The roaring sound of cicada tymbals has noticeably quieted. The next generation of periodical cicadas is young and silent. After hatching from eggs laid in trees, they will fall to the ground and tunnel into the earth, where they will live in darkness for years. These days it is the lightning bugs who are putting on a show.
Few leaves remain on oak trees in late autumn, and the lack of foliage reveals the trees’ exquisite structure. I stand at the base of a bur oak tree and look up, imagining a squirrel’s point of view as it runs vertically up the trunk. The tree is a gnarly specimen with rough bark and angular branches that twist and turn in all sorts of directions.
Being environmentally friendly is a matter of great importance to me, and it is a matter that affects my daily decisions. Naturally, this interest has colored my artistic endeavors. The following three green practices that I employ when I work on any art project are not difficult to implement. Boiled down, they involve being mindful of consumption and avoiding excessive waste.
As an artist, I spend a lot of time putting pencil marks and brush strokes onto paper and canvas as I create artworks. Hours, days, weeks, and months easily roll by. So much work needs to take place between drawing an initial sketch and calling an artwork “finished.” The stopping point is often undefined and located at the end of a very distant horizon.
