Earth Day 2022

I always look forward to Earth Day. This year, however, as much as I want to get out and celebrate Mother Earth, I don’t think I’ll be doing much celebrating. It’s still cold here. Very cold. We’re having hard freezes each night, and even though the temperatures have warmed up a bit during the day, the high winds and the rains we’ve had have made it still too chilly to be out and about doing much of anything.

Then, add in the fact that our City Park and the hiking trails I love are still mostly closed off as the city works on dam repairs, and… gee, sorry to sound so miserable and unhappy. But, you get the picture, I’m sure. Instead of happily strolling along one of my favorite hiking trails, I’ll be sitting at home today, looking at pictures of plants and flowers instead of fully enjoying them.

On Saturday I will be participating in EF 2022 — an “Earth Festival” taking place in Kansas City — through the internet, and I encourage everyone to find an event near you. You can visit the official Earth Day 2022 site to find celebrations all across the world.

The theme for Earth Day 2022 is “Invest In Our Planet” with the focus on climate change, and our KC area festival includes an art exhibit called “What In the World”. It features the watercolor art of Jake Marshall, formerly an Art Director for the “Hall’s” stores owned by Hallmark. You can see some of the works from the exhibit here: What In the World – Jake Marshall.

This exhibit has made me think once again about the power of art as a social voice, a voice of awareness, a voice that cries out to help those in need and to make our earth a better place. I want to be part of this, if only in a small way. I want my art to be meaningful and inspirational, and above all, I want my art to make others more appreciative of our earth, more aware of her needs, and more willing to protect her.

I recently did a “green” painting in oil pastel. It is “green” in that my color palette was primarily green with the addition of black and white and a small bit of pink.  It’s “green” too, I hope, in its expression of nature’s gentle beauty.

This was done on light-weight “kraft” paper for a natural feel. Instead of getting outdoors with a nature journal this year, as I said, I’ll be staying warm and cozy indoors, and I’ll be grabbing more pastels and painting more nature-inspired scenes. This is something I want to do to show my love for our Mother Earth.

We are always looking for ways to be more environmentally-conscious in our home and in our community. I encourage each of you to visit the Earth Day site where, truly, “every day is Earth Day”. There you’ll find “52 Ways to Invest in Our Planet”.

Wherever you are in the world and however you choose to celebrate, please take a moment to truly honor this beautiful earth today.

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