the field guide to material encounters

 

Our world is in a state of change, and we are called upon to create, re-discover, and re-imagine the materials, techniques, and ideas that will support our collective well-being. The Field Guide is a space to share regenerative and innovative practices and materials, and the people who champion them. Some of these entries will promote ideas that are still theoretical, some will be quirky, and still others will represent established projects. These selections are by no means exhaustive. They are intended to reveal paths to follow and possibilities to consider.

We hope to capture goings-on and thinking that promote environmental, social, racial, and economic health. And we hope that these ideas will spark your own creativity and influence your art practices and thinking.

 

The field guides

  • stack of books

    Library

    It starts with a story. We’ve tried to collect as many titles as our arms could hold. There are so many wonderful, thought-provoking, game changing reads. We’ll start with these, and add more as we go.

  • Technique

    Technique considers ways of being in the world as an artist of conscience – so we’re looking at educational institutions, residencies, and models of innovative, regenerative practice.

  • People

    Artists, researchers, writers, designers, scientists, philosophers and professionals who are leading in the field of ecological practice, working with waste, re-centering place-based practice, and more.

  • Material

    We will include resources for natural dyes, leads on unconventional and re-imagined materials, a few shops, and a handful of entries chosen for pure sensory delight.

  • Research

    A focus on people pushing the bounds of material knowledge and seeking ways to apply their findings to art, craft, and commerce. We hope these examples will provide a-ha moments, and perhaps provoke your own ideas in material exploration.