clarabiesel.bsky.social

Spent some of my volunteer hours at the makerspace printing monoprint postcards to help get out the vote! If you'd like to join me (no need to handprint your cards!) go to postcardstovoters.org and sign up to write!

Here's a screenshot of the current list of options for races to write for right now, a pretty exciting spread!

singingresistance.bandcamp.comWe Vote For Us: Songs For Election Defense (Volume I), by Singing Resistance & Songs In The Key Of Resistance10 track album

If you want to listen to some great get out the vote music and then also learn to sing all the songs this album (and its two follow up albums are for you: singingresistance.bandcamp.com/album/we-vot...

@thewaroncars.bsky.social

13 Sept

These are so beautiful!

Jason Thorne@jasonthorne.bsky.social

clarabiesel.bsky.social reposted

The War on Cars

12 Sept

Cites aren't loud, cars are loud. A better world is possible.

the moon report 🌕@seachanger.bsky.social

i don't think we spend enough imagining how quiet and idyllic life would be if we flipped the ratio of bike/transit : car infrastructure.

28 Aug

For the "pollinators" prompt for #SolarpunkArtAugust I kept thinking about the bees and butterflies who obsess over our sunflowers, so here's a sketch of their flight paths.

I really don't know what I'm doing with "desert solarpunk" as I've never been to a true desert, but I feel like lots of solarpanels giving shade to mitigate the heat seems good, a shaded dome to keep in some moisture might work and a solar oven would be good?? Would love to see what others imagine.

For "tropical solarpunk" I feel like an imposter, having been somewhere tropical merely twice in my life, but one of those times was this summer, and this picture is massively influenced by the architecture in Kauai, especially the airport, which had so many areas open to the outside.

I loved how much the buildings were open? Like, many times there were shutters that could be closed up, but so much of the houses were permeable? Even a seriously fancy hotel lobby was a courtyard, with a waterfall, and the reception desk under a roof, but some of the area open to the sky.

For "snowy solarpunk" I stayed pretty close to home-- There's a set of quilted curtains we're hoping to get put together to help keep in our heat in the winter nights, and ideally I would have thrown in a bunch of wind turbines. #SolarpunkArtAugust

For "Libraries" I just wanted to just recommend a whole pile of picture books that you might enjoy from your local library, all of which feel Solarpunk to me in some way. #SolarpunkArtAugust Details in alt text and comments. :)

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell with illustrations by Rafael Lopez (joy, community, art, public spaces)

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson (seeing the beauty, diversity, public transit, mutual aid, restoration) In the Town All Year 'Round by Rotraut Susanne Berner (community life, hope, environmentalism, public transit, active transit, joy)

Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer (joy, nature, curiosity) If You Were a City by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Frenci (Francesca) Sanna. (urbanism, diversity, imagination, joy)

How to be an Engineer by Carol Vorderman (nonfic science with lots of building projects, including a solar oven) Frog and Toad All Year Arnold Lobel (nature, gardens, community, LGBTQ+ representation)

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles byMichelle Cuevas, Erin E. Stead Illustrator (nature, community, acceptance) What We'll Build: Plans for Our Together Future by Oliver Jeffers (hope for the future, reconciliation)

The March for Hope by Valerie Bolling, illustrations by Monica Mikai (protests, belonging, intersectionality, women's rights) We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Michaela Goade (Native legacy, care for the earth, activism, coalition building, environmentalism)

Flora, a popup book by Yoojin Kim, Nicole Yen (beauty, nature, wonder) Saving our Sturgeon by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn (conservation, nature, environmental activism) Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin illustrated by Betsy Lewin (collective action, unions, farming/animal rights)

When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang (big emotions, natural world, restoration) Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehert (joy, food, plants) A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel (environmentalism, nature, mindfulness)

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka (urbanism, emotional lives of animals, community in a city, restoration) Jamberry by Bruce Degen (nature, food, transit, joy)

A Chair for my Mother by Vera Williams (community, recovering after disaster, family) Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou, illustrations by Jean Michel Basquiat (defiant confidence, hope despite everything)

Hands by Lois Ehlert, (hope, maker culture, art, hand sewing, gardens) Apt. 3 by Ezra Jack Keats (urban life, disability, community, neighbors) Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Loren Long (joy, art, hope for the future)

A Turtle's View of the Ocean Blue by Catherine Barr, Illustrations by Brendan Kearney (ecology, climate, natural world) Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers (global community, planet earth, hope for the future) Planting a rainbow by Lois Ehlert (community, garden, family, hope)

Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman ; illustrated by Christian Robinson (urban futures, community, garden, hope) Sweet People Are Everywhere by Alice Walker illustrated by Quim Torres (global community, empathy, imagining a better future together)

Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis (community, curiosity, ingenuity, love of the natural world) A Family is a Family is a Family Written by: Sara O'Leary Illustrated by: Qin Leng (inclusive, affirming)

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley. (really solid and inclusive sex ed. This is the one for older kids, younger versions include "It's so Amazing" and "It's Not the Stork")

For LGBTQ+ families, I really wanted to share a lot of images so instead of making the art myself, I wanted to highlight some queer representation in picture books we love. All bibliographic info in comments and alt text. #solarpunkartaugust

bsky.app/profile/owen...

