Alison Lee Cousland

Economic Relocalization Art Call. Part 11.

Kombucha SCOBYs and local natural materials

All things in the world are one.

Things that are thought beautiful are considered miraculous and marvellous.
Things that are thought ugly are considered rotten and repulsive.
The truth is that rot and repulsion can transform into miracles and marvels ~ Miracles and marvels into rot and repulsion.

~ Chuang Tzu.
©
2023
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Economic Relocalization Art Call. Part 111.

Kombucha SCOBYs and local natural materials

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You have been built up from nothing by the spare parts of the Earth you have consumed, according to a set of instructions hidden in a double helix and small enough to be carried by a sperm. You are recycled butterflies, plants, rocks, streams, firewood, wolf fur, and shark teeth, broken down to their smallest parts and rebuilt into our planet’s most complex living thing.

You are not living on Earth. You are Earth.’ ~ Aubrey Marcus.

Sustainable Resources.

Since installing the 11:11 sculpture in 2011, the 'notion' of making similar structures with the potential to transmit healing energy has been on hold. While experimenting with the Kombucha material, the 'notion' has surfaced, and I can see how it may be possible now, using ALL natural materials. Like paper and fabric, this Kombucha material can be stitched ~ Which will be the next stage in the making of these (for now) small pieces.
©
2023
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Economic Relocalization

Kombucha SCOBYs

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For the past 2 months, I’ve been exploring the possibility of using Kombucha SCOBYs to make Kombucha fabric/paper.

WHY?

I’m seeking materials that are fine and transparent: malleable, reasonably strong and durable: natural and eco friendly: compostable.

WHY?

I installed an environmental sculpture at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi in 2011. Titled 11:11, its four transparent pillars overlooking the Pacific Ocean celebrated the opening of the Portal of 11:11:11:11:11:11 ~ The 11th sec/min/hour/day/month/year. (See the last slide.)

At the time I wanted to install similar ‘healing’ sculptures on major key lines all over Oz. However after designing, making and installing the first 11:11 sculpture ~ I realised that I needed to find an eco friendly alternative to perspex as the inner structure and resins for the surface ‘orgonite’ spirals.

DISCOVERIES so far.

As a material Kombucha SCOBY is incredibly strong and has such a variety of textures: Can be crinkled and moulded into shape.

However in damp and colder weather it goes quite sticky, especially the thinner pieces. Even firmer thicker pieces that dried really well in hot sun and the dehydrator softened in the colder weather. They hardened again in the sun but then tended to go darker.

THINK LOCAL RESOURCES.

Working with local natural materials in my artwork, I know where every element comes from and that at the end of its lifecycle, it can be safely buried without causing any harm to the Earth.

And I would like to echo Richard Heinberg’s thoughts on going back to a localized economy:

Local economies have deep and ancient roots: They are more resilient and benefit everyone.
©
2023
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Grid of Nine

This 'Grid of Nine' shows the Southern Pacific Ocean as it reaches the reefs of Shellharbour with its abundance of healthy marine life including oysters in rockpools and cavities of the reef.
Slides 2: Grid of 4: Stitched pieces.
Slide 3 and 4: Drawing No. 1.
Slide 5 and 6: Drawing No. 2.

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‘The point is not that all economic efficiency is bad, but that the pendulum has recently swung much too far in favor of globalization and centralization, and a rebalancing is in order.’
Richard Heinberg: Building Community Resilience: 'How Globalisation Undermines Resilience.’

Oyster Reefs: Grid of 9.Ephemeral arrangements using natural materials with central stitched pieces and colored pencil drawings, integrated with photographs taken of the land art project at Sydney's Middle Harbour: 'Ecology of Oyster Reefs.’

The small textile squares, inspired by marine life, are surrounded by elements from both Sydney’s Middle Harbour and the reefs at Shell Harbour (100 ks south of Sydney.)

The colored pencil drawings of oyster shells are on semi-transparent drafting film, so they merge with the background image.

The background images: Old worn and empty oyster shells I’d gathered from the murky shoreline of Sydney’s Middle Harbour at Middle Cove, replaced as a ‘trail’ leading up and over part of the reef.
©
2023
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Ecology of Oyster Reefs: Sydney Middle Harbour: No 2.

photographs

Sydney’s Middle Harbour: A beautifully natural and calm haven but perhaps the water is not quite as ‘ecologically friendly’ as it needs to be for Sydney Rock Oysters to thrive as they must have once in this area of the harbour?

