SYMBASA: Making our lives more "whole" through collaboration across science and art!

SYMBASA! WHAT? Arriving at the first SymbASA (Symbiosis Art and Science Alliance) meeting, which convened July 26-28, 2013, my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) and I were pleased at how well Warren Wilson College had provided signs to direct us around its campus. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for collaboration! Hallelujah for the minds and hearts of artists and scientists coming together to see what they can discover. Asking questions such as "How can science illuminate the arts?" or "How can the arts serve science?" or "When do science and art merge and become something altogether new and dynamic?"

On the last weekend of July 2013, Nance Lowe, founder and director of SymbASA, gathered together interested scientists, artists, and educators to discuss these questions on the campus of Warren Wilson College. This kind of dialogue across disciplines is riding the crest of an exciting new movement to address the EARTH's pressing problems such as climate change, habitat loss, decreasing natural resources, starvation and overpopulation, just to name a few. 

Surely scientists and artists working together fusing their imaginations is a productive approach to address these troubling issues and to create a new way of living and understanding of the world in the 21st Century. How can we all think differently, playfully, and intellectually, trying on new lenses and seeing through alternative filters?

BEAUTIFUL LOCATION TO DISCUSS SCIENCE AND ART! Set in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Warren Wilson College is a spectacular place to meet and talk about the "emergence" that occurs when artists and scientists collaborate!  The seminar room had windows and an open door to this verdant campus. Here I am, Hallelujah Truth, on the eve of the SymbASA conference. The daily rain was cleansing and refreshing! (photo by Tony Martin)

WELCOME FROM NANCY LOWE (ARTIST and CITIZEN SCIENTIST). The very first SymbASA meeting started promptly at 8:30. Nancy Lowe, who single-handedly created SymbASA, planned this meeting, and made it happen, greeted a room full of scientists, artists, and educators on the last Saturday morning in July 2013. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

Beginning a morning of presentations, Nancy Lowe welcomed us and enfolded our day in the 4-C's: COURAGE, CREATIVITY, CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, AND CURIOSITY! What follows is a brief description of who spoke and what was said:

AMY BOYD, BIOLOGY and ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROFESSOR. Amy was one of two Warren Wilson College faculty members who welcomed SymbASA attendees by giving short talks about the way she has integrated art and science in her courses.(photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

Amy Boyd, a biology and environmental studies professor at Warren Wilson College, wants to ensure that her students are active in their learning. Therefore, she requires students to use art as a part of their observation practices. Whether they are looking through a microscope or walking out in nature, Amy asks her students to photograph or draw what they are examining. Without giving her students much guidance, she asks them to make a portfolio explaining important scientific concepts. She is currently developing a course I would love to take--"Recording Nature," in which she will ask students to capture their nature observations with photos, audio and video recording, and drawing!

BETTE BATES, ARTIST. Bette shared her student's artwork from the classes she teaches at Warren Wilson College. The images were directly inspired from nature. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

Bette Bates began her talk by telling us that Warren Wilson College's art department was on the opposite side of the campus from her science colleague, Amy Boyd, but that she bridges the distance by incorporating nature observation in her art classes. Bette gets her students to be inspired through careful observation and quoted May Sarton for inspiration: "...If one looks long enough at almost anything, looks with absolute attention at a flower, a stone, the bark of a tree, grass, snow, a cloud, something like revelation takes place."

SYMBASA AUDIENCE. Paused momentarily because of technical difficulties, I took a photo of early morning SymbASA attendees.(photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS--CAREY BAGDASSARIAN, , and ELIZABETH MEAD, ARTIST. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

What if your professors wanted you to feel like you were seeing snow for the first time when you took their class? Then you would need to take a course from Carey Bagdassarian, chemistry professor and writer, and Elizabeth Mead, art professor and sculptor, at the College of William and Mary. They wowed us with their keynote presentation,"Emergent Dialogues," as they explained a collaborative course they teach at their college. Their talk was magical in its visual beauty and scientific depth as they introduced topics such as convergence, patterns, equations, unpredictability, flux, flow, play, epiphenomenon, complex systems, and number theory.

