Art Heals Earth

Dana O’Driscoll is a homesteader, a permaculture practitioner, and dedicated bard, practicing many arts including watercolor painting, leatherworking, eco-printing, writing, and panflute. She is the artist and author of the Tarot of Trees and the Plant Spirit Oracle, and her writings on druidry, nature, and permaculture can be found at the Druid’s Garden Blog. Dana is a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and is a Druid Adept in the Ancient Order of Druids in America. Dana is also an Associate Professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches doctoral courses in writing pedagogy, research methods, learning theory, and writing centers. As a learning researcher, Dana’s scholarly research has long explored how people learn, “transfer” that knowledge to new contexts, and develop long term expertise as writers.In this episode, we discuss:How Dana’s journey into earth-based practices beganThe spiritual path of Druidry: what it means to Dana, and how it shapes her inner and outer lifeRegeneration as an essential component of an ethic of careHealing the land: where to begin The Druid’s Anchor Spot: the practice of returning to the same place Connecting with the oak tree through harvesting and preparing acorns How Dana’s scholarly research on the learning process has affected the way she approaches her many crafts Writing as an act of learningCurrent projects Dana has been working onHow art helps heal Dana’s relationship with the EarthA question Dana is asking right nowWhat gives Dana hope right now Follow Dana’s InstagramThe Druid’s Garden Blog: https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/ Plant Spirit Oracle: https://www.plantspiritoracle.com/ The Tarot of Trees: http://www.tarotoftrees.com/ Druid’s Garden Art: http://www.druidsgardenart.com/ 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

The spider, dropping down from twig, Unfolds a plan of her devising, A thin premeditated rig To use in rising. And all that journey down through space, In cool descent and loyal hearted, She spins a ladder to the place From where she started.Thus I, gone forth as spiders do In spider’s web a truth discerning, Attach one silken thread to you For my returning.- The Spider’s Web (A Natural History), by E.B. White 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Anne Smeets is a visual and performance artist and a researcher based in The Netherlands. At the beginning of the 2020 quarantine, Anne started her nature photography project, Earthgazing. In Anne's words, Earthgazing is about interpreting the natural world, zooming in and out, examining big landscapes that hide in small corners. Inspired by colors, patterns, textures and abstracted images. This project is also an investigation of how photography and abstract visual art can be defined. Anne attempts to move away from clear borders of the medium photography and move towards an abstraction of the medium characteristics. To follow Anne’s project, visit http://earthgazing.art/  In this episode, we discuss:Anne’s journey as an artist, the main themes within her workWhat inspired Anne to start her Earthgazing project, and how it has affected the way she engages with the natural worldWhat Anne finds fascinating in the landscapes of The Netherlands  Some of the different subjects Anne has photographed The role that nature has played throughout Anne’s lifeWitnessing seasonal shiftsDiscovering photography subjects through wandering and stillnessHow art helps heal Anne’s relationship with the EarthA question Anne is asking right nowWhat gives Anne hope right nowConnect with Anne’s work: https://www.annesmeets.nl/Follow Anne’s Instagram: @earthgazing.art 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

The old pondA frog leaps in.Sound of the water.- Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Brian Isett and Claudia Biçen chat with me about their book project, The Forgotten Teachers: How Life Learned the Story of Earth. The Forgotten Teachers is an illustrated true fairytale about Life on Earth. Through natural history and poetic contemplation, readers are introduced to twelve forgotten teachers that shaped our past and define our present. Among them: Sun, Moon, Ocean and Trees, each depicted in intricate and dream-like watercolor illustrations. Through these encounters, we re-learn the story of our past: our emergence from Oceanic depths, our colorful history in Trees, and the ancient celestial rhythms that still permeate our biology today. By reexamining Earth’s role in our evolution, The Forgotten Teachers begins to repair the lost but crucial connection between science and spirit.Brian Isett is a published poet and neuroscientist at Carnegie Mellon University. While finishing his Ph.D. in neuroscience at U.C. Berkeley, his first book of poetry, Grid Poems Vol. I, reached an international audience (over 500,00 views on Ello) and quickly sold out through venues such as the New Museum and Printed Matter in New York, and Motto Books in Berlin. In the field of neuroscience, Brian has authored several high profile research articles in areas ranging from tactile perception to Parkinson’s disease. He won two competitive national awards, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship as well as the National Institutes of Health NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Brian received his B.S. at Cornell University in Biology, winning