Community Engagement

Artist Statement:     Earthing- Earthlings      Joan Baron

I grew up in northern Ohio surrounded by farms with plenty of land to play and discover.

We were grounded, relaxed in nature. These early experiences continue to inform the direction of my art – works over that last 40 + years, as I explore and come to a deeper understanding of our current predicaments.

The politics surrounding climate change and the extraction of significant amounts of earth resources from our source of life, continues to be a disturbing truth. Companies still bully their way into fracking the earth and running pipe through us, which interrupts our health and well-being.

Each of us is on a journey to find purpose in our lives. We cannot fully achieve this if we are not well…if we are not grounded. We spend more hours indoors than outdoors. We stare at computer screens and stand on concrete and within structures that keep us separated from earth energy. How can we think clearly being so separated from ourselves? How can we recognize what is happening to us and the planet?

Here is our opportunity. Indigenous peoples of these lands have been calling to us. They understand that we have lost our way home. Listen to their messaging and support them.

Rally with them to a build a truly clean energy economy. The legacy of broken treaties, genocide, and governmental indifference must end.

The Art of Walking on the Earth, “Earthing” is a clear and direct path to connecting to this truth. We will think more clearly and be capable of taking a positive action. There is hope. In March 2021, first-term congresswoman Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe made history as the first Indigenous person to be confirmed in a Cabinet position and to serve as director of the Department of the Interior, over the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Her agenda will address such issues as halting hydraulic fracking, for oil and gas on public lands. Click here to learn about and support the 2023 Restoration and Resilience Initiatives.

Yes, there is Hope. First, we must get “Earthed”.