Taking joyful turns speaking, it was clear that the theoretical chemist and sculptor had developed a well-oiled avenue of communication through their science-art collaborations. But as Elizabeth explained, it was not without breakdowns and redefining words like "systems" and "structures." Their students, who benefit from these discussions, attend class in Elizabeth's art studio near a river. Carey and Elizabeth encourage them to be present and engaged by following a no-talking policy and sending them out in canoes "In Search of Small Gods (Jim Harrison)."

Imagine what students discover about themselves by designing and implementing this course's project, "measure something in nature." One mesmerizing slide showed how a student of theirs had decided to measure leaf fall in the forest by establishing a bed of moss to catch the falling leaves. 

Because Carey and Elizabeth's art-science collaboration, they have succeeded in giving their students a fuller world view and helped them to see how profound nature really is.

ABOARD SPACESHIP EARTH--MARK HANF (MATHEMATICIAN, EDUCATOR, BUSINESSMAN) and GARIUS HILL (MUSICIAN, FILMOGRAPHER, BUSINESSMAN). (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

I wish Mark Hanf and Garius Hill had been collaborating when I was a child learning science, social studies and math. By creating "Aboard Spaceship Earth," they have succeeded in creating an interdisciplinary curriculum that addresses the different kinds of intelligence we humans possess. One of my favorite parts of this curriculum is that students learn in communities by sitting around and on a world map while interacting with one another, moving around creating data, recording it, and discussing its outcome. Then there is all the amazing electronic interactive work they can do. And much much more! Be sure to check out the links I have provided here.

SYMBASA WRITING WALL. Nancy Lowe encouraged an informal exchange by creating "writing walls," so conference participants could express their ideas about key topics being brought up at the meeting. In the photo above, one of the Warren Wilson College students is giving his answer while below, my Chiboogamoo, aka Tony Martin, writes his! What a great idea! (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

RUTH SCHOWALTER, ARTIST, BLOGGER, CITIZEN SCIENTIST and TONY MARTIN, ICHNOLOGIST, ARTIST, and WRITER. Tony and I co-presented on our collaborative artwork and Paleontologist Barbie interviews. (photo by Cherilynn Morrow)

It was an honor for my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) and me to be asked by Nancy Lowe to present at this first SymbASA meeting on our collaborative work in recent years. The key idea of our talk was that our work together has enabled us to enlarge our way of being in the world. Scientists tend to be cerebral, engaging with ideas as filtered through the intellect. Artists, while certainly being cerebral, also listen and validate input that filters in through the heart, gut, and "sex organs" (see Randy Olsen's Don't Be Such A Scientist).

In other words, Tony and I have been able in our marriage and through our collaborations to integrate our understanding of ideas in a holistic way. I have the privilege of being with Tony when he is collecting primary data and sifting through it for understanding. He, in turn, has the benefit of my questioning and insights from an artistic perspective. We are both made more "whole" through this life of collaboration we lead. I will write more about our collaboration in a future blog.

CARRIE LEWIS, MATH EDUCATOR. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

Who wouldn't love to learn how to do math by dancing? Carrie Lewis, educator extraordinaire, explained one of her many creative ways to use an art form to teach children math. What fun! One might say she puts the "A" from art into STEM to make it STEAM! Take a look at this video that PBS did on this integrated lesson:
 
As the afternoon progressed, we continued sharing information about symbiotic relationships of art and science informally.

