I was feeling low this morning - reflective after those days of global warmingly intense temperatures. When I left my studio on Monday afternoon and was hit by that wall of heat, it made me emotional. It just wasn't right. Lucy Jones opens her brilliant book Losing Eden, by painting a harsh picture of a futuristic world that got too hot. A little girl is walking in her special UV protective gear through an arid landscape to visit her Grandma so they can watch films of nature together on her huge screen as it's the only access they have to it now. "Grandma, tell me what it was like to be in the woods?" I'm paraphrasing as it's been a while since I read the book but that scenario came back to me as I was walking home in that searing heat. Then I heard about all the wildfires and went in a climate change downward spiral of helplessness. The sort where it feels like everything I do is futile...
But then my studio mate Julia lifted me out of it. The post arrived and it was her new book Notes on Summer. It's an exciting feeling, the first look at something new that you have poured your heart and soul into and it was lovely to share that moment with Julia as she opened the boxes.
She handed me a copy and her opening page gave me a lovely surprise. A dedication! Well that set me off and cheered me up
and I cried a little bit as I turned the pages and saw what she had created. Each page full of beauty,
summery silhouettes,
favourite friends,
familar views seen through Julia's lens
and hope.
This celebration of nature and all it's delicate beauty reminds me that art and creativity is very much not futile and that there are so many people who DO care about the planet. It's important to stay lifted. To notice. To care. And to tread as lightly as we can.
1 comment
Thank you.