Art at the Edges
an offering
an invitation
a provocation
Art invites us to look again, askance, anew.
It speaks to the spirit and ignites imagination.
It whispers of possibilities we might not be ready for.
It prepares us for change.
EcoGather laments the ways in which art has been exited to the very edges of education, captured and either cheaply commodified or enclosed for elite engagement only. We long to see bright mosaics in village centers, marvelous murals on the sides of the buildings we where we go about our business, and artists honored and fed in our communities.
In a small but meaningful effort to make art a bigger part of our experiences at the end of the modern era, EcoGather has commissioned Contributing Artist Renée Barry to create a series of twelve block prints that support sense-making in the space between. Each month, EcoGather will share a new piece of Renée’s work and a brief statement about the print or it’s inspiration. The collection will build over the next year, populating this page with art that is intended to be accessible. We encourage you to download these files, print them, post them, share them, given them as gifts… We ask only that you credit Renée (@reneebarryart) and point folks toward EcoGather (@eco.gathering) when you do.
Complete Creative Commons license details below.
The World is Changing
July 2024
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An inky block print, black and white, of a groundhog grounding itself in the grass with the text “THE WORLD IS CHANGING” and a dandelion
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For this piece, Renée connected with the groundhogs she often watches through her kitchen window, as well as the ones who venture into the neighbor's yard. Her neighbor keepss trying to get rid of them, but the groundhogs keep coming back. They have no intention of leaving their their favorite spot, their home.
Staring at groundhog's brought to mind Groundhog’s Day, the holiday, and started a wonder about what the groundhog might have to say about the changing climate.
This activity also got Renée thinking about Groundhog’s day, the movie, which seemed especially relevant to a quote on EcoGather's vision board, which reads: “We are the world breaking old habits..”This piece encourages comfort with what can't be denied and reminds us that we can be part of good endings, breaking out of patterns that repeating over and over again. Embracing change means that we do not have to stay stuck.
Deepen
August 2024
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A linoleum block print, presented in black and white, of a loon in the act of diving, looking down, resolute, creating ripples on the surface of the water, ink texture giving the impression of small bubble. The loon's webbed feet are the only parts of its body still above water, but for how long? The word DEEPEN appears in the lower left corner, within the dark water.
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Ahead of EcoGather's late August conversation with Dougald Hine, Renee visited with and took inspiration from Hine's writing, and was particularly moved by ideas from the Dark Mountain Manifesto (2009) written with Paul Kingsnorth.
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Loons are skilled swimmers, migratory birds, and able to adapt in both fresh and saltwater. They are known for diving, kicking from webbed feet and following their pointed bills deep, up to two hundred feet below. Renee's memories of loons kept coming to mind as she read the Manifesto.“There is a fall coming”
(A loon tips into cold water)“There is an underlying darkness at the root of everything we have built”
(The loon is investigating something deep)“We show no sign of slowing down… The bubble is civilization… Consider the structures on which that bubble has been built”
(There is a call to join in this journey).What would happen if we looked down?”
(To follow the loon swimming below)“This is a moment to ask deep questions and to ask them urgently”
(Asking questions like what if we looked down?What is this bubble?)“We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves”
(What have we been telling ourselves? Who is this we?” Who is this ourselves? What and who else is there? Including the loon?)“Words and images can change minds, hearts, even the course of history” (They can)
The
Artist’s
Philosophy
My philosophy as an artist is to engage the heart in communication. Blockprinting is a thoughtful process, giving me time and space to let something slowly emerge. My favorite part is how easy prints can be to share. With different colors of ink or paper, the same image can be remade again through time, speaking out in new ways and always slightly changing.
I always kept a journal growing up. A lot of my communication was kept privately amongst myself. Yet I was often transcribing quotes and observations from a wide range of sources- from books, friends, dreams, history, nature, or lyrics. This pattern continues in my art today. I am interested in recording and transmuting the layers of dialogue surrounding and shaping us in the present, sharing reflections and contributing more openly now that I understand and embrace the power that it holds.
It is an honor to collaborate artistically with EcoGather at this particular moment. I hope to visually articulate some of the heart-engaged communication that happens in this space. With words, ideas, and motifs that arise in dialogue, I aspire to create easily shareable pieces that can remind us often of the power of communication and our responsibilities to participate actively in this process while we are here.
CC-BY-NC-SA
The downloadable art on this page is made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA licsence, also known as an
ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE 4.0 International Licence
This means that you are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
EcoGather cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms, set forth below.
The Terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes .
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.