Art & Wildfire

Commonly held perceptions on wildfire will be expanded by Alex & Michael as they share knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices, open up conversations around legacies of colonialism and its impacts on local forest systems, and how climate change is shaping forest ecology. With the appropriate permits, students will be given an opportunity to explore burn sites and discover that they can be seen as more than destroyed forests, but reframed as sites of renewal and possibility. After the forest visit students will return to a private property on the Wind River near Carson, WA and learn how to transform their charcoal samples into dry pigment that can be used to make a variety of art mediums (ink, paint, watercolor, oil based media, printmaking, and sculptural applications.) Students will be encouraged and assisted to explore the possibilities of the material as extensively as they wish and thus begin to consider their relationship and connection to the environment through the lens of reciprocal creative practice. 

Time will be given to address and discuss student's questions about climate change as it relates to recent fire seasons, the impacts on human life, the anxiety that emerges as a result, and how we might educate ourselves and prepare to meet such challenges as a community.

This off-site will be held near the town of Carson, WA.