Produce a creative visual (or multisensory) response to one of the course texts and an issue in sustainable development engaged by the text. Select the text to which you respond and present your response to the class on the assigned days. The response could be something you find that was created by someone else, such as a photograph or a sculpture, or it could be something you create, such as a drawing. The response must be accompanied by a brief written explanation (1 page) of the points of contact between the text and the particular artistic representation.
Below are a few notable examples from past semesters:
“A Crankie about Hope” by Cassidy Quillen (Fall 2015)
“Ceremony” Morgan DePue (Fall 2015)
“Earthseed: The Books of the Living,” an illustrated book by Alex Payne (Fall 2018)
“Silent Spring,” an original song by Hannah Cullen (Fall 2019)
“Ode to those who hadn’t done it” by Cody Hudgins (Fall 2019)
“An animation based on Parable of the Sower” by Noah Altman (Fall 2019)
“Fleeing LA” by Urijah Morrison (Fall 2019)
“Parable of the Sower” by Lillie Persinger (Fall 2019)
“Anthropogenia” and “Storytelling” by Lauren Hinson (Fall 2020)
SD 3800 Voices in Sustainable Development 
The wind stirred the dust.
The people were starving.
“She’s angry with us,”
the people said.
“Maybe because of that
Ck’o’yo magic
we were fooling with
We better send someone to ask our forgiveness.”
They noticed hummingbird
was fat and shiny
he had plenty to eat.
they asked how come he
looked so good.
He said
Down below
Three worlds below this one
everything is
green
all the plants are growing
the flowers are blooming.
I go down there
and eat
——
On the fourth day
something buzzed around
inside the jar.
they lifted the buckskin
and a big green fly
with yellow feelers on his head
flew out of the jar.
“Fly will go with me,” Hummingbird said.
“We’ll go see
what she wants.”
they flew to the fourth world
below.
Down there
was another kind of daylight
everything was blooming
and growing
everything was so beautiful.
For my creative response, I chose to represent the Hummingbird and the Fly in Silko’s Ceremony. The piece is a 6” by 6” fabric collage with embroidered appliques, and the main backing is patterned fabric sewn onto felt. I chose bright, lively colors to show the flourishing life of the fourth world. There are flowers and a butterfly representing the world blooming, reeds as a nod to Reed Woman, and of course, Hummingbird and the greenbottle Fly with yellow feelers. Despite Tayo seeing a bright green hummingbird in the novel, I chose the rufous hummingbird because it is the most common hummingbird in New Mexico, and I wanted to contrast the blue background fabric with orange. Also, you may not be able to tell from the photo, but I have stuffed the main section of the hummingbird’s body so it doesn’t just lie flat on the fabric. This choice was due to the description of Hummingbird as “fat and shiny” with “plenty to eat” and the poem at the very beginning of the novel about keeping stories and life stored in the belly.
The hummingbird first appears to Tayo as a sign of hope that the drought is coming to an end, signaling Tayo restoring balance by nearing the end of his ceremony (page 88). Flies appear throughout the story as disrespected pests, but Tayo remembers when Josiah taught him of the value of the greenbottle fly in Pueblo culture (page 93). Fly was there to help people who had made mistakes, representing the opportunity for Tayo to find graciousness and forgiveness through reconciliation with nature. The butterfly is also reminiscent of the way Josiah and Tayo branded the cows, not with initials or a farm name (representing direct ownership), but instead with a symbol of freedom, showing their acceptance of the wayward nature of the herd. I’m sure Rocky would have found this ridiculous, but Josiah and Tayo knew how to accept and work with the nature of animals, instead of punishing them and trying to force them to conform to conventional animal husbandry practices. I also chose a square as the main shape; a balanced 4 corners and 4 sides, echoing the importance and sacred nature of the four directions throughout the novel:
“Okay,” Buzzard said,
“Go back and tell them I’ll purify the town.”
And he did—
first to the east
then to the south
then to the west
and finally to the north.
Everything was set straight again
after all that ck’o’yo magic.
Throughout the novel, poems are interwoven with the narrative, complementing and paralleling Tayo’s journey through his healing ceremony, and I wanted the use of fabric and thread to represent this.
