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Diane Farris
- Gainesville, Florida, US
- @dfarrisgville
When I first moved to Florida, a Publix cashier commented on the bags I brought to the market: “Oh, there’s a French lady who brings bags, too.” Though there are more bag bearers now, it is heartening to discover the attuned community that is What’s Next for Earth.
My current work explores the resonance and – sometimes – the beauty of the nearby, the local. Local Light is part of that series, a luminous moment of billowing light that had to be witnessed before it was gone. The Think Resilience course with Richard Heinberg is a clear roadway through the current state of our environment and offers not only witness, but data, insights and action plans that will make a difference. What’s Next for Earth invites artists to participate in that change. I am grateful.
Diane’s website: dianefarris.com
Even
Photograph
Richard Heinberg’s summary sentence “Resilience and sustainability require justice” brought to mind an image of the classic scales of justice and WNFE’s current call. I found and began sketching my father’s old balance scale. As my first solutions (to many situations) often revolve around gathering, gardening, cooking and coming together around a welcoming table, food was a natural for the balance. And ,sculptural pears were on hand. Heinberg writes of “expanding the commons”, evoking a town square, village green, a farmer’s market, all images of gathering to share resources for the common good, the traditional “common weal”. The somewhat enigmatic “Even” appeared as a title early in the process, but Roget’s Thesaurus offered meanings that fit: “level, unbroken, on a par, proportionate, just…”.
2023
- Diane Farris
Local Light
Photograph
April 2023
Local Light is part of an ongoing series of images on light, reflections and shadows. Working close to home in the past few years, I have been taken by the wisdom, sustenance and – often – the unexpected beauty of the close at hand, the local.
This photograph was taken recently, when a burst of unexpected light emanated from a familiar corner. What’s Next for Earth’s current call, Economic Relocalization, emphasizes attention to every possibility in nearby resources, “local economies with deep and ancient roots” (Richard Heinberg, excerpt from the Think Resilience course).
This photograph was taken recently, when a burst of unexpected light emanated from a familiar corner. What’s Next for Earth’s current call, Economic Relocalization, emphasizes attention to every possibility in nearby resources, “local economies with deep and ancient roots” (Richard Heinberg, excerpt from the Think Resilience course).
2023
- Diane Farris