13,699 at Annmarie Garden Sculpture Park & Arts Center

13,699 has been accepted for the exhibit, Green Too: Installations with the Earth in Mind, which is part of the exhibit, Green: Art with the Earth in Mind at Annmarie Garden Sculpture Park & Arts Center in Solomons, Maryland. Juried by Dr. Margaret Palmer, Director of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and Ms. Bryna Freyer, Curator of Collections at the National Museum of African Art, the GREEN exhibition includes more than sixty-five works of art displayed inside and out, that examine ecological issues on a local, regional, national, and global level. The thirty artists chosen for GREEN come from across the U.S, as well as southern Maryland. This timely exhibition is a celebration of our relationship to the natural world and a profound visual exploration of our impact on the earth. GREEN TOO, a complementary component of GREEN, showcases small to large scale installations that confront ecological issues on a local, regional, national, and/or global level. The exhibition creates an experience that physically immerses the audience in environmental issues. GREEN TOO runs from July 16 through October 8. www.annmariegarden.org

Drinking Water Festival, Keene, NH

More than 300 4th graders visited the Keene Recreation Center yesterday to attend the 2010 New Hampshire Drinking Water Week Festival sponsored by the NH Department of Environmental Services. Art for Water was invited to participate, so I loaded my VW with bottle caps and went to Keene. My plan was to show the kids a picture of my installation, 13,699, explain to them that each bottle cap in the piece represents a person who dies every day because he or she does not have clean water, and then invite them to make mandalas on the floor with bottle caps as a memorial to those who are less fortunate than we are. I had asked for a large floor space, but was told that there would not be enough room for that. So, when I left home yesterday morning, I was hoping that the 2 tables I was allotted would be large enough for some interesting art. As it turned out, the way the room and tables were configured, I actually had quite a bit of floor space. So after rearranging the tables and borrowing a tarp from the kind custodian, we had a decent amount of space on which to work. There were lots of other displays and each group was there for only 25 minutes, so there was not a lot of time to talk, teach, or work, but the kids just dove onto the tarp and started making patterns with the caps and connecting their patterns to each other's. One group would leave and another would take over where they left off. The mandala idea flew out the window because there just was not enough time to explain what a mandala is, so we just made patterns with the bottle caps. In the morning about 250 students came through and filled the tarp to capacity with a pattern that reminded me of paintings by Australian Aboriginal women that I had seen a few years ago. We had to clear the slate for the second group of just under 100. They made a pattern that began as more geometric, but grew into another that appeared to be inspired by Aboriginal art. It seems that the ancestors were speaking yesterday through those 4th graders as they worked together to create a memorial to all of the people who are suffering because they do not have access to clean water.

Art for Water at Franklin Pierce University Goes to the Peterborough Town House

Last Friday evening, the celebration of water event that happened at Franklin Pierce University in November came to the Peterborough Town House. And during the day we hosted about 75 fourth graders. They learned about the shrinking availability of clean water and the huge amount of plastic waste that is generated by buying single serve bottles of water. They contributed to the Franklin Pierce art installation by stringing their own water bottles and adding them to the river of bottles installed in the Town House. They watched student-created short films about water and took the water tasting test to determine the difference between bottled, tap, and filtered water. In the evening, dancers from Franklin Pierce performed an original modern dance about water and we heard an original water soundscape. There were short films, a reading of the Celtic Myth, Angus, (whose mother is a water sprite) with projected illustrations done by graphics students, and the premiere of the documentary, Art for Water, A Creative Approach to Engaged Learning done by senior, Natalya Waye. Tonight the evening celebration will be at the Crotched Mountain Foundation in Greenfield, NH.

Immersed in water | Ledger Transcript

Immersed in water | Ledger Transcript

13,699 is going to Boston!

13,699, the installation created to raise awareness of the shrinking availability of clean water, will be featured at Down:2:Earth, A Green Living Festival (www.d2eboston.com) at the John B. Hynes Memorial Convention Center on 900 Boylston Street in Boston on April 9, 10, and 11. Hundreds of volunteers from colleges, high schools, and other public venues helped to produce this memorial to those who die every day from preventable, water-related diseases because clean water is not available. The 10 x 10 x 8´ fluid cube of hanging, recycled, plastic water bottle caps will be in the main floor lobby. The hours are 5 to 9pm on Friday, April 9th, 11 to 7 on Saturday, the 10th, and 11 to 5 on Sunday, the 11th. Admission is free and open to the public. I'll be there most of the time.

Art for Water at Franklin Pierce University

The students at Franklin Pierce completed their installation to raise awareness about water use habits on campus and in the community and we installed it last Monday in Pierce Hall. They drilled holes in hundreds of water bottles and strung them together with wire to make a river of bottles. We strung 5 fishing lines across the 36´ wide room and hung some of the bottles over the fishing lines. Then we hung the rest from the top of the wall so that they flowed down the wall and swirled into the room. Last Thursday evening there was a celebration of water by many departments on campus. Wendy Dwyer, head of the dance department, choreographed a dance about water with 5 dancers. Lou Bunk, head of the music department, and three of his students created original music with water sounds. Creative writing student, Renee Beauregard, rewrote a fable about water called Dream Angus and 16 graphic arts students displayed illustrations for it. 8 of Heather Tullio's communications students made short videos about water and students conducted water tasting tests during the reception. Attendance exceeded our expectations causing students to sit on the dance floor, shrinking the dancers' space. But everyone was thrilled at the turnout and now just about everyone on the Franklin Pierce University campus is thinking about water and they're thinking twice about buying bottled water.

Art for Water at University

Joni Doherty, Director of the New England Center for Civic Life at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH, saw 13,699 at the Sharon Arts Exhibition Gallery and invited me to be the Artist-in-Residence for the fall semester where I am facilitating an art installation designed and produced by students. We have a core group of about 12, but I think more will join us as the piece starts to take shape. After a concept meeting and brainstorming session, the students decided that they wanted to call attention to water use habits on campus, so they started collecting empty water bottles to use as their medium. How their peers relate to water on a personal level is also an important element, so they are taking a poll on feelings about water and converting the answers to messages that will be placed in some of the bottles. The bottles are being strung together with wire to create long chains which then will be used in a variety of configurations. Many departments on campus are getting involved. Wendy Dwyer, head of the dance department, is choreographing a dance about water to be performed by students within the installation. The dancers will be challenged by not knowing what their set will look like until the very last minute. Art videos are being created, sound about water is being composed to which the dancers will perform, poetry is being written, various speakers––from curators to scientists––are scheduled,photographs are being taken, and a documentary about this project is being made by a student. The big night is November 12, so we have a lot of work to do in not a lot of time. However, enthusiasm is running high, so I know they will create a spectacular piece of art for social change.