Link to the picture: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12F-mtPJyrRwqfFUC0hYoCuTrCAceDpSmVUPCEQPCjgI/edit?usp=sharing
Aaron Batty
PLACES THAT HOLD US
For my creative response, I wanted to explore the idea of healing places presented in Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, which has many themes regarding land and its importance. We see how strengthening his connection with the land is part of what helps to heal Tayo. He remembers places of significance from his childhood and rediscovers some strength and memories he had lost or forgotten. I wanted to identify some places throughout my life that are special to me.
I chose to explore places from my hometown of Cary, North Carolina, and my college town of Boone, North Carolina. This decision came from this quote in Ceremony; “Things which don’t shift and grow are dead things” (Page 152). I have grown as a person from who I was when I lived back home to whom I have become after living in Boone. For both locations, I selected places that hold a valuable place in my heart and my past.
In my hometown, I felt closest to my backyard, my grandpa’s garden, a local park, and a lake. I moved into the house my family currently lives in when I was two years old, so this is where I grew up. I have many fond memories of playing in my backyard, exploring the woods, and fishing in the pond. This is a place that shaped me when I was a kid, and it feels nostalgic whenever I come home. My grandparents live very close by, and I’ve spent a lot of time at their house. My grandpa’s garden is a place of strength and perseverance. It is a beautiful place that he has invested so much time into. This is also the place where my childhood dogs and my beloved cat are buried. It is a place where I can return to sit with my lost friends and feel connected. I feel safe here, and it reminds me of this quote from Ceremony; “His protection was there in the sky, in the position of the sun, in the pattern of the stars” (Page 278).
For the last two places in my hometown, there is a local park with hiking trails, called Hemlock Bluffs, and Jordan Lake. My mom took my brothers and me to Hemlock Bluffs frequently when we were kids. It was a place for us to explore and learn about nature, by walking on the trails and discovering new things in the small museum. This experience is part of what gave me a deep appreciation for our Earth. In Ceremony; “The earth was here first, along with the sun and the moon and other permanent powers” (Page 23). Lastly, Jordan Lake is a large lake in Wake County that I enjoyed going to with my friends as a teenager. However, it is highly polluted due to toxic waste dumping by powerful companies. This reminds me of the part in Ceremony where fragility is discussed, and we get the quote, “This world is fragile” (Page 57).
Next, in my college town of Boone, my four places are the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Greenway, a beautiful hiking trail, and my favorite camping spot. The parkway has turned into a place where I can have a quiet moment, removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I can sit there and look out at the vast expanse of mountains and trees, and I feel that I am in the right place. In Ceremony, “They had seen mountains shift and rivers change course and even disappear back into the earth; but always there were these stars” (Page 285). The Greenway has become a sanctuary of sorts for me. It is my Boone version of Hemlock Bluffs back home, a little piece of my hometown here in my new home.
There are so many beautiful hiking trails here in the mountains. I love living in a place where outdoor recreation is so readily available. For my last place, I have my favorite camping spot that has given me many beautiful getaway weekends to reconnect with nature. Living in Boone has been such a special experience for me and reminds me of the quote, “It is the people who belong to the mountain” (Page 153). All of these places help me to feel grounded and connected to something bigger than myself. In Ceremony, “His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything” (Page 151). Healing is done through connections. I feel healed when I am in these places that hold me and surrounded by the strength of my community.
Here is the link to the document with my images:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AJ_vSdYxJF5UkuSbW6CEbglj9CXovhhBJ_Dj08O-O18/edit?usp=sharing
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. Penguin, 2009.
**All page numbers are for the Kindle edition of this novel.
Sophia Hall
For my creative piece I chose to do a painting inspired by Parables of the Sower. This painting done by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is of a scene of mountains, river, a field and trees that resembled the seeds that were already planted. He also painted some people coming to hear Jesus’s sermon across the river.
This painting ties into Parables of the Sower because this was it includes people worshiping Jesus, which religion was one big theme of this book. It includes some mountains and a river, which this novel also focuses on the environment and sustainability. Towards the lower left corner, a peasant is painted putting seeds into the ground, and this painting also shows the fields where the seeds that this peasant has planted has grown and multiplied in the background.
The style and details of this painting was inspired by Bruegel’s return to Italy and his drawings of the Alps. This painting of a landscape depicts the relationship between the natural world, every day realism and the reception of the World of God (religion). This painting leads the audience to see the beauty of both things, and lets the audience see how our lives as people and the natural world influences each other.
This painting also guides the audience to think about how the divine and mundane can coexist with each other. How Jesus preaching was included in this painting was to guide people to think deeper about the details of the painting and the narrative that’s also connected with the painting.