LIZA ROGER, ARTIST and MEDICAL STUDENT. Liza told us about the science-art exhibit she created and curated for the School of Medicine at Emory University. In addition to accepting submissions, art students were paired with scientists and created works from their discussions. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ART-SCI, STRATEGIC PLANNING, PARTNERSHIPS AND PROJECTS. The afternoon culminated in Nancy Lowe leading a discussion about the current state of art and science collaborations across the nation, established organizations already focusing on art and science collaborations and education, and how SymbASA can develop to make a significant contribution in merging the arts with the sciences.(photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

AMANDA ARROWOOD, DANCER. After listening to Carey Bagdassarian and Elizabeth Mead talk about flocking, I asked Amanda if she was familiar with flocking since she was a dancer and dance instructor. When she answered, "Yes," I told her it would be fun if she would lead us all in flocking, so everyone could experience the concept of "emergence" that Carey and Elizabeth were talking about in their keynote speech. Here, she is preparing everyone to get out of their chairs and "flock."(photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

FLOCKING AT SYMBASA. Our group watched this group flock so that we could observe how individual members would gradually begin to be able to synchronize their movements. There is a magic to this exercise. I loved hearing Nancy Lowe exclaim surprise as she documented these flocking exercises on video! See Nancy's blog post about flocking. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

SYMBASA BREAK. During the weekend, Nancy Lowe was sure to leave time for hikes around the Warren Wilson College campus. This photo shows the barns down by the vegetable and flower gardens. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

WINE AND CHEESE ART PARTY.  After an exciting day of talks, we met in the evening to relax and share ideas. Nancy Lowe gave us the opportunity to make art, look at books, or just enjoy the ambiance while drinking local beer or a glass of wine. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

CHERILYNN MORROW, ASTROPHYSICIST and MUSICIAN.  Gathering and chatting allows time to share information. Here Cherilynn is looking at Tony Martin's book, Life Traces of the Georgia Coast. (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth)

WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO ATTEND A CONFERENCE!

Our morning commute to the facility for SymbASA on the Warren Wilson College campus was filled with natural wonder. Does it get any more beautiful than this? (at right) Farewell, breakfast in the cafeteria, where we ate all of our meals.  (photo by Ruth Schowalter, aka Hallelujah Truth and cafeteria volunteer)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Many thanks to Nancy Lowe, founder and director of SymbASA for taking a dramatic leap and starting this organization to catalyze new ways of engaging in the sciences and arts. You have boldness, Nancy! And your boldness has  genius, power, and magic (paraphrasing Goethe)!

COLLABORATORS: NANCY AND RUTH! I believe Nancy Lowe succeeded in accomplishing what she set out to do! I feel stimulated about how we can talk about the juncture of science and the arts. I am thinking about this connection now as a "symbiotic" one thanks to Nancy! Thank you! (photo by Tony Martin)

I also wish to express gratitude to the participants and presenters at  the conference, especially my husband and fellow collaborator Tony Martin. And, thanks to everyone at Warren Wilson College who made our stay on the campus comfortable! Finally, thank you Peter Trusler, both talented artist and scientist for providing so much inspiration through your work and friendship although it be at such a great distance.To see how Peter weds art and science, see this video: 


That's Coffee with Hallelujah! Soul Blog with me and tell me what you are thinking now about the symbiosis of art and science!

COMING HOME AFTER JOURNEYING: THE LEARNING LIFE SPIRAL OF AN ILLUSTRATOR OF THE BAHAMIAN HUTIA

MARIA THE HUTIA'S JOURNEY.  Maria the hutia, a small brown furry rodent, rides the back of Myrtle the sea turtle. Maria shares the ride with Launa, the iguana. Amber, the long-tailed tropic bird flies overhead with Maret and Garret, Bahamian parrots. Art by Hallelujah Truth

Hallelujah for JOURNEY, for the hills and valleys that LIFE graciously gives us so that we may THRIVE as we go down under submerged in darkness and discover ways to climb to its exhilarating sunlit peaks. These travails and triumphs are the PILGRIM’S JOURNEY, on which disappointment and failure play just as an important role as joy and success in LEARNING. Yet in the yin-and-yang balance, there is such great FUN in celebrating the SUCCESS. I write to you today at the beginning of June 2012 from the MOUNTAIN TOP of my SOUL. Hallelujah!

