Category: Art Contest

The Cyclopedia of Sustainability

by Kenneth Leaning

My submission idea, The Cyclopedia of Sustainability, is a large book, a book that has the form of and appearance of an alchemist’s log, or a sorcerer’s book of spells.  It would be approximately 36” tall by 24” wide with a binding made of recycled cardboard and covered in canvas or hemp fabric and held together with earth-friendly adhesives. The pages would be made from, again, recycled paper, or of handmade papers and would contain, written by hand, in biodegradable, non-toxic inks, a series of stories, designs, theories, and practices which convey and promote sustainability. The pages would be illuminated as were the texts translated and transcribed by medieval monks and educated elders. The mysterious appearance of the text is intended to show the irony of how accessible the ‘secret formulae’ for sustainable living is to all people. It is not some quaint antiquity, or lost art, but instead, a state of mind easily achieved if one breaks free of modernistic, blasé consumerism.

This book might be the centerpiece of a compendium of information on how to spare the planet our overbearing presence. It would have, of course, all of its contents and resources available simultaneously on the internet – that great saver of paper. Its component information will be gathered from many sources, making it a book written, ultimately, by the community, for the community. It might be one original volume, or their might be sequels, as developed out of the Foxfire series of books on Appalachian folklore.

My background is in architecture and, as such, I am accustomed to team building. I imagine this Cyclopedia being created by a collaborative of artists, students, scientists, academicians, et al. whose involvement would be rewarded with publicity and honor. The materials and coordination costs would be easily covered by the $5000 award. My role would be to design, delegate, organize and, generally, produce the finished work.

PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES
To create spaces, landscapes, artifacts & artworks which function beautifully and invigorate the spirit and the planet.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS, APTITUDES AND EXPERIENCE RANGE
Architectural, landscape, furniture, product and tradeshow exhibit design; Existing buildings measuring and drafting; Construction and personnel management; Computer literacy in CADD (AutoCAD 2005 &’07, Cadvance), Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Corel; Carpentry (all phases), interior finish work (tile, painting, lighting design, trim, space planning), architectural modelmaking, cabinetmaking, mechanical repair, plumbing, light electrical; Landscape, hardscape and garden installation and maintenance; Art and real estate/construction photography; Writing, editing and proofing.

WORK HISTORY
Sole proprietor, Elysian Arts 1992- Present Greater New England
Ongoing operation of a small, independent, art, design and fabrication business creating works involving:

• Residential projects, garden development, out-buildings, stone wall and walkway design and construction;
• Furniture (built-in and free-standing) design, construction, installation and finishing;
• Restoration of antique (or collectible) architectural details, furniture and decorative items;
• Photography (with as-needed, computer retouching) for sale at art shows and for professional portfolios;
• Exhibit and display installations designed and executed for corporate administration buildings;
• Co-produced, wrote, directed, edited, narrated a 1997 grant-funded, documentary film. Wrote grant proposal.
• Independent Contractor to Solpoints, Inc. Dec.’06- Sept.‘07 Wilbraham, MA
• Designed tradeshow exhibit booths and component details using 3d modeling and rendering in AutoCAD 05 &07
• Independent Contractor to Regional Builders, Inc. Mar.- Nov. 2006 Monson, MA
• Designed several renovations and worked at all phases of carpentry for residential building company.
• Project Designer/Job Captain, Architectural Insights, Inc. 1998-2005 Palmer, MA
• Ran three multi-million dollar VA Hospital renovation projects. Acted as designer, project manager, detail
• drafter, specifier and estimator. Personally responsible for creating all architectural construction documents
• and coordinating project development with client and all consulting engineering teams;
• Designer and/or cadd drafter on over 90 residential, commercial, municipal, ecclesiastical and hospital/health
• care projects of varying scale, bringing code-compliant, approval-ready construction documents to completion;
• Proofed and edited public media releases and marketing materials; performed most office operational duties;
• Trained all new employees in office procedures and computer software systems. Cabinetmaker/Antiques Restorer, Beckerman Antiques, Inc. 1993-1998 Boston, MA
• Managed daily operation of high quality antiques restoration and sales facility;
• Restored antique furniture, frames, paintings, accessories and artworks using techniques, which included: carving, casting, turning, gilding, welding, distressing, color toning, machining, finish matching and more.
• Modelmaker, Trip Tech Models, Inc. 1990-1991 Waltham, MA
• Constructed highly detailed architectural models for international clients in costs ranging between $20-250K
• Team leader on model for Philadelphia’s 30th Street Railway Station.
• Draftsman/Modelmaker, Archtellic Architects, Inc. 1987-1989 Boston, MA
• Carpenter, Alex Skene, builder 1986-1987 Brookline, MA
• Program Supervisor, Palmer Associates, Inc. 1981-1986 Palmer, MA
• Managed community based residential program, with a staff of ten, for alternatively capable adults.