This ephemeral art piece was made with worn and empty oyster shells gathered from the mirky shoreline of Sydney’s Middle Harbour at Middle Cove ~ The remnants were replaced as a trail leading up and over part of the reef.

Top left: Along the ridge.
Top right: Down to the bottom and up to the top plateau.
Bottom left: Along the flat plateau.
Bottom right: On the way down again.

‘Perhaps up to 85 percent of shellfish reefs have been lost globally. And so there's a big movement globally to start restoring these oyster reefs.’

'Complete reef restoration with the support of conservation and community groups will still take many years to accomplish: However, the results are already VERY promising.'
~Ozfish.

‘Some challenges are so big that it’s not possible for the community to simply adapt: Fundamental, transformative changes may be necessary.'

And to be sustainable community resilience also: ‘Needs to work for other communities, future generations and the ecosystems on which we all depend.’
~Richard Heinberg: Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience.
©
2022
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Ecology of Oyster Reefs: Sydney Middle Harbour: No 3.

photographs

Old worn and empty oyster shells that hold so much beauty ~ For me: As a trail leading up and over part of the reef.

Top left: Along the track leading down to Middle Cove.
Top right: Shallows lapping the reef.
Centre: Reef ripples.
Bottom left: Boats anchored in Middle Cove.
Bottom right: Sea Gulls on the edge of the reef.

'The Shellfish Revolution’ is the largest community-driven shellfish reef restoration project in Australia. It’s goal is to restore shellfish reefs throughout Australia through community participation and ownership.

Building on their success of the large-scale shellfish restoration already underway in Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, another project is underway in Geelong’s Corio Bay, focusing on a smaller-scale, community-driven approach.

And Sydney? Not even a whisper, but I’m pretty curious to hear more.

Further reading.

"Ultimately as both individuals and communities: ‘We need courage to confront challenging issues and take responsibility for our collective future." ~Richard Heinberg: Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience.
©
2022
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Ecology of Oyster Reefs: Sydney Middle Harbour: No 1.

photograph

Sydney’s Middle Harbour: A beautifully natural and calm haven but perhaps the water is not quite as ‘ecologically friendly’ as it needs to be for Sydney Rock Oysters to thrive as they must have once in this area of the harbour? A question that I’m still in pursuit of.

This ephemeral art piece was made with some old worn and empty oyster shells that I gathered from the mirky shoreline of Sydney’s Middle Harbour at Middle Cove ~ The beautiful (to my mind) remnants were replaced as a trail leading up and over part of the reef.

In this image the oyster shells can be seen in a single line trailing over a narrow ridge of the reef (right of vertical middle) visually merging with the oyster shell embedded reef.

Further reading about the decline and restoration of Australian Oyster Reefs.

‘The power to envision the future of the community and build its resilience resides with community members.’

‘Because communities and the challenges we face are dynamic, adaptation is an ongoing process.’

~Richard Heinberg: Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience.
©
2022
  • Alison Lee Cousland

The youth of Today and Tomorrow

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Most traditional human societies expended a great deal of effort to provide moral guidance, often through myths and stories, to foster pro-social behavior. When a culture ceases providing this needed educational effort ~ Values of self-restraint and cooperation, empathy and altruism can become seriously eroded. ~Richard Heinberg.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

This piece features my second set of brushes made with all-natural materials: Seed pods, hemp yarn, reused tissue paper, and smoked paper. The charred handles were made from pieces of burnt branches, that I’d found on the ground in the aftermath of bushfires in the Killara bushland in the Garigal National Park.

The text on the burnt paper:

The youth of today came with a code of knowledge that has never existed before on Planet Earth. ~The Only Planet of Choice. Phyllis V. Schlemmer.

Being born into a society that is so alien to what would be their innate connection to the natural energy and beauty of Earth and its relationship to the entire cosmos: The youth of today are either strongly mesmerized by modern technology and must have the latest 'gadgets' or like the Indigo, Rainbow and Chrystal children know they have a totally different purpose to fulfill on Planet Earth.

My work reflects my personal need to nurture and protect the natural world and the consequent adoption of new approaches to art-making that seek an active partnership with nature.