the George Harmon Coxe award for Fiction in 2009 and the Arthur Lynn Andrews Fiction Prize in 2008.Claudia Biçen is a visual artist exploring the nature of mind and the construction of meaning. She has exhibited at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC), the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (London), and the National Arts Club (New York). Her projects have been featured in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, and San Francisco Chronicle and displayed in hospitals and educational institutions around the world. Claudia is Creative Director at Project Wayfinder, where she designs curricula for fostering belonging and purpose that have been taught to more than 10,000 students worldwide. She is a lecturer at Stanford University, holds a BA in Philosophy & Psychology from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in Social Anthropology from University College London. Website: www.claudiabicen.comIn this episode, we discuss:3:10 – Claudia and Brian's journies 8:28 – Inspirations for The Forgotten Teachers book14:08 – The deeply collaborative nature of The Forgotten Teachers19:28 – The senses and embodiment as gateways into connecting with the Earth24:57 – The teachings of Plants31:34 – The teachings of Scale  37:00 – Ways that Claudia and Brian connect to nature45:44 – How art helps heal Claudia and Brian’s relationship with the Earth51:32 – Questions Claudia and Brian are asking right now56:16 – What gives Claudia and Brian hope right now Follow Claudia’s Instagram: @claudiabicen Follow Brian’s Instagram: @brisett_writes 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

zaneta (they/them) is a queer multi-identities sound artist, creative expression activist/educator, percussionist, witch, healer, and Tarot reader, whose work spans a wide range of offerings, from the magical to the non-profit. The core thread that runs through their work is that creative expression is a birthright and is essential to our well-being. To that end, zaneta co-directs the non-profit, inner arts initiative, reads Tarot for creative healing, trains teachers to decolonize music ed, creates soundscapes for spellwork, holds ceremonial performances, and offers classes for drumming, sound art, and magical and creative empowerment. Their ritual soundscapes, meditations, upcoming ceremonies, and tarot readings can all be found at their site www.soundartmagic.com.    In this episode, we discuss: 2:54 – How zaneta’s journey with PTSD led them into using field recordings and sound talismans as tools for healing and invoking memories11:54 – Sound rituals and their ability to create a space for connection and community18:34 – zaneta’s field recording process and connecting to a place through listening23:03 – Being in right relationship with the source of your listening30:07 – The importance of starting where you are in establishing right relationship32:17 – zaneta’s Sacred Seasons project: connecting to the seasonal shifts of nature through sound 41:15 – zaneta’s witchcraft practice as a tool to liberate their creative expression 47:56 – Magical correspondence and ritual as symbolic action  52:23 – zaneta’s work with Inner Arts Initiative 58:24 – Creative expression as the missing link to collective healing1:01:39 – A question zaneta is asking right now1:06:46 – What gives zaneta hope right now 1:08:39 – zaneta’s Mabon event on 9/20/20zaneta’s Instagram zaneta’s website SACRED SEASONS: MABON - a livestream sound ritual for the Autumn Equinox🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes   🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

zaneta (she/they) is a queer multi-identities sound artist, creative expression activist/educator, percussionist, witch, healer, and Tarot reader, whose work spans a wide range of offerings, from the magical to the non-profit. The core thread that runs through their work is that creative expression is a birthright and is essential to our well-being. To that end, zaneta co-directs the non-profit, inner arts initiative, reads Tarot for creative healing, trains teachers to decolonize music ed, creates soundscapes for spellwork, holds ceremonial performances, and offers classes for drumming, sound art, and magical and creative empowerment. Their ritual soundscapes, meditations, upcoming ceremonies, and tarot readings can all be found at her site www.soundartmagic.com.   In this episode, we discuss: 2:54 – How zaneta’s journey with PTSD led her into using field recordings and sound talismans as tools for healing and invoking memories11:54 – Sound rituals and their ability to create a space for connection and community18:34 – zaneta’s field recording process and connecting to a place through listening23:03 – Being in right relationship with the source of your listening30:07 – The importance of starting where you are in establishing right relationship32:17 – zaneta’s Sacred Seasons project: connecting to the seasonal shifts of nature through sound 41:15 – zaneta’s witchcraft practice as a tool to liberate her creative expression 47:56 – Magical correspondence and ritual as symbolic action  52:23 – zaneta’s work with Inner Arts Initiative 58:24 – Creative expression as the missing link to collective healing1:01:39 – A question zaneta is asking right now1:06:46 – What gives zaneta hope right now 1:08:39 – zaneta’s Mabon event on 9/20/20zaneta’s Instagram zaneta’s website SACRED SEASONS: MABON - a livestream sound ritual for the Autumn Equinox🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes  🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Johanna Warren is a singer-songwriter, actor, herbalist, and energy healer based in Portland, Oregon. She has released 5 solo albums and 2 earlier albums under the band Sticklips. Johanna released her most recent album, Chaotic Good, in May of 2020.  