Owen Biesel@owenbiesel.bsky.social

This August I'm participating in the #SolarpunkArtAugust art-along! Here's the lineup of prompts for the month. I'll probably do watercolors or markers with pen details afterward (I'm no artist but I can still have fun and learn). I can't wait to see what you all make!

Anyone have other favorite queer rep in picture books?

Heather Has Two Mommies By Lesléa Newman, Laura Cornell (Illustrator), Sweet People Are Everywhere by Alice Walker, illustrated by Quim Torres Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O'Leary, Qin Leng (Illustrator)

Perhaps stretching the term, "art" but looking at our church announcement page in the bulletin felt pretty solarpunk. #SolarpunkArtAugust

for "third spaces"

#SolarpunkArtAugust "permaculture" Here's a sketch of a few of the perennials we've planted in our yard; sage, coneflower, and yarrow.

#SolarpunkArtAugust "disability rights" Here's a sketch of a solution I'm imagining for a sidewalk near me. There's a giant tree completely destroying the sidewalk in one spot, and I just want there to be a colorful painted path from the driveway before to the driveway after for anyone with wheels.

I love the enormous tree, and don't want it gone, but even as an able bodied human who pushed around a stroller, I've felt the impact of broken up sidewalks. The solution is clearly getting back the space from cars-- Ideally with some sort of concrete barrier!

14 Aug

Yesterday's #SolarPunkArtAugust was "solar ovens" and so I'm sharing a couple of spreads from my handmade collaged book of the Solarpunk manifesto, with solar ovens featured.

14 Aug

bsky.app/profile/owen...

Owen Biesel@owenbiesel.bsky.social

Today's #SolarpunkArtAugust prompt is bicycles, and it makes me really happy to share this spread from the stitchbook I made this spring. Riding bikes instead of driving cars is solidly in the center of my climate action Venn diagram inspired by @ayanaeliza.bsky.social's TED Talk (link below).

Maria Gehrke | Art as a Portal to Your Vision ✨

bsky.app/profile/owen... Feel free to join us anytime! For just one day, or every remaining day, with new art or old art, or (with credit) someone else's art you want to share!

Owen Biesel@owenbiesel.bsky.social

clarabiesel.bsky.social reposted

@livelovemaria.bsky.social

I had some catching up to do for Solarpunk Art August. Here we go with Day 8: “A Garden With A View” Watercolor Art Card The art prompt was “Balcony Garden”. #solarpunk #climatechange #watercolorartwork #solarpunkart #SolarpunkArtAugust

annwoodhandmade.comthe 100 day stitch book – ann wood handmade

And here's the link to Ann Wood's 100 day stitch book project, if you join the membership, you get access to a social media group, where everybody's posting what they're making every day and it's great. www.annwoodhandmade.com/stitch-book-...

ted.comHow to find joy in climate actionWe can all play a role in the climate movement by tapping into our skills, resources and networks in ways that bring us satisfaction, says climate leader Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. She suggests drawing ...

Here's Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's TED Talk about finding your role in addressing the climate crisis: www.ted.com/talks/ayana_...

clarabiesel.bsky.social reposted

Owen Biesel

@owenbiesel.bsky.social

Today's #SolarpunkArtAugust prompt is "Urban gardens." For this drawing, I imagined reclaiming a city street for a community garden (in raised beds for now, because of poor soil quality), and there was plenty of room left over for walkways, bike lanes, and a tram line.

Owen Biesel@owenbiesel.bsky.social

Urban gardens originally had me thinking of a downtown full of canopy down at ground level, and rooftop gardens at sky level, but then I started thinking of reclaimed highways-- the way old train tracks are being made into greenways... #SolarpunkArtAugust

bsky.app/profile/owen... Here's the list of upcoming prompts. Free free to join anytime! Also, no one is policing this, you can post your work any time and if you want to (with credit) just share someone else's art along the prompt, I think we'd all love that!

Owen Biesel@owenbiesel.bsky.social

Many thanks to Bruno Guerrero for posting the original photograph to upsplash: unsplash.com/photos/a-bla...

unsplash.comunsplash.com

Except unlike traintracks, cars drive sprawl in all the ways, and by removing the highways, even after replacing them with rail, and bike/pedestrian infrastructure, we'd still have tons of room leftover for housing, trees, greenspace, life.

For today #SolarpunkArtAugust the prompt is "balcony gardens." Here's a photo Daniel Miksha shared on upsplash which I printed out and collaged over with pictures from a seed catalog.

Here's a link to the photographer's work: unsplash.com/@danielmiksha

unsplash.comunsplash.com

For today #SolarpunkArtAugust the prompt is "balcony gardens." Here's a photo Daniel Miksha shared on upsplash which I printed out and collaged over with pictures from a seed catalog.