Link to the painting: https://www.timkenmuseum.org/collection/parable-of-the-sower/
Ciara Gurganus
For my creative response, I chose to create a short story reminiscent of the captivating words of Octavia Butler in The Parable of the Sower. A story set in the 2020s resembles a post-apocalyptic climate story where the main character, Lauren Olamina, faces consistent adversity in the face of change. She creates her religion, Earthseed, which departs from the religion of her fathers and begins a new form of living. Butler critiques many of the issues occurring with the United States in the 1990s to explain how severe things will become if the issues prevalent continue. Thus, I hoped to do the same with my story. Critiquing some of the issues prevalent today.
My creative response takes place in Mumbai, India, in the year 2050. Thus, I hope to point out some of the specific issues currently residing across our world, most notably the rise of sea levels and cases of extreme natural disasters. Additionally, I hoped to draw on a critique of the current issues prevalent with ICE deportations occurring within the United States. As well as an overall critique of a capitalistic view of growth. This takes the form of the IGC (Indian Gathering Corporation) in my story, which rips away family members in the face of climate adversity. Forcing individuals out of their homes, and occasionally, in the instance of Sayed, without warning. Additionally, in comparison with Parable, Lauren’s religious guidance remains prevalent, and an overarching narrative is needed to help find solutions. In my story created this religion becomes the “peepal tree,” which acts as a spiritual guide and leverage point to resist the IGC’s brute force and removal. Sayed and Kashvi seek resistance in the form of looking towards previous civilizations and indigenous individuals of the region to find growth within the past; moreover, the guidance of familial resistance, such as Sayed’s mother’s voice. Through this, the Peepal tree helps to guide a positive change and resistance to the changing, post-apocalyptic world. The Peepal tree represents grassroots mobilization and a resistance to a capitalistic society. Sayed and Kashvi are individuals who see hope in rebuilding and adjusting, whereas the IGC acts as the typical capitalistic view of growth. The stories of Hurricane Katrina, as well as many fears that came to the area of Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, are present as well. Many marginalized areas were in danger and remain in danger of large companies coming to “rebuild” and essentially capitalize from a blank slate, oftentimes benefiting off previously impoverished groups. The IGC is essentially the same; the groups’ labeling of “dead zones” is secretly a ploy for the ability to rebuild in a capitalistic view, whereas Sayed and Kashvi see a chance for grassroots and inclusion of alternate ways of knowing to rebuild. In terms of climate change discussions, Butler consistently spoke about drought and fire. For my story, I wished to shed light upon the power of water, highlighting the extreme variability that comes with climate change, such as extreme rain, as we witnessed with Hurricane Helene and the power of natural disasters. The typhoon that occurs and changes Mumbai forever is one similar to what we witnessed in areas such as Chimney Rock. Villages have been destroyed. What will be the next steps to rebuild? Allow for capitalism to reign supreme, or resist and create a narrative of your own. Digging our roots and remaining strong, “Becoming the Peepal Tree”
Link to Story – Creative Response – Become The Peepal Tree – Google Docs
Ayden Dayhoff
While visiting the Art Institute of Chicago in March, I came across a very provocative mixed media piece by Lubaina Himid featured in the ‘Project A Black Planet’ exhibit. The piece displays Haitian General and Statesman Toussaint Louverture, who was a leading figure in the Haitian Revolution from 1791 until his death in 1803 at the age of 59. As mentioned in the piece, Toussaint was enslaved until he was 45 years old and went on to successfully organize the largest slave rebellion in history and broker deals with the French, Spanish, and English to guide Haiti in the direction of its eventual independence. The Haitian revolution was a watershed moment in the global decolonial struggle outlined by Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth. Though it preceded the second round of decolonization that Fanon was a part of in the 20th century, it has loomed large in the decolonial imaginary that inspired the struggles to come. Haiti became the first and only former Black slave colony to establish independence as a sovereign nation, which speaks to Fanon’s idea of the objects of history becoming its subjects. Moreover, the slaves embodied what it meant to be ‘the wretched of the earth’ because they were the lowest of the low in Haiti, a class of people rendered sub-human. When the French refused to abolish colonial slavery after their 1789 revolution, the Haitian revolution violently confronted their hypocritical Enlightenment values. Haitian slaves were objects to the French, but through a dialectical reversal of the violence of colonization they regained their humanity and emerged as fully actualized subjects capable of their own self-determination. The piece also frames Toussaint and Haiti’s story as marginalized in the world historical canon and emphasizes its connection to contemporary racism in European society. Newspaper clippings exhibit racist policies and violence against the Black British population throughout the 1980’s. One fragment reads “When the acid raindrops keep falling on your head.” It’s hard to discern details from most of these clippings but I think Himid is drawing a series of connections regarding the ongoing relationship between colonialism, racism, and environmental justice that continues to shape contemporary society. She reminds us as well, like Fanon, that decolonization is a process that doesn’t end when the colonizers are expelled It’s cultural logic and systems of economic domination pervade in deeply entangled ways across the world that has emerged in its image.
