Jules Bubacz

I have just returned from an experience that is a perfect example of how Art and Ecology are interrelated. The trip was called "Singing and Hiking with Joanne Rand (in the Ishi Wilderness)." It was organized by Common Earth, a non-profit organization sponsoring wilderness trips for women. During this five-day outing, in between singing and hiking, I informally interviewed Joanne Rand as well as Angie Curtes (a Co-Director and trip leader of Common Earth) on the topic of Art and Ecology. I also pondered the subject myself while sitting under giant Ponderosa Pine and on a boulder beside the roaring river.

So how do art and ecology intermingle? What is their dance about? Art is a form of expression; a way of expressing oneself creatively. It is creative in that it does away with our primary spoken or written language as the way of communicating or it alters how we use that language. Singing takes language and blends it with rhythm, tune, emotion, and harmony--all things present within ourselves and the rest of the natural world. Art as a form of expression implies it is also a form of communication. When you express yourself you communicate what is going on in your soul. Through art we can communicate with nature. We can express what is within us and we can also channel the expressions of other life forms and energies in nature. Art, in its essence, increases our connection with the natural world.