EDUCATION
Boston Architectural Center (B. Arch program) 1986-1993 Boston, MA
University of Massachusetts (Liberal Arts, Regional Planning) 1977-1981,’98-‘99 Amherst, MA
Institute for American Universities (French) Fall 1980 Aix-en-Provence,
France

Sustainability in Place

by Erice Wheelerwww.ericawheeler.com
Singer/songwriter, workshop facilitator, speaker

Goal: To foster engagement in sustainability by engaging peoples hearts. This project generate stories of place through a series of “free” writing workshops, to be followed with a public presentation of the works created. “Free” writing workshops will be geared towards all residents from all walks of life, all ages, incomes and levels of experience.

My work is dedicated to connecting and re-connecting people with their sense of place. Songs I have written help to evoke a sense of place in the listener, while my hands-on writing workshops provide the opportunity for participants to uncover their own stories of place and belonging. I have significant experience in organizing, offering and promoting public events, having been a full time touring singer-songwriter for over 15 years and, for the past 8 years having presented my workshop “The Soulful Landscape” at conferences, events and learning centers across the country. In addition, I have a career as a keynote speaker, offering presentations focused on the importance of emotionally connecting people and place. I combine my background in the performing arts and my life-long interest in the environment and cultural history to offer relevant and inspiring presentations.

This current work has brought me full circle to when I was new to the valley, as a student at Hampshire College. The bulk of my work there was a project entitled “ A Sense of Self, A Sense of Place,” which focused on how we effect our environment and how our environment effects us.  Living in the valley now for  almost 25 years, I have lived here long enough to witness changes, both positive and negative.   My most recent CD has songs about people and their relationship to place from different perspectives, and several are about the valley itself. “Good Summer Rain,” is a song, which tells the story of a valley farm sold and developed. “To Deep Water,” is a song I wrote about a lake near my home in Colrain, reflecting the beauty of this area and what it means to me.

I believe our current state of environmental degradation comes the disconnection we have between our surroundings and ourselves. When we get caught up in our individual needs and busy modern-day lives, we make choices that have immediate rewards with dire consequences for the future.  Wendell Berry has written: “ You don’t know who you are if you don’t know where you are.” I believe we can reverse our course of disconnection in several ways. You can give people the information, skills and tools they need to make new choices, but we cannot create lasting change without first creating a change of heart. Our stories of connection from the heart are a crucial spoke in the wheel sustainability. As author Terry Tempest Willams wrote “Story bypasses rethoritc and pierces the heart.”

 I teach “The Soulful Landscape” so people at any age, with any level of experience, can gain the skills needed to communicate effectively what it is they love most about their  “place,” and what it means to them. These workshops help to generate memories, imagery, and metaphors, which can be crafted in, to song, stories, essays or poems. I would like to help others find and express their voice, so that everyone can be part of the sustainable conversation. Often the word “sustainability” conjures up ideas of elitism: being something only for those with the income, education or liberal leanings to create and enjoy. Our future demands our “whole community” participate. For those already engaged in sustainability, our stories will help keep us inspired and focused on the deeper meaning of the work we do. For those unfamiliar with sustainability we can give them the “how’ and “why”, but only they themselves can find the reason in their own hearts to change. The opportunity to find and give voice to our stories of place and belonging may be just the incentive some people need. Remembering what we love about the valley, we can make sustainable choices for its future.

Our imagination is the key to a sustainable future. To be able to know and communicate the relationship we have with our surroundings is foundational in our ability to re-imagine our future.  We them can begin to embrace the notion in Aldo Leopold’ wrote about in  “A Sand County Almanac” that “when we see the land as a community to which we belong, we can begin to use it with love and respect,”

 My proposal is to offer  “free” writing workshops for towns in the valley. This will attract people from all age groups, all levels of experience and all walks of life. This will generate songs, stories, essays and pomes, which will help us, understand the diversity of what we love about “our place.” An outcome of Sustainability in Place (proposed title) could also be open mics and potlucks at town meeting halls to create community and share our works.

An additional outcome or direction for my involvement in this project could be to produce a video/audio component, in collaboration with a videographer and/or photographer. This would highlight some different aspects of the valley and include a soundtrack of original songs. An outcome could be a video for PBS or a CD to benefit a local organization.

Ultimately, my project could go three directions or have three components:
1. A series of free writing workshops in valley towns to generate stories of how people lived in a sustainable way here before, and still do.
2. A video honoring of the ways people have lived sustainably off this land and still do.
3. A CD cycle of songs about the valley.
A public presentation of works generated from this project. The public will benefit from this project by a public showing of the work, be that a video on PBS, a CD, chapbook, concert or a reading.