I feel that using natural and discarded materials is such a small act of protest against our throw-away culture, but it’s a step towards making a difference in the world the ‘youth of tomorrow’ will face.
©
2022
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Her eyes: Had been bleeding

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Her eyes: Had been bleeding.
Her mind: Had been fed such stories.
Her strong heart: No longer believed them.
Her still fragile spirit: Longed to re-connect with nature:
And the very real world of fairies and devas:
She had been told they were unreal:
But in her quest to be sovereign:
She knows different. ~Ally.

‘Shifting Cultural Stories’ is a key concept when we try to address the meta-crisis that is unfolding because it points to the cause and not the consequences of all the aspects of the crisis. ~Michele Guieu.

The more we came to live in that artificial reality ~ After being fed a lifetime of stories, like angels and fairies are imaginary and that humans are the center of the Universe, etc ~ The more separate we became from the inherently fascinating realm of nature and community. And it was best just to buy and be entertained by more and more man-made gadgets, so as not to feel the discomfort/pain of being disconnected to Source/Self/Nature) ~Added to original quote by Charles Eisenstein.

I make items such as these shrines and wands mainly from natural, repurposed, and recyclable eco-friendly materials: Art pieces that are made with intent and designed to be given as gifts to friends: Keeping in mind that ‘when their time has come’ they can easily be given back to the earth.

In this series, one of my ’shrines’ has been integrated with my daily ‘pocket finds’ and other little stitched ‘charms’ that I make: Both in the studio and the bush.

Shrine: Inspired by @aimeeirel

Day 9,10,11, 12 and 13 of my 100 Day Project. #100integrationsbyally2022
©
2021
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Grey: Blue: Green

Shrines and wands mainly from natural, repurposed, and recyclable eco-friendly materials

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Grey: Blue: Green: Her eyes: Had been bleeding: Her strong heart: Had been weeping: Her fragile spirit: Pining for a new way to be.

Walking in the rain: Barefoot over the soggy mire Her vision cleared: Her heart celebrated: Her spirit strengthened: As she re-connected to Life. ~Ally.

Consumerism has replaced satisfying experiences of making, growing, repairing, and sharing with the momentary buzz of buying a new manufactured product. We need to reverse that bargain. ~Richard Heinberg.

And from Charles Eisenstein: The more we came to live in that artificial reality (story), the more separate we became from the inherently fascinating realm of nature and community. Today, we apply further technology to relieve the boredom that results from our immersion in a world of technology. We call it ‘entertainment.’

Our craving for ‘entertainment’ points to the impoverishment of our reality ‘story’ and the removal from our self and the real world.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

I make items such as these shrines and wands mainly from natural, repurposed, and recyclable eco-friendly materials: Art pieces that are made with intent and designed to be given as gifts to friends: Keeping in mind that ‘when their time has come’ they can easily be given back to the earth.

In this series, one of my ’shrines’ has been integrated with my daily ‘pocket finds’ and other little stitched ‘charms’ that I make: Both in-studio and bush.

Shrine: Inspired by Aimee Bishop.

Day 5, 6, 7, and 8 of my 100 Day Project. #100integrationsbyally2022
©
2021
  • Alison Lee Cousland

Ephemeral Art Celebrating Smallness


Symbiosis Relationships in Nature
Mosses and Lichens, Flannel Flowers and Flax Lily seeds

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Ephemeral Art Celebrating Smallness Symbiosis Relationships in Nature Mosses and Lichens, Flannel Flowers and Flax Lily seeds ‘Lichens have no roots, no leaves, no flowers. They thrive in places where there is no soil and settle on granite. Lichens blur the definition of what it is to be an individual because they are not one being, but two: A fungus and an algae. Different as can be, yet they are joined in a symbiosis so close that their union becomes a whole new organism. It is like a marriage, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The balance of giving and taking is dynamic, the roles of giver and taker shifting from moment to moment. Their shared lives benefit the whole ecosystem.’ ~Robin Wall Kimmerer: Braiding Sweetgrass. ‘Fungi are eating rock, making soil, digesting pollutants, nourishing and killing plants, surviving in space, inducing visions, producing food, making medicines, manipulating animal behavior, and influencing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.’ ~Merlin Sheldrake. Entangled Life. ‘There is an ancient conversation going on between mosses and rocks. About light and shadow and the drift of continents. This is what has been called the dialectic of moss on stone: An interface of immensity and minuteness, of past and present, softness and hardness, stillness and vibrancy, yin and yang.' ~Robin Wall Kimmerer. Gathering Moss.
©
2021
  • Alison Lee Cousland

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