Link to image:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15lsCrLIGDbnJiLxs68ifXGO-Qj8F_8fvG3IBsSIdu5E/edit?usp=sharing
Shaping God, Shaping Man
By Sofie Crump
For my Creative Response, I’ve chosen to respond to Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower by exploring further both EarthSeed’s foundational beliefs and the nature of end-of-days Evangelical religious media. My response took inspiration from the formats of religious tracts. These thin, often sinlge-paged, evangelical pamphlets often detail the heroing day that Christ will return to Earth and urge you to prepare by repenting and committing yourself to God. These religious tracts appeared nearly everywhere I went as a child growing up in rural Appalachia. In every diner we ate at, every mom-and-pop shop we stopped at, these wallet-sized flyers, complete with some ornate decoration on the front cover, seemed to exist too.
This was one of my earliest introductions to evangelism. These flyers often include bible verses, recommended prayers for the reader, and some kind of ominous warning message describing all of the horrible things that will happen to you if you do not accept Christ before the end times arrive. The simple message of these tracts pointed to the notion that the only one who can save you is Jesus Christ. For now you must accept Him into your heart and wait until His return to be saved. Earthseed is starkly different from these Bible Belt branches of Christianity because it preached that God is Change, and Change can be brought about by man.
While reading Butler’s Parable of the Sower, I thought often of these little tracts and where I most-often find them today. Typically in a rather small diner off of some back road where only two local elderly folks sit at the high top enjoying their lunch. Often in some makeshift rack made of plastic and a few wooden dowels. Often so covered in dust that your finger print lies clearly on the leaflet once you touch it. Many of their vibrant colors slowly being sunbleached. It often feels like a scene straight out of the apocalypse, but this is reality.
Our cosmologies and religious beliefs can do so much to shape who we are as individuals, as well as how we function as a society. The epistemologies of religions can shape our value systems and how we respond to changes that might affect these value systems. In Judeo-Christian theologies, the messiah’s arrival will come when the apocalypse occurs, and this will save all of His devoted followers. In Buddhist doctrine, the arrival of the next Buddha, Maitreya, can only occur during a prosperous time, which will bring about further prosperity for the followers of the Buddha. Lauren’s Earthseed does not wait for the arrival of a greater force. Rather, she affirms that man shapes God and that God then shapes man. “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you” (Butler, pp. 3). This forces the followers of Earthseed to act proactively rather than reactively. Since God is change, and we therefore hold God in our hands, we cannot sit idly by and wait for him to save us as the world crumbles around us. We must act now to try and save what we can and create a better world for our prosperity. If not this, then we must conceptualize a way to save mankind. When we work hard at these things, God provides the materials necessary.
With these differences in foundational beliefs in mind, I created some of my own religious tracts, this time based on verses from Earthseed: The Books of the Living. The tracts urge people to act on their own rescue and acknowledge their role in the rebuilding of a collapsed society. I quoted the Earthseed verses, since religious tracts often do this with other doctrines, and included messages of urgency, which are also nearly always included in said tracts. The finished tracts can be seen below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12qzEKXuDlsf4ntDeG_IGuxveHMgDxsHGKAGHDW2ybPg/edit?usp=sharing
The World Builder.
