Climate change is compelling us to make art that is accountable to the planet. One practice we’ve adopted as a collective is sequestering carbon with our artworks. We do this by using our wood stove and a retort to turn organic materials into biochar which we then use partly as a soil amendment to improve its fertility and water retention, and partly as the source of ink for our paintings. We notice how different materials carbonize differently and when we grind them up we get all kinds of inks: light and dark, coarse and glossy. Meanwhile, our garden is flourishing.
These are some of the materials charcoaled in our home wood stove, acorns, crab shells, found deer bones and straw
Installation. Crucible Gallery. Powell River. BC. Cherry wood Charcoal Ink painting on Mulberry paper. May 2022
