Why hodgepodge lodge? There were numerous snippets that floated across my screen and in my mind within a week after the last post that related to it so why not share right away and strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Each snippet cascaded into the next coming to reside, connected yet jumbled in their home called the hodgepodge lodge.
Remember the Audubon bird mural project in Manhattan from our last blog. Well, lo and behold just a few days after I stumbled on a podcast with Jason Ward, a birder of colour, as he describes himself, that featured the mural initiative. David takes us on a bit of an actual walk with him and the project coordinator throughout the neighbourhood for a human’s eye view. In addition, he interviews one of the artists, inside the artist’s gallery. You will get up close and personal with the work that he titled, the gang of warblers – he said “I wanted those birds to have attitude.” He wasn’t kidding. Perhaps he was trying to appeal to a certain demographic in the neighbourhood. I highly recommend checking out these podcasts as Jason is very genuine and funny. https://www.topic.com/birds-of-north-america
Photo credit Marion Reynolds
Jason also did an interview with an actress- hobby birdwatcher, in another post, where she alludes to the skills used in birding are similar to the skills she uses in acting. Top of the line is of course listening as an actor has to be in the moment on stage and be extremely conscious of what is going on around you. She emphasized the art of tracking your character so you don’t impose on your character. Follow your character and you find a story that you can develop. Similarly by listening and following your avian character, s/he will allow you to plug in to the annual seasonal cycle and connect to the natural world.
“Artists are stealth change agents. Their power is both subtle and profound: They grab hold of hearts and minds, and reveal a whole new way of seeing things — a way that can inspire people to take action.”
This applies to actors as well and I would like to credit the individual who said it but can’t find a reference. It was too good to not share.
I watched popular author Richard Louv’s (Last Child in the Woods, etc.) webinar, called Finding Nature, through the children & nature network website . He expounded on our recent blog spotlight that dealt with paying attention. He added cloudspotting to the backyard pursuits on top of bird spotting. He talked about the importance of nurturing nature not just observing it in your backyard. He challenged everyone to create their own “national park” on their front or back lawn by planting native seeds and encouraging native pollinators back to urban environments. He makes a passionate plea that land conservation is not enough and we need regeneration of native landscape. If you want to plant for birds benefit then this US site will tell you what is native to your zip code http://bonap.net/Napa/Genus/Traditional/State . For other countries, maybe the national bird conservation society has something similar in your neck of the woods, as we say.
Along the same vein in this week’s e-newsletter from the children & nature network website, Richard Louv posted a column titled, The Art of Seeing. Previously he had asked for readers to submit stories about animals that had changed their lives. He shares a wonderful story about the impact of a dragonfly that was “a bit of a ham.” https://www.childrenandnature.org/2020/04/21/the-natural-art-of-seeing/?mc_cid=5fdff6bdf8&mc_eid=d30eca01e5
When describing Canadian artist Robert Bateman, Richard writes in the same article, “he saw the world as a bird would and for the rest of his life experienced the world from that viewpoint, of how a bird might sense the world combined with his own insights. Such sensitivity is felt both from outside one’s own body and from deep within it.” He encourages us to draw or paint what we see outside and try to become the animal.
He touched a neural connection for me at that point as I remembered a book from my university days that changed how I “saw.” Titled “The Zen of Seeing” by Frederick Franck it was handwritten because as he said it is a love letter in a way and love letters should not be typeset. It is slower to read but there is no hurry…He said that the exercises are for those who feel they cannot even draw a straight line. He saw seeing/drawing as a way to “inscape from the overloaded switchboard” of urban life. “ He was all about getting into intimate touch with the natural world by establishing “ an island of silence, an oasis of undivided attention, an environment to recover in…”
“In this century, to stop rushing around,to sit quietly on the grass,to switch off the world and come back to the earth, to allow the eye to see a bush, a cloud, a leaf, is ‘an unforgettable experience.’”
photo credit Bill Reynolds
One small gallery in southern England, Hastings Contemporary, aims to harness the power of art to inspire people to see the world differently and a place for respite and renewal. They have recently innovated accessibility by being the first gallery to introduce telepresence robots. By turning their gallery walls inside out they are now allowing up to 5 visitors at a time to login to a 30 minute guided tour to view the gallery using the art droid. The tours use The Double videoconferencing robot, developed by the Bristol Robotics Lab.and allow you to zoom in. If you want to watch the short video https://www.hastingscontemporary.org/exhibition/robot-tours/
In the hot off the press column, here are two of many reactions to the social isolation situation :
A series of fun activities for earth week involving superheroes
London’s V&A has launched Lockdown Wednesdays, a weekly series of hands-on activities to spark creativity. The programme, which is available on the V&A’s blog encourages participants to make items inspired by pieces from its collection. What could you have digital visitors make inspired by natural residents on your site or your collection?