I saw a beaver this weekend at camp broadstone and it inspired some thoughts that tie back into our readings. Beavers are family creatures, they build their dams to protect their young and create more habit for the plants they munch upon. They change the environment around them, making it a new space that promotes the growth of other species. Bringing about more diversity, life, and overall good vibes. The world builder, by putting in effort of making its own life better and doing what beavers do best, it betters the world around it. I feel like this reflects with all the books we read, from Fanon, to Ceremonies, to now Parable of the Sower, to better the world you must first go through your own journey, either education, ceremonies of healing, or prepping a backpack out of fear. All of these slowly build up and make yourself more yourself as well as improving the world around you. We do not live in a vacuum, we affect one another deeply. Letting our own inner worlds run unchecked, without healing, without education, without change, we can struggle to change the world around us. All of our readings came back to one theme, figure out your own life then you can move onto changing the world and to help one another. And it can be a chain reaction, letting people know it is possible, to heal yourself to then help or at least inspire others to do similarly.
To teach peace to oneself, through daily actions, adding one stick at a time to the dam to build something marvelous. We can tell and be told what peace is but that doesn’t get us very far. Peace is an experience of a daily battle with oneself versus the world. You can only teach yourself peace. And in my mind peace is not the lack of violence or destruction or turmoil, it is how you react to those, it is to encompass all, rather than working to get it out of the system entirely. We will never have peace if we view it within its physical forms but rather can find it in your inner world. Peace is a state with no borders.
So I embroidered World builder and teach peace onto a shirt as a reminder and I can bring it with me if I have to run away into the woods.
-elan
Out of This World or Out of Touch?
For my creative response, I painted a picture of a rocket leaving the destroyed Earth and taking off to Mars. The fire and smoke from the engine are burning the person standing on Earth. This depicts the overall theme that there are bigger problems that need to be solved on Earth currently, but instead billions of dollars are being spent on space exploration. While it could be argued that scientific research on space is important, it seems extremely tone-deaf to not recognize that that money could be better spent on the well-being of the people on Earth who are experiencing extreme inequalities and negative environmental impacts. My painting is based off of chapter 3 in Parable of the Sower.
In Chapter 3 of Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler opens the chapter with a paragraph on how an astronaut was killed in her mission to Mars. In the book, space travel is presented as a distant, almost mythical hope for the survival of humanity from Lauren’s point of view. Lauren’s father rejects this idea, considering it a waste of precious time and resources at a time when people are struggling to survive on Earth. This scene illustrates a major conflict in both the novel and our actual world: the desire to escape Earth versus the urgent need to heal it. It would have felt like a lost opportunity if I didn’t relate this scene to the recent 11-minute trip to space including Katy Perry and 5 other wealthy women.
Today, the same tension exists as billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos invest billions of dollars in private space travel as poverty, climate change, and inequality grow. Today’s ultra-wealthy, like the anonymous figures in Butler’s society who continue to look to the stars, believe that space represents humanity’s future. However, their behaviors feel tone-deaf and disconnected, especially when compared to real-world socioeconomic concerns such as homelessness, food insecurity, and a lack of access to clean water, all of which are clearly depicted in Butler’s dystopian society.
In the Parable of the Sower, travel to space is associated with desperation rather than a joyride. It is a long-term goal for civilization restoration, not a fun experiment or a publicity stunt. Lauren believes “the destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars,” but she knows that dream is dependent on surviving the present. On the other hand, modern billionaires frequently view space as a backup plan rather than a shared mission—one that will most likely only benefit the wealthy. These billionaires also view travel to space as the potential for money-making space tourism.
Butler’s fictional society, like our real-life society, raises the question of whether we should spend our time and money leaving or healing a broken Earth. In both circumstances, space reflects who has authority, what they value, and who is left behind.
Margo Smith
Link to my painting
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11vwDRzjbfvb4RRKihIBIU9HgEHwoVr5j_kCHFn9xEto/edit?usp=sharing
Color Song by Maggie Rogers
Ooh-ooo
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Now that the light is fading
Silver and purple at twilight
Scenes of the day remain with us
Bright as the fire is burning bright
Blue as the sky above the lake
And blue the water flowing
White birch drooping on the shore
Her leaves of emerald glowing
The night is robed in spangled black
And soon we shall be sleeping
Beyond the moon that rides on high
The radiant dawn is creeping, creeping
Down through the leaves the sunlight
Came in shafts of gold
Now by the dying embers
We watched the day grow old
For my Creative Response Project I wanted to showcase the parallels between Maggie Rogers’ Color Song from her 2017 EP Now That the Light is Fading and Henry David Thoreau’s 1854 publication Walden. I chose this song because I already associate it with Walden, and I thought other people in the class might enjoy the song if they have not already heard it. I feel Rogers’ emphasis throughout her discography on sense-of-place and the natural world might speak to other Sustianable Development students. I have been a fan of Maggie Rogers since this first EP came out and saw her in concert my sophomore year of high school, which coincidentally is the same year I read Walden for the first time. I think I associate the two together because I was experiencing them at the same time and they share similar themes and tones. To me, Color Song is like a little bite-sized Walden.