I have just SUCCESSFULLY completed 29 illustrations for a children’s book written by Ron Shaklee to teach the children of San Salvador, Bahamas, about the endangerment of their precious habitat through the journeys of the little known and almost extinct Bahamian hutia. These children of San Salvador are the future stewards of the farthest island on the Bahamian platform. It is approximately 180 miles from Nassau, one of the Bahamian islands most visited by tourists.

THE MAP OF MARIA THE HUTIA'S JOURNEY. This map of Maria's journey is the very last image for Ron Shaklee's story, "The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia." It is the culmination of my achievement in learning how to draw. Here I celebrate the characters in the book and the feeling of Maria's journey.  Although there are no hutias on San Salvador, I included the island in an inset on the bottom right hand corner of the map. If it weren't for the Gerace Research Centre, which has brought scientists to its shores for the past 30 years, we wouldn't have this educational scientific story. Art by Hallelujah Truth

At its great distance out at sea, San Salvador used to seem remote from the busy world with its commotion of extensive harvesting of marine life, tourism, and pollution. But dear FELLOW PILGRIMS, we are all connected, and the WORLD IS ONE. Even the health and longevity of San Salvador’s coral reefs, sea turtles and fish, bird-nesting grounds, and a nearby cay with a unique species of iguanas are now being threatened by all of this human activity, including the rising ocean temperatures. The coral reefs of San Salvador are dying, the grouper, conch, and crayfish are being harvested at breeding times or before they mature, the endangered turtles are hunted and eaten. Nature’s abundance is limited! The children of San Salvador can learn more about their precious natural environment through stories like Ron Shaklee’s and thus become protectors of it. The equation is simple:

Humans caused the damage; therefore, humans must own up to the responsibility to make amends, to heal the EARTH before it is impossible to do so.

MARIA TUMBLING IN THE SEA

As the illustrator of Maria the hutia’s story, I JOURNEYED with this furry brown rodent  and shared her SOJOURN of loss and recovery. She is swept away by the ocean from her undeveloped island home where her species thrives only to discover that Bahamian hutias are unknown to other animals and do not exist on other islands. Four years ago in 2008, I said, “YES,” to illustrating “The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia,” and proceeded to step away from my CREATIVE HOME, painting in acrylics on wood to an unfamiliar territory of using pencils, micron pens, India ink, gum erasers, photographs, reference books, the internet, and watercolor, tracing, and graphite papers. You could say I, like Maria the hutia, was lost at sea.

At the time that I began to illustrate Maria the hutia, I did not draw. I did not use paper. I did not look outside myself. In fact, as a Georgia visionary folk artist, I painted from my inner visions and night dreams, often finger painting the genesis of my images. From my perspective as an artist who honors and celebrates Jungian archetypes and the exploration of the subconscious, I believed that to realistically “copy” the LIFE surrounding me did not hold value—“Why not take a photograph?,” I would ask. How could I illustrate Ron Shaklee’s story about Maria the hutia with its cast of real life animal characters in economical to publish black and white pen and ink images and still be me, HALLELUJAH TRUTH?

FROM ACRYLIC ON BOARD TO PEN AND WATERCOLOR PENCIL ON PAPER.  I made the decision to redo the cover art. The painting in front of me is the very first image of Maria the Hutia's journey that I made 4 years ago. This photo shows that I used it for inspiration to "color" the black and white image I had created in pen.  This second piece of art for the cover is the second only Maria image that I have put in color. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

THE NEW PROCESS. Before Maria the Hutia, I would see an image in mind and feel it in my heart and begin painting with my fingers. For Maria, I learned to study images from photos, books, and the internet. I made pencil drawings and worked with them to create designs that resonated with my mystical sense of balance and beauty. Then, using graphite paper, I transferred the image onto paper. Finally, I used micron pens, usually a size 5 tip, to make the image permanent, along with India ink. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

Just like Maria the hutia, as I TRAVELED away from the familiar, I had to engage the help of others to show me how to find my way HOME. Without the use of a map and only through exploration and the help of Myrtle the sea turtle, Amber the long-tailed tropicbird, Launa the iguana and others did Maria the hutia succeed in returning home. As a visionary artist operating as an illustrator, there was no map for me either. I wanted to CREATE from a CENTERED HOME PLACE, but there was no pre-existing route. However, there were numerous PEOPLE. That’s right PEOPLE, who appeared magically to assist me whenever in whatever I needed.

