Celestial Joy has been selected for inclusion in the 2012 – 2013 Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition. The award selections were made by David Cohen, editor and publisher of Artcritical. This year 157 artists representing 20 countries were accepted into the show.
Carol’s Work Included in Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Conservation Department
Remembering Gratitude
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is the premier cultural resource for the state of Indiana and a major arts-based institution for the Midwest. Currently, the museum is building a new state-of-the-art scientific research laboratory in which to house its highly respected Art Conservation Department. Carol’s Remembering Gratitude will become a permanent part of this science lab collection – per request of the Conservation Department.
“The laboratory will be a high profile feature for the museum with frequent visitors, including curators, donors, trustees, and the public. It will provide a captivating avenue for discussing artists’ materials, craftsmanship, the processes of material aging and how conservation intervenes, and the ways that science can enlighten us about our cultural patrimony – how an object was made, what materials were used by the artist, and how an object reacts with its surroundings.“ ~Dr. Gregory Dale Smith, Senior Conversation Scientist
Carol’s deliberate and intricate patination process is of particular interest to the museum laboratory. It is hoped that Remembering Gratitude will make a significant contribution in IMA’s Art Conservation Department’s studies to help understand how to best display and preserve bronze works; and specifics on how conservation intervenes.
Artist For Conservation Foundation
Carol is a member of the acclaimed Artists for Conservation Foundation. The foundation limits the number of artists it represents and Carol is proud to be part of their worthy mission of exceptional support for the preservation of our natural world. “It is indeed an honor to be an active member of the Artists for Conservation community. I enthusiastically anticipate my work – in cooperation with others -making a significant contribution to conservation efforts.” The Artists for Conservation Foundation (AFC) is a non-profit, international organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of the natural world. Based in Vancouver, Canada, the Foundation represents the world’s leading collective of artists focused on nature and wildlife, with a membership spanning five continents and twenty-seven countries. The organization’s mission is to support wildlife and habitat conservation, biodiversity, sustainability and environmental education through art that celebrates our natural heritage.
Guest Artist Feature Article in Phoenix Home and Garden
View a PDF of Connecting With Nature, a feature article on Carol Alleman and her growing forest of bronze vessels in Phoenix Home and Garden.
Carol Featured in American Bungalow
Keep up with Carol’s latest bronze works in the extremely informative and beautifully designed American Bungalow, a magazine for Arts and Crafts collectors and enthusiasts.
National Pollinators Week
This is National Pollination Week – a week for not only celebration but even more so a welcome reminder to create lifestyle choices and habits that protect our beloved and vital pollinators. Six years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown to be an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The growing concern for pollinators is a sign of progress, but it is vital that we continue to maximize our collective effort. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture signs the proclamation every year. [Read more…]
USDA and EPA Report on Honeybee Health
Kim Flottum of Catch the Buzz (kim@BeeCulture.com) has just posted this recent report on the status of our honeybees. It is a worthy read and even more worthy of not only our attention but our personal action. We must – each of us – commit to new practices in eliminating our use of pesticides. The honeybees are wisely and profoundly showing us the results of decades of abuse and neglect. Our future food sources and health are clearly at stake. Please read below and continue to remain abreast of the latest developments and political/regulatory resistances. Each of us indeed hold the power to create change – yet we must make the choices in our daily lives that demonstrate our true commitment. The power of even a very small group of committed people is enormous and perhaps the only avenue to bring change to our world. Read below….and particularly the final paragraph. [Read more…]
Celebrating Earth Day
April 26th is Earth Day – a day profoundly worthy of our attention. While we celebrate on the 26th of April, my hope is that it is more than a day of recognition and celebration. I hope it is a day of renewed commitment to our individual habits of truly caring for this miraculous earth and her infinite gifts to us. No matter where we live, there is always nature in some form or another calling for our attention – our appreciation and our respect. If you have not yet viewed the amazingly wonderful BBC video titled Planet Earth I hope you will this year. Much of the footage is the result of first time ever capturing remote places and creatures on film – it is beyond miraculous. Nature not only brings us utter beauty in all her seasons, she also inspires us to follow her wisdom in infinite ways. She is a wise and wondrous teacher. My work as an artist has been richly and consistently inspired by the map of nature – the wisdom of nature – the rich and potent connection of nature to the spiritual realms.