I chose two excerpts from Walden that are complemented by the messages in Color Song, although many different passages could have been used. The first passage I chose was from the chapter Sounds. Thoreau writes, “At evening, the distant lowing of some cow in the horizon beyond the woods sounded sweet and melodious…Regularly at half past seven, in one part of the summer, after the evening train had gone by, the whippoorwills chanted their vespers for half an hour, sitting on a stump by my door, or upon the ridge pole of the house” (Thoreau, 93). Similarly, Color Song mirrors Walden’s attention to natural detail, and each work describes the surrounding ecosystems the authors found themselves in. Rogers sings,
“Blue as the sky above the lake
And blue the water flowing
White birch drooping on the shore
Her leaves of emerald glowing…
Down through the leaves the sunlight
Came in shafts of gold
Now by the dying embers
We watched the day grow old”
These excerpts both describe an evening scene, where the authors find themselves slowing down and appreciating their surroundings. The second passage from Walden is more introspective, and is found in the chapter titled Solitude. Thoreau writes, “Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rain storms in the spring or fall, which confined me to the house for the afternoon as well as the forenoon, soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves” (Thoreau, 99). This is particularly similar to Rodgers’ lyric,
“Now that the light is fading Silver and purple at twilight Scenes of the day remain with us Bright as the fire is burning bright”
These excerpts highlight the deep reflection and contemplation each respective author was inspired by in wrting Color Song and Walden. Both pieces of art showcase how nature calls us to look inward. Walden and Color Song share Thoreau and Rogers deep reverence for the natural world despite being written over 150 years apart.
Clara NeSmith
Rooted in Change
For my creative response, I created an art piece related to Octavia Butler’s book Parable of the Sower. I drew much inspiration from the quote “The Destiny of Earthseed Is to take root among the stars”(85) which also aligns with the theme of change. The art piece is a painting of a female figure growing into a tree, branchy in structure, with reaching limbs towards the sky. I meant for the female figure to represent Lauren, decorated in a motion of colors of red, orange, and yellow. I intended for the human figure to stand out against a black background. I included stars to represent the dark of the night sky and features of the book that I had often envisioned in a vast blackness with only the light of the white stars showing a path.
I wanted the tree trunk to create the effect of flame and fire, given that pyro was such a large part of the story and took away her home and family. Much of the book created a sense of chaos and unknownness. Overall, I wanted the painting to represent Laurens’ growth through the book. The tree branches represent her growth, but also the interconnectedness of the world she was living in, and her hyper-empathy for all living things.
Although I envision the painting with many different meanings, the one I like the most is the idea of Lauren spreading the word of Earthseed to feel grounded in an environment engulfed in disaster and hardships. The changing of the woman’s body into a tree is Lauren shaping the way she prevails in a changing world. The events that took place in the story such as Lauren loosing her family, and having to make her own path built the foundation of Earthseed . Due to Laurens’ resilience, she became a seed of hope for something new, which spanned far above her being. A new life reaches for the stars and a new world.
In a way, I think the fire symbolizes the beginning of something new. The painting captures her journey, walking among ash, building connections with a community , becoming something, and hope in a changing world.
Ava Allen
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. Grand Central Publishing, 2000.
My visual is a picture collage of photos I took in the Sungai Sekonyer village in Kalimantan, Indonesia. These pictures represent the harsh consequences many communities in Indonesia have been experiencing. Frantz Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth” explores colonialism, liberation, and its human and environmental consequences. The Sungai Sekonyer village is a prime example of what Fanon is describing in “The Wretched of the Earth”, as they embody both the destruction brought by colonial exploitation as well as the resilience of human connection.
The people living on the island of Kalimantan in the Sungai Sekonyer village live at least five hours by boat from any form of civilization. These people rely almost entirely on the river for survival, and their dependency on the river shows the environmental displacement imposed by colonial legacies. Palm oil plantations, especially on Kalimantan, are taking over the natural forests, forcing the relocation of people and wildlife. This not only threatens wildlife, such as the orangutans, whose nests I saw as I walked through the village, but also displaces indigenous communities, forcing them to restructure their way of life entirely. “The Wretched Earth” discusses how colonial systems not only oppress people but also exploit land and resources, which often leaves long-term damage.
