Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Eve S. Mosher: Eco Art Visualizing Powerful Intentions

48 Hours of Sao Paolo – Time’s Square, what are we not seeing? ▪ (proposal, 2008)

If seeing is believing, Eve S. Mosher is helping us to stretch our imagination to conceive our world as it might be in a future whose outcome we determine. Among her public art projects, she has visualized a Times Square unplugged from its high voltage current. Referencing the time component of the ever-pulsing energy of the eponymous city square, a time-out would open up new perspectives, what Mosher describes as: “to see what exactly are we missing by seeing the ads and not the space between, behind and around them.”

▪ Insert ____ Here ▪ (2008) – Insert *BIOSWALE/FILTRATION* Here – 062

Mosher also highlights time in her numerous other urban projects, where we are reminded of the intimate connection of the past and the future in our present. Neighborhood signs, for example, recommending “insert___here” suggest the promise of filling in the blanks in altering our communities through proposed insertions like green roofs, bike lines, solar panels, and a local/organic farmer’s stand. She has also retraced the sea level of New York City, projecting a drastically elevated future waterline of a metropolis increasingly flooded as a result of climate change.

▪ HighWaterLine ▪ (2007) – Passing through DUMBO, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background

Seeding the City is Mosher’s most recent community project and it too expresses states of potential and becoming. Small plots of green tagged by vibrant green flags are sprouting on rooftops throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. As Mosher herself describes, this initiative is about the power of potential: “Each installation is a seed of potential – potential for community action, potential for more green roof, potential for change!”

Seeding the City – “Cityscape”

Mosher, who is in residence at Wave Hill through March, will be participating in a panel discussion on art and environment on Sunday, March 7th at 2pm (with Susan Benarcik and Anne-Katrin Speiss, moderated by Mierle Laderman Ukeles) and in an open studio event on March 21st.

▪ Insert ____ Here ▪ (2008) – Insert *LOCAL/ORGANIC FARMER’S STAND* Here – 068

All images by Eve Mosher.

What’s on Your Plate? The Film About Food Politics from a Kid’s Perspective

Planet Green is serving up some food for thought as it premiered the exciting documentary What’s On Your Plate? on February 6 at 10pm (airs again on February 11 at 11pm). Part of the Reel Impact environmental documentary series, director and producer Catherine Gund has captured the discovery journey of two eleven-year-old New York City kids, Sadie and Safiyah, to uncover sustainable food systems and a path to self nourishment.

The essential question of “What’s on Your Plate?” is answered through the girls’ exploration of the sources of their food through to its consumption. In addition to learning to make non-wasteful and healthful choices for themselves and the environment, the tweens also discover the community benefits of choosing food from local organic farms, greenmarkets, and community supported agriculture (CSA).

“What’s On Your Plate” is exactly the film we need now.
– Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Congratulations, Sadie and Safiyah! It is great to have you take us through the food cycle. As somebody said: “You are what you eat.” Thank you for helping us get it right. You will definitely capture the imagination of your peers and generations beyond.
– Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations

Although several documentaries, including Super Size Me (2004), Fast Food Nation, (2006) and Food, Inc. (2008), have exposed the dangers of the mainstream American diet for the well-being of our bodies and the earth, What’s on Your Plate? is speaking directly to children, parents, and the public school system. The powerful message of the kids’ compassionate determination to improve our food chain stirs us to make more sustainable choices for them, ourselves, our neighbors, and our earth.

Heart of Recycled Glass: Ellen Blakeley Studio Reuses Waste to Create Mosaic Art

Best In Show, Mosaic Art NOW, “Meredith” by Ellen Blakeley
(shattered safety glass and various surface treatments on Live Oak tree bark)

Ellen Blakeley is the creator of stunning handmade recycled glass mosaic tiles. Blakeley’s mosaic artistry, expressed in both her decorative tiles and fine arts projects, was recently recognized with the Best in Show prize in the international Mosaic Art Now competition juried by Dr. Scott Shields of the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA.

Blossom, Core Collection

Her Santa Rosa, CA studio is committed to sustainability and utilizes glass recycled from the waste of commercial glass companies in Northern California. The broken glass is then treated in a mosaic tile process using only low VOC pigments, sanded water based grout, and a two-part epoxy resin.

Spring Leaf, Organic, Spotlight Collection

Blakeley’s mosaic tiles evoke the light, color, and texture of the earth’s varied elements and geographies. Here is a glance at how her mesmerizing designs traverse the realms of precious metals, plants, natural landscapes, luminous crystals and skies, and even the glint of a wet city street at night.

New Yorker, Core Collection

Beautiful Things: Eco Chick’s Holiday Green Gift Guide, 2009

I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that buying stuff doesn’t have to be bad. Should we buy less? Yes. Should we carefully consider what we buy, where it comes from, and who makes it? Definitely, for sure, and yeah! BUT the thing that’s missing in all the anti-consumer screeds (and I’ve written a few) is the fact that many people on this planet make a living by selling something to someone else. It’s how they feed their families and pay their bills.

So my aim in buying new products (when I need to) is to make sure that whatever I’m purchasing is made responsibly and is made by people who benefit from it’s production. And that goes doubly for gifts because when I hand that hand-wrapped prezzie over, I want to be able to tell a story about what it’s made from, who made it, and where I got it. This is an easy way to influence the receiver of the gift in responsible consumerism (without the lecture).

This year’s gift selections from myself (Starre Vartan), Alicia Lubowski-Jahn and Stephanie Rogers all uphold the idea that stuff can be beautiful, stuff can be unique, stuff can be useful.

Starre’s Picks:

Sustainable Designer Jewelry: Kyler by Joy O

If my style aesthetic could be made into a pair of earrings, these would be them. Never a fan of diamonds or other gems that have been ripped from the Earth’s belly, I prefer graphic pieces that show artistry and restraint, while at the same time exuding energy. These intaglio pendants are made from recycled steel coated in black zinc and are inspired by the moth’s wing.

As the designer writes, “Moths are a positive entity of truth and curiosity, always seeking the brightest light.” Be sure to check out all the other glorious designs made from recycled metals; necklaces, bracelets and cuffs. The twine collar necklace is another standout.

The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone

Along with her great blog, The Kind Life, actress, activist, vegan and now author Alicia Silverstone shares her info and recipes in her new book, The Kind Diet. You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy the plethora of Alicia-designed dishes (seriously, this actress REALLY cooks!); this book would actually be a fab gift for someone who does still eat meat or other animal products as it could help them see the wonderful variety that’s available from veggie meals.

MUCH more after the jump!
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Green Spaces NY Launch: A Place for Ecopreneurs

Roberto Rhett, Partner, Green Spaces NY with Sentinel Lights (wire hangers and cardboard) by Susan Benarcik.

Green Spaces New York has just launched its Manhattan clubhouse to grow a community of green entrepreneurs. The NYC initiative joins Denver’s Green Spaces Colorado in designing a green workspace and in founding a dynamic forum for eco businesses. The bright NYC 5,300-square-foot loft provides a green standard for office and conference spaces as well as gallery, lounge, kitchen, and party venues.

Green Spaces NY’s Marissa Feinberg and Jennie Nevin pictured between Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger, and Wendy Brawer of GreenMaps.

The sustainable-style recreational, culinary, and office spaces within an expansive Tribeca loft can be rented for a broad range of eco company events. The loft space is also home to Green Spaces NY’s own internship program as well as to its ongoing green programs and events available through ‘EcoPreneurs’ membership (contact roberto@greenspacesny.com for clubhouse membership details).

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