Perhaps this year on Earth Day you might commit to adding one more element of caring to your daily habits. It may be something as simple as noticing and respecting insects instead of simply squishing them with your foot – closely watching the spring budding in progress with deep appreciation and awe – walking outdoors daily with an open heart of gratitude – and planting something – anything – and caring for it as it grows. Planet Earth is not the only living planet but as its stewards, it is ours alone to nurture and appreciate. It is our home on this earthly journey and caring for it respects not only the earth but ourselves at once. In reality, there is no separation between it and us – we are one. Caring for our blessed earth is indeed caring ourselves and each other – today and for the many generations to come.
The Trillium – Springing Us into Awareness
We are now thoroughly into the wonderful, renewing energies of spring! The beautiful crocus, tulips, daffodils and trillium are each blooming their little heads off – a display that with a little attention can effortlessly spring us into an empowering awareness. No matter where you live, there are many indications of spring amidst us. In the woodlands, the trillium is now blooming quietly – perfectly in its nature of threes. The trillium blooms with a three slender sepals, three petals, a three part ovary surrounded by six (3+3) stamen, and its leaves spread in whirls of three. Three is a divine number of creative power – and is symbolic for many in various forms: beginning – middle – end; father – mother – child; morning – noon – night; the three blessed jewels; Father – Son – Holy Spirit. This marvelous, simple woodland plant blooms quietly – echoing how we often bloom ourselves. One of my bronze, limited edition vessels is titled Trillium and inspired by this beloved plant.
Ants enable the trillium to sow its seeds, eating away the oil rich appendage and abandoning the seeds to sprout. Ants – tenacious, patient, community-builders – help the trillium flourish. Perhaps we might embrace and follow the wisdom of nature. Many trilliums are either protected or endangered. The quiet work of the ants, sowing the seeds supports their extended life. Do we appreciate the “ants” in our lives – the vast synchronicities (experiences, people and gifts) often working through invisible channels for our highest good? Trillium, with a little attention, can bring us not only the pleasure of its simple beauty but also an empowering reminder that there are indeed many people and/or events working, this very moment, on our behalf completely invisible to us. And…it may also remind us of the infinite gift of being an ant in life through quietly, invisibly giving.
May this new spring season bring to you those quiet, reflective moments that quietly, while richly empower you. Perhaps it is the season for you to bloom in all your unique perfection – trusting your support to the invisible world and gracing the world with your beauty.
Pollinator Partnership Opportunity
Act now to support the Pollinator Partnership KICK START Program of bringing educational awareness of the importance of the bee population to the schools in North America. Only two weeks remain in the kickstart program and donations begin as low as one dollar – everyone can participate. I am a firm believer that though we may not be able to move mountains alone – if each of us participates in whatever way possible, even the smallest gift will indeed become a vital act in making an enormous and positive difference.
The goal of the program is to support teachers, administrators, after school programs, churches, and more in guiding students through a discovery process that will increase 3,000 students’ understanding in science, math, and language arts by connecting them to plants, pollinators, food, and gardens by creating habitat for pollinators with their BeeSmart(TM) School Garden Kit. They/I believe that getting children outside and into the garden is the most valuable part of this experience.
Raising $15K will put the gift of environmental education in the hands of at least 3,000 3rd through 6th grade students across the United States.
Each Kit has components that can be used at school, at home, and online to maximize the learning experience. Although they know a diverse group of schools will be using this Kit, they have included the California School Standards at the end of each Lesson Plan as a point of reference. There will also be recommendations that will help connect community resources to the outdoor classroom.
The BeeSmart™ School Garden Kit Includes:
- Pre- and post-tests
- 10 lesson plans with accompanying reproducible worksheets
- Materials for lesson plan activities
- Reproducible handouts
- Access to additional BeeSmart™ School Garden Kit materials on the Pollinator Partnership website at www.pollinator.org.
The Pollinator Partnership (P2) is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research. Signature initiatives include the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign), National Pollinator Week, and the Ecoregional Planting Guides.
For more information please visit the Pollinator Partnership website at www.pollinator.org.
Please consider a donation today – at any level – and support this worthy program while also giving support to our children and the educational programs so vital to their healthy growth – and future contributions to our planet.