The photos I have chosen symbolize the duality Fanon describes: the beauty and strength of community amid oppressive conditions. The village’s harmony with the river mirrors the sustainable relationship they once had with their environment, a relationship now at risk due to corporate greed and political independence. It encompasses reclaiming one’s connection to the land, resources, and tradition.
I tried to capture the tension in this collage. The images evoke a sense of admiration for the people’s resilience and interconnectedness, yet also an unease about the threats they face. The weakening soil, the reliance on limited external supplies, and the vulnerability to illness show how colonial systems leave communities in fragile states and precarious positions. As in Fanon’s text, this visual piece is meant to provoke discomfort and self-reflection, challenging viewers to confront the deeper implications of their lifestyle and global interdependence.
As I experienced this village, I felt the weight of responsibility, as an American and as a member of the Western world, toward creating change. Fanon urges us to reckon with these systems of exploitation and take active steps toward decolonization, reclaiming not only our identity but also the stewardship of land and resources. Through this collage, I hope to spark complicated feelings and questions, just as Fanon’s work demands that of its readers. Uncomfortable art and ideas and necessary to disrupt the narratives we’ve been taught to accept and inspire meaningful transformation.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xq6xd_ES-yudScLmxO9iEh8ilb9jWFCCJIO_LnS_j-E/edit?usp=sharing
Parker Williamson
With my creative response I wanted to encapsulate in fabric a scene from Parable of the Sewer that really shifted my experience as a reader and seriously impacted Lauren’s life. It is the scene at the beginning of chapter 14 where her neighborhood is on fire and the wall has been broken. Butler writes,
“Everything was chaos. People running, screaming, shooting. The gate had been destroyed. Our attackers had driven an ancient truck though it. They must have stolen a truck just to crash it through the gate.
I think they must have been pyro addicts– bald people with painted heads, faces, and hands. Red faces; blue faces; green faces; screaming mouths; avid, crazy eyes, glittering in the firelight.”
This pivotal moment is so abruptly written that the reader experiences the shore of it much like Lauren did when she woke up to everything she held dear being burned. I chose to depict this scene from outside the wall looking in. You can see the gate crumbling and fire erupting behind it. The gate is made of diversly colorful scraps of fabric to represent the comparatively colorful and lively thriving community that is inside of it. Though, as strong as they made it, it still fell.
The main subject of the piece is a blue figure meant to represent a paint head that is entering Lauren’s community. They are likely on pyro, intending to loot the burned buildings and may be capable of killing while in the process. I think that this prospective makes the author think about where that faceless person is coming from. Maybe it prompts questions about why these people can justify killing to survive or what might tempt them to take drugs like pyro?
Posey Lester-Niles
This striking artwork from Jill Pelto brought my thoughts to the arsonists from Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. The piece, made with mediums of watercolor and colored pencils, depicts the major impacts of global warming. It depicts a mountainous forest of evergreen trees being burned down by a ferocious wildfire, a fire that was likely caused by human activity and influences. Following the line of trees, there is a line with occasional dots. These dots and lines are based on an actual graph that depicts the rise of global temperatures. Not only do the statistics prove that we are in serious danger, but the increasingly intensifying forest fires are physical evidence of this. Pelto did a wonderful job blending artistry and statistics into this piece, and I was inspired to connect her work with the themes and events that occurred in Parable of the Sower.
Lauren’s journey through an almost apocalyptic world ravaged by climate change and human greed can certainly tie into the fire that Pelto depicted in her work. I believe that the arsonists that ransacked her neighborhood are not only literal fire-starters that seek to leave destruction in their path, but also representative of the consequences that follow short-term, selfish actions. We are living through our days with our own “arsonists”, people who make decisions based on short-term profits and benefits to them. As a result, fires follow. Literal fires, as shown by the horrific recent wildfires in California, and figurative ones. Both Parable of the Sower and the artwork presented by Pelto allow us to think about themes of power and destruction. Questions surrounding who holds the power, and who has the power to destroy, are brought to my mind upon comparing the two works. The idea of the Earthseed also comes to mind, since according to Butler, it grows from the ashes of destruction. Will we live through our own sort of Earthseed, after seeing the consequences of previous generations, or will we have to suffer through the flames?
