My path to art has been winding, but has always been connected to nature. In 2012 I fell 20 meters off a cliff while hiking and was paralyzed from the waist down for a year. During my recovery time I taught myself to draw with pens and paint with watercolor and developed a deep love for art and it’s ability to transport me to the mountains I couldn’t access in my wheelchair. After re-learning to walk I became a professional rock climber, a lifelong passion since age six. But I found myself drawn more and more to the art world, and after two years I quit professional climbing to become an artist without any training or mentorship. While this decision gave my mother many grey hairs at the time, it led to a dream career and gave me a voice in what I feel matters most- the protection and conservation of our natural world and its inhabitants.

While participating in an artist residency on Svalbard, I got to witness firsthand the changes in sea ice and the struggle of arctic marine animals. During the months of polar night I also became hooked on ocean documentaries like Seaspiracy and Mission Blue, then read every book I could find on oceanography, marine biology, and the undiscovered deep. Documentaries and books are forms of art. When I made the connection that my passion for ocean science was sparked by art, I knew the direction I wanted to take my own work in.

There has never been a more urgent need to protect and conserve our oceans. As the largest and most important earth system, it’s astonishing that only 5% has been explored, especially while we spend billions on space exploration. But as has been proven time and time again, people tend to care about what they can see, understand, and connect with. Most people know of the ocean as waves and horizons- only what’s on top. It’s hard for them to grasp the danger the ocean is in when acidification, fishery depletion, coral bleaching, and so many other threats don’t change what the surface looks like. The vast abundance of life below is virtually unknown and unseen by the majority of the population.

The ocean covers 97% of our planet and is a driving force of the health and livability of the earth. Ocean dynamics, CO2 absorption, heat regulation, and so much more are the gears that keep our home running. The deep depths hold untold medicines and cures, the kelp forests present plastic alternatives, reef ecosystems hold secrets of symbiosis and interconnectedness. And yet, ocean science is inordinately underfunded and disregarded. It’s a constant shock to me when I bring up an ocean or sea life fact, or an abhorrent practice like shark finning, and most people have never even heard of it. Not that everyone need be as huge an ocean and natural science nerd as I am, but it’s truly astonishing that this environment that makes up the vast majority of the earth is just… ignored. And with the effects of climate change not only looming but currently ongoing, it’s frightening. Art is a communication tool, and an effective one. And I am determined to use mine to fuel emotional connection, understanding, and the desire to protect our oceans.

“To look at the surface of the ocean without knowing the sparkling web of life that is woven through its depths is to be blind to its wonders and the part it plays in making our existence possible”. -Edith Widder