This project will also involve partnership with another organization. Perhaps with The Trust for Public Land, who co-sponsored my current CD, or other organizations like CISA, HCI (Highlands Community Initiative) or the American Farmlands Trust.
Funding will be used for expenses such as: room rentals, publicity, production of concert, video or CD, and for personal income while creating the project and offering it to the public.

Click here to see video of Erica singing “Good Summer Rain”

Art Contest Submission

by David Fessenden

The traditional Silversmith has practiced recycling since the art’s inception.  Patrons typically brought their old flatware, vessels and coins to the town silversmith be melted down and hammered into new more fashionable pieces.  This aspect of Steve’s work was recently documented by the Discovery Channel when they included a segment on his work for their “Green Planet” channel with begins airing in June 2008 ,taped in Ashfield at the last week of May.

I met Steve when writing a newspaper story about the chandeliers he made for Sanderson Academy and for the Ashfield Town Hall.  I was struck by Steve’s almost evangelical commitment to rediscovering and preserving the lost techniques of hand wrought silver, copper and brass. Together committed toward  filming a detailed video diary documenting the evolution of Steve’s commissions along with workshops hosted by The Paul Revere House in Boston and Historic Deerfield. We call the gave the project the working title “Painting With A Hammer”  Some of our footage can be viewed on Google video.  A link is also on Steve Smithers web site http://stevesmithers.com/

We were making record time on or project, but we have no idea where we are headed.  Steve and I approached WGBH, Museums and commercial cable outlets and came to the conclusion that in every case we would have to compromise our mission in one way or another in order to fit their programming needs.

1. Concept description:  A twenty minute film on Steve Smithers and his work.  Possibly with narration and defiantly with original music created with local talent.  Subliminally embedded in our film is the supposition that American craftsmanship and locally based, entrepreneurial fabrication of goods has fallen by the wayside in our country.
2. Final work will be a DVD with all intellectual property rights secured with releases.
3. Concept of sustainability: The work of a traditional metalsmith, as practiced by Steve Smithers, encompasses many concepts of sustainability.  Since the inception of metalworking more than 5000 years ago, metalsmiths have been recycling their material. Patrons typically brought their damaged or out of fashion vessels, utensils, and coins to be melted down and fashioned into new objects of function and beauty. Steve works with his son to create new objects as well as repairing and conserving antique metal pieces.  They use the classic hand tools of the ancient art, which require human energy, as opposed to the energy intensive process of mass production by machines. Their work is typical of, and well represents the many small art and craft studios throughout the Pioneer Valley  The work produced in these shops is carefully  and well made, destined to be passed down as heirlooms, as opposed to poorly made products which eventually find their way to the landfill.  Steve’s small shop is made of native and local lumber.  He teaches and demonstrates his art in museums, schools, and other locations, helping to foster interest and enthusiasm for this earth friendly movement among the next generation.
4. Materials to be used:  Existing footage, music yet be purchased, possibly narration and the editorial talents of Harry Keramidas.  Harry is a retired to Ashfield three years ago after a career as a feature film editor.  Harry and I have since collaborated on only what we consider worthwhile film projects such as our 90 minute concert documentary on Village Harmony and an in progress  project for John Bos on the creation of a local hospice choir here in Franklin County.
5. Our project can be completed within the award amount because most of the footage is shot, we own the equipment and have the technical experience to finish our film.
6. The film would be available for screening, without charge and distributed for a nominal charge.  Copies would be offered to local libraries and schools free of charge, as I have done with all my locally produced films.
7. Specifications: A twenty minute film, possibly longer.

I have a BA degree from Ohio University (Communications Radio/TV)  and two years post graduate study toward a MFA in film.  After college I worked as a cameraman in Los Angeles, until 1989 when I left the commercial film industry in order to peruse interests in woodworking arts and crafts. In 2001 I came back Ashfield, MA  to be with family and build a homestead..  The films I make today are projects worthwhile and mostly documentary in nature.  Most of the profits gleaned from video production go toward camera gear and editing hardware. 
 
My five minute short called “The Three Seasons of Winter”  took first place at the First Annual Ashfield Film Festival  last year.   Ongoing and completed video projects this summer include a yet untitled documentary for John Bos’ Rural Renaissance about the formation of a hospice choir group in Franklin County. Recently completed is a 90 minute concert video on Village Harmony’s leaders concert here in Ashfield.  Earlier this spring I recently shot a documentary  video portrait of Sonya Kitchell which is now in post production.