In this episode, we discuss: 2:48 – Living in Wales: Shifting from a nomadic lifestyle to staying within one place4:54 – Plants Johanna has developed a kinship with while in Wales6:26 – What Chaotic Good means for Johanna  as an album, music as a space for processing and calling in the neglected parts of ourselves9:58 – The voice as an energetic tool for embodiment   15:44 – Unblocking the voice, connecting the human body and the earth body through the voice19:24 – What brought Johanna to herbalism, how listening to the wisdom of plants has helped Johanna listen to herself23:44 – The interrelatedness of Johanna’s herbalism and music practices25:49 – The cyclicality of creativity and reclaiming the yin  26:36 – How the pandemic months have shifted Johanna’s perspective30:06 – Johanna’s journey with Reiki 35:30 - How energy work has affected the way Johanna engages with her music 39:16 – Being a multi-disciplinary artist,  moving between artistic mediums 45:55 – How Earth helps heal Johanna’s relationship to art  48:16 – A question Johanna has been asking right now 53:27 – What gives Johanna hope right now  Johanna’s WebsiteJohanna’s InstagramJohanna’s new album, Chaotic Good🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Jordon Goebel is a composer, percussionist, and guitarist. He has a degree in composition from St. Cloud State University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Composition at the University of Minnesota. Jordan has performed as a percussionist with the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra and is the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for the Twin Cities-based rock band The Arcanes. Jordon has an interest in new media and electroacoustic music, and his recent work focuses on conceptions of time through music. In this episode, we reflect on themes around one of his latest projects, a soundscape piece called Sun After Rain. Through gradually merging field recordings with electronics and percussion, the piece guides listeners through a reflection on interactions between nature, technology, and the human.  In this episode, we discuss:3:54– What brought Jordon to the world of music, and what led him to composition 8:26 – The conception of Jordon’s new piece Sun After Rain 12:25 – An overview of what happens in Sun After Rain15:29 – What nature means to Jordon as a source of creative inspiration17:41 – The role that listening plays in Jordon’s compositional process21:54 – Improvising and playing with environmental sound 24:04 – How Jordon’s perception of environmental sound changed as a result of composing Sun After Rain 26:54 – The relationship to the listener31:30 – How Jordon experiences and experiments with time in music 40:50 – How art helps deepen Jordon’s relationship with the earth 33:04 – A question Jordon is asking right now in his work46:40 – What gives Jordon hope right now 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Rev. Lanny Kuester is a writer, poet, pastor, speaker, and community leader. He has traveled extensively and has studied with spiritual elders from around the world. Lanny works as an ordained minister in the Minnesota area and currently serves with Mendota Heights United Church of Christ. There, he helps host bimonthly “Meditations for the Earth” nights, as well as community events that draw upon the wisdom from Native American Medicine Wheel traditions to foster personal reflection and connection with the natural world. Lanny’s publications include Secrets of the Grand Canyon: A Spiritual Journey, and The Story of the Little Turtle. In this episode, we discuss:3:37 – How Lanny’s connection with nature developed throughout his life10:50  – What roles nature has played in Lanny’s sense of spirituality15:01  – Experiences and people that have helped strengthen the bridge between nature and faith, connecting to the environment through writing and poetry23:30 – Lanny’s experience starting the Spirituality & Environment nights at UCC Mendota Heights28:44 – Lanny’s learning with Medicine Wheel traditions and the four elements 35:45 - Seeing the natural world as a source of energy and beauty40:12 – How art helps heal and deepen Lanny’s relationship with the earth43:43 – A question that Lanny is asking right now47:47 – What gives Lanny hope right now: a powerful gift given by a tiny bunnyLanny’s Book: Secrets of the Grand Canyon🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Anne-Marie Houy Shaver is a musicologist, flutist, and educator originally from the Texas Hill Country. Her research interests involve ecomusicology, listening practices, and contemporary music/performance. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in musicology at Arizona State University, where she is a part of ASU’s Acoustic Ecology Lab. She is also receiving training in the Deep Listening Certificate Program. Anne-Marie aims to use acoustic ecology to encourage community engagement, increased sonic awareness, and a connection to the environment. As a performer, she enjoys promoting new music, especially through the use of extended techniques.  