Environmental Works
Our most important job is to listen to our planet, as she is in distress.
Environmental Works
Our most important job is to listen to our planet, as she is in distress.
Lament for Fukushima
“Lament for Fukushima” addresses the socio-political and environmental issue of nuclear power.
Here the baby Buddha who represents Japan sits not under a tree but a mushroom cloud. His eyes bleed for the disaster that has befallen Fukushima and the Japanese people.
“That the cloud is represented by roughly shaped and unglazed clay completes the allegory: the ancient, refined lives of the Japanese (and by extension civilized peoples everywhere) are threatened by the unrefined, inchoate force of unleashed nature. It is the kind of artwork that, once seen, can never be forgotten, but grows in awareness day by day.”
Child Muse
This work is influenced by tribal people in Africa who adorn their bodies with pigments and plant materials.
Because of contact with the outside world and war in their area their culture is changing fast. Their body painting is now a tourist attraction.
The decline of their traditions juxtaposed with the increasing loss of the world's fauna is what I want to address with this work.
Butterfly Effect
Many are familiar with the concept of the ‘’butterfly effect’’: the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere in the Amazon can cause a chain of events that eventually cause a hurricane in another part of the world. It is a metaphor used in science to explain chaos theory: how small events can lead to big outcomes. This has been embraced by popular culture – it helps us understand that everything is connected. What effects one affects us all.
I wonder what the effect will be when there are no butterflies left in the Amazon to flap their wings.
The EPA is under threat from the Trump administration. This is something that should concern us all. We see the effects of global warming around the world on a daily bases. Rather than cutting the EPA by 40% the US needs to increase funding and double it. The EPA does crucial work that helps us understand and protect our environment. The threat this administration poses and the hideous amount of reversals to progressive policies is bewildering and alarming. But the cuts to the EPA may be suicidal in the long term. Scientists warn of the cost of these cuts…not that Mr. Trump is listening.
Eco Children
With this work I want to engage the viewer in a gentle way with my figures. The frogs, bugs, butterflies and birds that create the hair of the children are symbols for their thoughts. Children need the abundance of nature, as we all do. Nurturing young children's initiate curiosity for the natural world so they become steward's of the earth will help save our planet for them.
Bee Boy, glazed in earth tones, is abuzz with a hive of bees for hair. Bird Girl, with a nest of interlocking birds for hair, holds a bird behind her back. Frog Boy quietly observes his friends. While Nature Child cradles frogs, owls, bats and a jack rabbit in the pockets of her dress. Her clothing becomes their sanctuary.
These pieces are allegorical, a reminder to us to pay attention and protect our natural world.
Eco Children Review
“Creed gently approaches the subject of the environment and childhood with her Eco Children series. Her commentary remains clear and centered on the future generations. … [S]he continues to urge us to focus on ethics and values of cooperation and concern for others.
With frogs, insects, and birds forming the children’s hair, Creed’s boys and girls unite with nature to form a single force as advocates for a green future. Also, earth-tone glazes color their clothing, carrying the theme forward.”
