the Riverkeeper Sweep 2023 event in May.

An Arts Westchester Voices for Change grant made this project possible. Special thanks go to Katie Leung for her support and to Kathleen McCarthy-Udoff who facilitated the fish-decorating sessions at the school. This work considers the meaning of ‘trash to treasure,’ where the real treasure lies within the hopes, hearts, and minds of children the world over who will be forging upstream in a mess the rest of us made. Rise up and raise them up!
©
2023
  • Karen Viola

Creative Campers Mandala

Collaborative piece
Natural found object
3' in diameter

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As a contribution to the What's Next for Earth art call about Community Resilience and Education based on Richard Heinberg's Think Resilience course, I thought I'd share a collaborative piece, "Creative Campers Mandala," which I organized this summer with kids at #cranberrylakepreserve. I encouraged each child to be in charge of gathering a bunch of the same type of natural object of their own choosing. The kids then took turns growing and diversifying the mandala from the center, integrating their own collection with that of others. It was a rewarding experience for all, especially me. Even the teenage counsellors got into it, adding the snake skin contribution from the nature center.

The size of the mandala was approximately 3 feet in diameter but variable and of course ephemeral in the shifting winds. I couldn't resist growing it bigger with the children's own hands, which is where our future lies...

As Heinberg asserts: "Adaptability in an uncertain future implies education for the entire brain and all the senses. Resilience will therefore require engagement of all of the individual’s multiple intelligences... Neuroscience research into learning suggests that activities that move beyond linguistic and numeric drills—beyond classrooms and computers and into nature—may be especially effective at engaging the whole person."
©
2023
  • Karen Viola

Nursery: The River That Flows Both Ways

The book was created digitally, printed at my home studio with Epson inks on watercolor paper.

It measures 5 x 7 inches when closed, and its accordion format extends it to 50 inches wide.

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My artist's book "Nursery: The River that Flows Both Ways" is a reflection on the biodiversity and history of the Hudson River, which the Munsee Lenape called 'Muhheakantuck' (the river that flows both ways).

Knowing the story of our local land where we live and work is the groundwork, literally, for building a local economy. My research took me back to before the internet, before global supply chains, before the Erie Canal, before fur trading, to a time when it was imperative to know where their water and food came from in order to survive. And I realized, this is actually still true on a collective, species level. My prose foregrounds the indigenous wisdom of reciprocity and intimacy with the land and its watershed, and it asks how we might apply this in our lives today.

As Richard Heinberg explains, “A more local and therefore more resilient economy is one in which people feel they have more of a stake in production and distribution as well as consumption; one in which they have more knowledge of where their goods come from and what happens to them at the end of their lifecycle." I also suggest that we know the basics, starting with where our own water comes from, and where our waste goes. There is no 'away.'!
©
2023
  • Karen Viola

Schooling

Artist's book

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This artist’s book was created with sheets of fused plastic made from food packaging which is usually discarded, ending up in landfills or worse: our waterways and the life within them on which our lives depend. When fully unfolded, the accordion flag structure measures about 36 inches long by 11 inches tall, based loosely on the size of a large bluefish, one of the many species in decline due to overfishing. The book was bound by hand with a needle and thread.

The concept of the school of fish in the shape of a fish honors the brilliant children’s book “Swimmy” by Leo Lionni and its powerful message about community resilience. My wavy line of rhythmic text further underlines how critical this is for humans to understand in the face of all of our interwoven eco-social crises. As stated in the Post Carbon Institute's Think Resilience course (lesson 14): "The resilience of any one system is influenced by the resilience of everything around it... [and] “building resilience starts with decisions about what we value about a system.” If people value their access to clean water and the ability to derive sustenance from it they would be wise to align with organizations that do the work that makes this possible. A shining example in my own Hudson Valley community would be @riverkeeper, and I encourage all who live nearby to check out their website (riverkeeper.org) and get schooled!

Thanks to Sarah Maker, @areyoubookenough and the #areyoubookenough community and to Michele Guieu for creating the What's Next for Earth? project. I express my gratitude to both groups in this one post as a nod to how different communities can nurture and strengthen each other.
©
2022
  • Karen Viola

Beech Companions

Ink on paper, 6 x 8 inches.
Done mostly on location at Cranberry Lake Preserve in Weschester county, NY with a bit of digital painting at home.
2022

I have sketched these particular trees before at various angles and each time I notice something new. Today's surprise was noticing how they were actually fused together through their roots.

This fusing together is just one of the many amazing things these and many other trees can do. The stronger individual provides nutrients for the weaker because they know as trees know that their fates are tied. They join together as one in the struggle for survival. I wonder if the people who carved their marks and professed their love on the bark of these trees noticed this beautiful romance of resilience at their feet.

Can humans learn about resilience from trees? I know I do. I have also learned much from the Think Resilience course sponsored by the Post Carbon Institute (tags below) and I urge everyone reading this to please check it out, it is a valuable (and free) resource.
©
2022
  • Karen Viola

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