Sandy Voegeli showered me with numerous photographs that she had taken as a master diver from San Salvador. Ron Shaklee sent me a list of ideas that he felt would be suitable to illustrate. He suggested the use of pens in varying tip sizes. Jacq Marie Jack spent countless hours with me, providing me with children’s storybooks, books on using pen and ink, books with beguiling patterns, and beloved visual artists. Then when my images were completed in pencil, Jacq Marie counseled me on how to improve their compositions and perspectives, something as a self-taught artist I had little knowledge of. My brilliant companion and husband, Chiboogamoo, who is also a talented artist, assisted me so frequently the placement of a line or the technical aspects of scanning or photoshopping that we have lived Maria’s journey for these four years (Thank you honey!). There were numerous others who offered help and provided encouragement. How SPECTACULAR! How COMFORTING to know that when we PILGRIMS commit to a vision, PROVIDENCE steps in and helps us in unforeseen ways!

SANDY VOEGELI'S PHOTOGRAPAHS. These are a few examples of Sandy's photos that were key in my portraying the characters in Maria's misadventures. Here you see Launa the Iguana, Rupert the Nassau Grouper, and Myrtle the Sea Turtle. 

Ron Shaklee's Sketch of Maria's Journey

JACQ MARIE JACK'S LIBRARY.  Over the four years of working on the illustrations for Maria the Hutia, these books photographed here are a small sample of the books loaned to me by my friend and fellow artist Jacq Marie. Her constant resourcefulness and support kept me buoyant during my JOURNEY INTO THE UNKOWN.

A JOURNEY of four years is coming to an end for me as we prepare to bring “The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia” to press. Maria gets lost. Before she can return home, she must learn how to survive and make friends in the UNKNOWN. This is our MISSION in life dear FELLOW PILGRIMS. During our lives, we get lost many times, but together with others we will find the HOME we are looking for. As a visionary artist, I have expanded my way of BEING. I am now also an illustrator, one who can look outside her inner self at the large lovely world and find kind generous SOULS who will share the JOURNEY with me. Hallelujah!

As I finish SOUL BLOGGING with you today, I have ask:

Can we JOURNEY together to heal the EARTH? Can we explore unmapped avenues to amend the damaged environments and the vanishing sea life?

Anything is possible when we are united in effort. That’s Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me about your JOURNEY. What have you lost and recovered?

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS DEDICATED TO BEVERLY CASSELL

Beverly Cassell, founder of the Artist Conference Network (ACN) died on June 10, 2012. This innovative, imaginative artist, who created a national coaching community for the arts, has touched many peoples’ lives deeply and profoundly. She will be missed but not forgotten. Thank you Beverly! Without you, I would have never JOURNEYED this far in my CREATIVE SOJOURN. I would not have illustrated “The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia.” I would not have gained mastery of pen and ink.

BEVERLY CASSELL, ACN FOUNDER

Beverly writes about MASTERY in the beginning of our Artist Conference Network handbook:

Some place within us all, aliveness stirs with innocent mischief. In this embarrassingly child-like place resides the source of our authenticity, our uniqueness, our sweetness, our vision, our maximum potential power. As we align our skills with our full creative power and vision, we gain access to mastery. In mastery, the target is hit before the arrow is released.

Beverly! I know you are in the presence of the GREAT WORLD SOUL and gaining mastery in that realm already!

I will close with a quote that Beverly has us read at every Artist Conference Meeting. It is one that I have referred to indirectly in my blog above about how we are supported in our JOURNEYS:

…the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. (from W.H. Murray)

CAT ASSISTANCE. Tao has provided steady support for my artistic endeavors since joining our household in December 2011. Here he supervises the making of the final image, the map of Maria the hutia's journey.

CONTINUED CAT SUPERVISION AS THE MAP GETS COMPLETED