Wallace “J” Nichols
J has always been emotionally attached to water. He can go way back to his childhood where he remembers always being the first one in the water. He says life on land was fine, but it was complicated and being in the water made him feel at home. He grew up wanting to be a problem solver, someone who wanted to roll up his sleeves and get the work done. In college J went about assembling a problem solver toolkit. And what he learned is that the emotional piece, the human dimension,s so important. He gives examples and says we need to do a much better job working with young people, the people who we’re relying on to solve the problems the tools to stay emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually strong, to help them succeed. J has found that nature has helped him be connected, to feel awe and wonder and joy and peace and freedom. J believes we need to provide opportunity for young leaders to get in the water, to give them space to restore themselves and be energized to come back and do the work
Seth Glier
Musical artist Seth Glier is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Seth gets inspiration from the natural world and says the ocean brings him comfort and often provides a narrative for his music. His music reminds us that we have the ability to positively influence the world. Seth has worked as a producer, music director, and studio musician. He has collaborated with such renown musical artists as Tom Rush, Nick Carter, and Cyndi Lauper. Seth has been nominated for a Grammy and is a five-time Independent Music Award winner. He characterizes music as an empathy machine and feels incredibly lucky to be part of it.
Manuela Zoninsein
Manuela Zoninsein began as a journalist in China. While there, she witnessed a shift from reusable to single-use water bottles. The Brazilian-American’s love for beaches in Rio de Janeiro and her studies at MIT-Sloan Executive MBA program, led her to start Kadeya, a company that aims to replace single-use plastic bottles with an innovative vending machine that reduces plastic consumption.
Katie Horning
Katie Horning is a water steward based in Michigan. She serves as Chair of the River Days Festival in Midland and is a leader of the online platform Rivers are Life. She works to build awareness of and connection with rivers and inspire action to protect, preserve, and explore them by promoting the stories of River Heroes. Katie believes highlighting their projects is an impactful way to showcase the value of rivers.
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.
Colleen Flanigan
Colleen Flanigan describes herself as a socio-ecological artist. Her work is both functional and artistic. Colleen works at the intersection of art, science, technology, and the environment. Colleen has created metalwork in many forms including jewelry and puppets for motion pictures such as the stop-motion animation Coraline, a 2009 film directed by Henry Selick.. Colleen designed and built a sculptural frame for coral. This work promotes a healthy marine community, one that thrives in the presence of the coral growing on the frame. Her Living Sea Sculpture is on display in an underwater museum in Cozumel, Mexico. The video version of the podcast includes underwater footage of Colleen and her Living Sea Sculpture.
Kim Bernard
Kim Bernard is a full-time artist based in Maine who creates installations using upcycled trash. She works with communities to share the joy of making things using recycled materials. Kim has over 30 years of experience as a professional artist. She creates works with a range of materials from debris that washes ashore, bicycle inner tubes, plastic bags, even bowling balls. Kim has built a mobile recycling device. She uses her PopUpCycler to encourage communities to collect plastic trash. Together they shred the plastic and transform it into pieces that are assembled into a unique and meaningful installation for everyone to enjoy.
