Artivist Series - Angela Abshier

Artivist Series - Angela Abshier

Angela Abshier is a commercial lawyer and founder Sail to Shelter, a not-for-profit that repurposes elite and super yacht sails into shade and shelter for humanitarian purposes. Angela came up with the idea for Sail to Shelter after being introduced to offshore racing. She envisioned that the strong but light weight fabrics might be useful in settings where permanent construction is too costly and building supplies might not be readily available or suitable. A sail is large enough to cover a soccer field. Because the sailing community has yet to step up and take responsibility for their sails 97% end up in landfills. Angela estimates each sail is equivalent to 10,000 water bottles.

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Artivist Series - Vicki Nichols Goldstein

Artivist Series - Vicki Nichols Goldstein

Vicki Nichols Goldstein is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Vicki is founder of the Inland Ocean Coalition. Her impressive credentials include a master’s degree in marine policy from Yale University and working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to co-write documents for the designation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Vicki served as the Executive Director of the California-based Save Our Shores. When she moved to Colorado, she founded the Colorado Ocean Coalition and in 2017 Vicki rebranded it as the Inland Ocean Coalition. Inland Ocean Coalition empowers citizens wherever they live to be leaders and make positive contributions to ocean protection.

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Artivist Series - Julia C R Gray

Artivist Series - Julia C R Gray

Julia CR Gray is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist series podcast. The California-based artist has a connection to nature through her sculptures. Julia uses slip-casting and hand-building methods to mold female forms that represent the strength and vulnerability of women. A dichotomy that Julia believes women’s bodies share with the ocean. Julia’s love of nature, her walks on the beach at sunrise and contemplation of the perfect spiral of a seashell are evident in her sculptures.

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Artivist Series - Blue de Gersigny

Artivist Series - Blue de Gersigny

Blue de Gersigny is a plastic artist and designer. Blue lives in South Africa, a country quite literally at the southern tip of the African Continent. It is a country with nearly 3000 km or 1800 miles of coastline, bordering the Indian, South Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. From the beaches near her home, Blue collects colorful plastic and transforms it into eye-catching wearable art. Her intention is to make people aware of plastic debris and pick it up rather than walking by it.

Blue worked for many years as a textile designer until she realized she wanted to be an artist working with found objects. Originally Blue collected natural objects like bone, driftwood, and stone. Eventually, she was attracted to the colorful plastic that litters the beaches. Today her work is created almost entirely of plastic. The relentless of plastic waste rolling in on the tides inspires Blue to start her Plastics Are Forever website. Blue creates eye grabbing wearable art which she artfully displays on Instagram. After seeing one of her posts on Instagram, I knew I had to have her on this podcast.

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Artivist Series - Margaret Wertheim
crochet, coral, art podcast, women podcast, artivism podcast, feminism PAMELA FERRIS-OLSON crochet, coral, art podcast, women podcast, artivism podcast, feminism PAMELA FERRIS-OLSON

Artivist Series - Margaret Wertheim

Margaret Wertheim is an Australian-born science writer and artist who with her twin sister founded the Institute for Figuring. The Los-Angeles-based nonprofit explores the interrelationship of art, science, mathematics, and women’s handiwork. The Crochet Coral Reef is one of their projects and what we will focus our discussion on today. Margaret Wertheim holds degrees in mathematics and physics. Based on the mathematical discoveries of another mathematically-minded woman, Margaret and her twin sister Christine originated the Crochet Coral Reef project as a response to climate change. The Wertheims’ crocheted representations of coral has become a global collaboration with tens of thousands of people contributing their own pieces to citizen-generated art-installations.

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