Globally Interconnected
Light fixture hung in the main entrance way at the Los Angeles Public Library. Earth Day
I was 9 years old when Earth Day was initiated. I lived in Los Angeles County and the pollution in the air blocked our vision of the mountains and even the tall buildings downtown. The Environmental Protection Agency was in the process of being created and it took the visionary work of Gaylord Nelson, a Governor of Wisconsin and later a US Senator, to become what eventually would be known as “The Father of Earth Day.”
Nelson’s idea has now grown into a worldwide celebration for the planet.
Mandala: meant to represent fullness, wholeness, and infinity, helping us understand what exists beyond the world we inhabit
My most memorable Earth Day as a child was spent on the beach near the Long Beach Museum of Art which would, ironically, become the setting for my wedding 22 years later. This site always drew me in. Perhaps it was the art, perhaps the ocean, perhaps the geometry of its early architecture. I simply love this site.
Overlooking the ocean, the Museum of Art acts as a lighthouse beacon for me; always aware of its presence, I would stand on the beach and occasionally look up, as if it were checking in on me, guarding me. I would gauge my distance walking along the beach by looking up toward the museum to see how far I had wandered.
On this particular Earth Day, I had painted my face and wore a wild and bold-colored dress with large flowers upon it. I celebrated and laughed with my friends as we honored Earth Day by picking up trash upon the beach. We did not mind picking up trash. We knew the importance of honoring our Earth. Somehow, as 9-year olds, we understood that she was something important enough to protect and take care of.
Long Beach Museum of Art
Global Interconnectedness refers to many things, technology wise, but it also refers to the ability to understand and function in an increasingly multicultural, international, and interconnected environmental way.
Mandala: a symbol of the universe in its ideal form, and its creation signifies the transformation of a universe of suffering into one of joy
I attended Humboldt State University when I turned 20 years old. I moved after my Sophomore year of college and wanted to live in the Redwoods. I wasn’t as dedicated an environmentalist to live ON the Redwoods like Julia “Butterfly” Hill and her beloved tree “Luna”. Rather, I was drawn to the place where the forest met the ocean. So, I moved to McKinleyville and attended school in Arcata, California.
Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly known as Humboldt State University)
There was an awakening offered to me during this time in my life and I took it!
Julia “Butterfly” Hill stay on “Luna,” Hill could often be seen climbing barefoot and without rope or harness
Humboldt State University, as of January, 2022, has joined the Cal Poly system and is now known as Cal Poly Humboldt. The University’s namesake, Humboldt, was a Scientist named Alexander Von Humboldt who was an 18th-century explorer, world famous in his time, and was the first to explain the fundamental functions of the forest for the ecosystem and climate, claiming that the world is a single interconnected organism.
This is the concept of nature as we know it today. According to Von Humboldt, everything, to the smallest creature, has its role and together makes the whole, in which humankind is just one small part (Andrea Wulf, 2015).
Mandala: an artistic representation of higher thought and deeper meaning given as a geometric symbol used in spiritual, emotional, or psychological work to focus one's attention
THE GEOMETRY IN ART & NATURE This study elaborates the premise that underpinning great works of art – invisible, beneath the surface, as it were – lies a geometrical infrastructure adhering to basic geometric principles.
In 2016, I joined my husband for a Firefighter Cancer Network Conference in Los Angeles, California. Across the street from the hotel was the Los Angeles Public Library. I had a chance to visit this library and although EVERYTHING drew in my interests, it was the geometry and art on the ceiling that held it. The lighting fixtures, the geometric mandalas balanced the color and shape, eventually adding to the strength and boldness of the building’s features.
I was captivated!
Ceiling mandalas demonstrating balanced geometric art painted on the L.A. Public Library
30 years prior to our conference, on April 29, 1986, an arsonist had set this beautiful 1925 art deco-styled building on fire causing $2 million structural damage and $20 million in damage to the contents. Hundreds of L.A. firefighters fought the devastating fire at this downtown’s Central Library. With evidence of the fire still in existence, I could still feel the sense of loss while walking through the hallways.
Demonstrating passionate feelings of discontent has long been the reputation of Los Angeles civilians. WHILE WE WERE PREPPING for the fundraising portion of the convention, We were notified by the police about thousands (approx 800,000 people) demonstrators gathering in downtown Los Angeles to protest the election of Donald Trump, spilling out past city streets to block traffic on the 101 Freeway.
With no one fully knowing the escalating emotions of these protestors, the LA Police Chief had to tell the LA Fire Chief to cancel the fundraising event. (Having lived through the LA riots, it was a wise move, but a disappointing one just the same.)
We could not risk another fire, another shooting, another violent act. Keeping the balance required making a difficult decision. The priority had to be keeping the tension at bay.
Mandalas: A form of art therapy that can reduce anxiety, tension and overall stress.
Natural light fixtures hung at the L.A. Public Library
So, does it all come down to Geometry for balance, peace and harmony? (Is THAT why we took all those classes in High School?) For me, I see the world intimately connected: Art, Nature, the passionate outbursts of human expression. Again, I return to expansion and contraction. As we compress our energy to reach our desired goals (or to illuminate the reason behind the chaos) we are also in the process of preparing for the release that accompanies expansion - the results to our labor.
Yoga: The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'Yuj', meaning 'to join' or 'to yoke' or 'to unite'. As per Yogic scriptures the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body, Humans & Nature
Ceiling painted weavings demonstrating balanced Global Interconnection at the L.A. Public Library
When I teach yoga I instruct from the perspective of unity; in my mind, everything is connected! To quote Von Humboldt, “Everything, to the smallest creature, has its role and together makes the whole, in which humankind is just one small part.”
