As artists, I believe it is important for us to know where our materials and tools come from. Whether that’s where our paint is from or who made it and what their values are, or who made the paintbrushes we use and how those bristles were sourced or what the handle was before it was a handle, I firmly believe it is our responsibility to know what and who created the very things we use to create art from.
Now more than ever, it is important for us to be self-aware of how our art impacts us and our community, but there are few times in history when it has been so important to be aware of the impacts our art has on people in other countries who we will never, ever meet or know. Art has always existed as a means of expression, and richer emotions have always led to richer, stronger moments in art. Whether we’re discussing the French Revolution, or a world war, or a social movement concerning human rights or oppressive governing systems being overthrown, or moments of awareness of the world around us… art has always been present, and artists have always been there in the riots and the chaos - some of us will be at the front, some of us will be caught up in the eye of the storm, but we have always been there. Art goes hand-in-hand with social changes; it always has and it always will.
We are in a climate crisis, which threatens all life on earth. All humans. All societies. All cultures. All animals. All plants. There is nowhere left on this planet to run to in order to escape it. Take a moment to absorb that: we still haven’t discovered every part of it. We still haven’t explored most of the ocean, and we still haven’t reached every nook and cranny of every forest or counted every rock on every mountain, or ran our fingers over every inch of every cave system… and yet none of that will offer us a sanctuary to escape the hell we’ve raised.
We can’t run, and we can’t hide. There are only two options left: 1: Cower, and wait for the day we burn alongside the rest of this planet - this planet which we have called home since the first living organisms existed on a lump of rock billions of years ago. 2: Fight to save this planet, and the lives which are lived on it every day - even if we’ll never personally witness the lives of those we save by fighting.
One of the biggest ways we can fight is to take responsibility for our impact. Be that the things we buy, how we travel, the foods we eat or the way we power our homes - it all has an impact and it all leaves a footprint. As artists, we often only think of the emotional impact viewing our art will have on the audience. But it’s time for us to consider the physical, economical and environmental impact of the things we use to create our art.
That is why I genuinely enjoy promoting A Good Company. Whether someone uses the affiliate links or not is secondary to me. I care more about informing people of the possibilities and good causes than I do about whether I financially gain anything from doing so. That is why I love talking about A Good Company and their notebooks made from stone paper. Limestone is what was used to create some of the most iconic classical statues in human history; now we have found a way to use it to create paper and notebooks and envelopes and boxes. Paper doesn’t have to be made from trees ever again - but most people would laugh at that idea.
Think about it: paper made from stone, pens made from grass, phone cases made from plants. How is that anything but incredible? By raising awareness of how A Good Company make their products, and the impact every single product has on people and the environment around the world, I can encourage more people to stop cowering as they wait for the world to burn. Because we’re not out of time yet - we can still fight to save our home, and the homes of every single life on this planet.
Crises aren’t solved by big, flashy action scenes like they are in the movies. The world doesn’t change in single, monumental ways.
Crises are solved by ordinary people doing small things to keep humanity’s soul intact. The world changes when trillions upon trillions of tiny, insignificant movements and changes add up to create colossal waves of change - whether for better or worse.
If the only way you can fight is to take responsibility for the products you buy, that will still add up to more changes than you will ever know. Maybe you fed a child who you will never meet and who doesn’t speak your language or know your name. Maybe you helped a girl graduate school. Maybe you gave a cup of clean water to someone who will never see your face. Maybe you planted a tree which will stand for another few hundred years and become home to generations of different animals. Maybe you helped make the air safer to breathe.
“It doesn’t matter what you buy.” Except it does. What you buy can make all the difference in the world. And isn’t that what art has always done?
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Photo by Ann H: https://www.pexels.com/photo/my-secret-plan-to-rule-the-world-book-1765033/