In this episode, we discuss:2:36 – What led to Anne-Marie’s converging interests between music and environment5:22 – Anne-Marie’s research: applying ecomusicological frameworks to composers' works7:56 – Representing vs. capturing environmental sounds in music  9:46 – Anne-Marie’s Deep Listening practice13:29 – Listening as a practice of compassion that instills inclusion, openness, and awareness  16:11 – Listening as a mode of meditation 18:06 – Multi-sensory and embodied listening 21:02 – How Anne-Marie’s listening practice has affected her performance practice as a musician24:46 – Hosting an Ecomusicology workshop at Enchanted Rock Park 28:35 – Anne-Marie’s experience with soundwalking  34:22 – ASU’s Acoustic Ecology Lab37:32 – How art helps heal Anne-Marie’s relationship to the Earth40:21 – A questions that Anne-Marie is asking right now42:55 – What gives Anne-Marie hope right now Follow Anne-Marie’s work on her website.Check out Arizona State University’s Acoustic Ecology Lab!For more information on Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening, visit The Center for Deep Listening.🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth 🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earth CC Megan Reich Podcast Artwork: Alex Reich Music: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Dr. Mark Pedelty is a Professor of Communication Studies, Affiliate Professor of Anthropology, and Fellow at the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. His research deals with music and sound as environmental communication. In 2012 Mark published “Ecomusicology: Rock, Folk, and the Environment.” Mark published "A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental Activism” in 2016, a book about environmentalist musicians and movements in Washington State and British Columbia. As part of a linked project, Mark produces, directs, and composes music videos for Ecosong.Net, watershed districts, and environmental nonprofits.•3:51 – Mark’s journey towards converging his musical and ecological interests•8:54 – The focus on community in Mark’s research•14:25 – Musicians as “cultural interlocutors” •18:48 –Re-creating a sense of place and locality through music •23:32 – Mark’s EcoSong.net music video project•28:37 – Advice for people aspiring to use their voice to spread awareness of larger issues•33:10 – The role that listening plays in Mark’s research and musicianship•41:21 – Bioacoustics and the semiotics of sound•45:13 – How art helps heal Mark’s connection with the earth•51:08 – Questions coming up for Mark, where he wants to go from here•55:12 – What gives Mark hope right nowFollow Mark's Work: EcoSong.Net (Environmental Music Videos)A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental ActivismEcomusicology: Rock, Folk, and the Environment 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Lisanne’s work as a scientist, minister, and poet reflects the intimate intersection between spirituality and the natural world. Lisanne is a biology professor at University of Northwestern St. Paul, a minister with Mendota Heights United Church of Christ, and a published poet. She holds a Master’s degree in Biology and PhD in Cell Biology and Biochemistry, as well as Master’s Degree in Theology and Religion, and a second PhD in Systematic Theology and Divinity. Her scientific and scholarly research work at the convergence of two seemingly disparate disciplines: Biology and Theology.In this episode, we discuss: •3:17 - Where Lisanne’s love of nature and spirituality started, and how she was gradually able to integrate these strands •9:44 – Lisanne’s journey with finding belonging in an academic world where she “asked broader questions than science allowed.” •13:07 – Lisanne’s new book: pursuing a philosophy of nature through a faith-based perspective •18:57 – Nature’s inherent value and the concept of teleology•22:44 – Lisanne’s poetry practice and how it contributes to her connection to nature •25:58 – Creating connection and community through writing •27:44 – Learning to go within through meditation•35:19 – Being in her garden as her daily meditation practice •37:31 – Lisanne’s work as a marine biologist•42:36 – The impact of the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami on Lisanne’s research team•46:49 – A special visit to a church while trapped in Tokyo•50:17 – Lisanne’s favorite places in the natural world•54:27 – Advice for people who have many different passions and interests•57:01 –How art helps deepen Lisanne’s connection with the Earth•59:26 – A question that Lisanne is asking right now•1:02:07 – Lisanne shares a poem with us •1:05:17 – What is giving Lisanne a sense of hope right now Some of Lisanne's recent writings:A Trinitarian Theology of Nature In Praise of Creation (poetry book) 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)

Welcome to Art Heals Earth, a podcast that explores how creative expression helps strengthen and heal our human connection with the planet. In this episode, I share the philosophy behind the podcast, the types of episodes to come, and welcome you aboard the journey! New episodes will be released every Monday. 🎧  Subscribe to Art Heals Earth on iTunes 🌟  Follow Art Heals Earth on Instagram: @art.heals.earth🌎  Visit Our Website: artheals.earthCC Megan ReichPodcast Artwork: Alex ReichMusic: Kai Engel, "Scenery" (CC-BY)