Link to artwork: https://www.jillpelto.com/increasing-forest-fire-activity
– Hadley Tavernier
So for my creative response piece I chose to make my own interpretation of Thoreau’s Walden cabin using the medium of Minecraft, originally I was planning to try and reconstruct Walden as it was based off of an image of the real cabin but I decided to go against it as the smaller scale of the build just felt a little bit to limiting for my creativity. As such, I decided to build my own adaptation trying my best to stick with a more simplistic look for the build while also trying to make a build that I could feel proud of. While it may definitely be bigger than the actual Walden in terms of scale, I would like to think both the interior and exterior being primarily made of natural materials like stone and oak wood would likely be approved of by Thoreau for integrating nature, the interior on the other hand is much more basic consisting of a bed, a desk for some writing, and a rather small fireplace that could be used to boil water so it can be used safely. A few notable challenges that I faced when making this build was primarily just finding the right place I could build the cabin without having to do any major terraforming which was already a fairly difficult task in my opinion, but also finding the correct palette of blocks I could use to actually make the cabin while sticking to primarily natural resources. The biggest challenge however, was deciding whether I would originally make the build in survival mode which I feel Thoreau would have been happier with but at the cost of me turning this in late possibly, or making the build in creative mode where I have access to all the things I could ever need which goes completely against Thoreau’s minimalist lifestyle and the belief of living simply. I eventually decided to go with the route of making the build in creative as not only would it allow me to easily experiment with things like block palette but also allow me to do certain things like detailing a whole lot easier than it would be in survival mode where I likely would have needed things like scaffolding blocks to easily get high up.
Overall, I feel a tad uncertain about whether or not Thoreau would approve of how I made my interpretation of Walden especially as I am doing so using technology in the form of Minecraft but I can at the very least say I enjoyed the challenge that came with the imposed limitations I gave myself such as trying to only use natural blocks for the most part along with not allowing myself to do any major terraforming (ex: completely flattening out the surrounding land) and finally keeping things like the interior pretty simple and basic.
Attached below is a link to a folder featuring both the exterior of my build along with the interior.
Creative Response
-Connor Kuharcik
I chose to create my illustration in an attempt to represent the Thought-Woman creation story from Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. I have always taken a particular interest in Native American culture, namely the spirituality aspect with regards to the natural world. This particular creation story depicts Thought-Woman, a female spiritual entity who created the entire universe as we know it simply by thinking it into existence. I was very fond of this creation story, partially for its charming simplicity and partially because it is so vastly different from any of the more popular religions’ depictions of the birth of the universe. Most religions claim that their God created everything, but they all have different versions. For example, the Christian God created the world in seven days, with each day being dedicated to a different plethora of living or nonliving things. Allah, on the other hand, created it in six through a somewhat ambiguous divine power. No religion, as far as I know, specifies how their God created the universe, simply that it was an act of supernatural divinity. At first glance, I think the simplicity of the Thought-Woman creation story might be written off as lazy or simply outlandish, and these are fair claims. I am in no way making the claim that this is the definitive creation story, but I appreciate that whoever is responsible for its drafting made an effort to explain the “how” portion of creation.
With regards to sustainable development, I was always of the opinion that if there was ever a perfect society, it was the Native Americans. There was no private ownership and therefore very little social conflict, a nut that modern society has struggled to crack. The Native Americans saw natural resources as gifts from the Earth rather than materials that human beings have an innate right to make use of. I attempted (emphasis) to illustrate this by drawing the world and all of its people as recipients of Earth’s gifts in Thought-Woman’s universe. I think this key tenet of Native American society could be the answer to natural resource management in today’s world. Natural resources have become inseparable from the dollar sign, and I think if we could get back to viewing them the way the Native Americans did we could avoid conflict, manage resource depletion, and have an overall better relationship with our planet.
I was inspired by Aboriginal artwork and Walden, so I illustrated a lot of the Walden story into an Aboriginal Style artwork. In Aboriginal culture, the land is a living being, so my artwork displays the land around Walden in an artistic and spiritual sense. I have accompanied my artwork with some quotes from Walden that help to give life and autonomy to the land. My artwork shows Thoreau living in harmony with nature, and honoring the agency of the natural world. Thoreau took a step away from Western culture when living in the Walden woods, and resisted the exploitation of Western life. He gained ecological knowledge, an important sustainable development theme, that helped him foster sustainable practices and find sanctity in his life away from the hustle and bustle of Massachusetts society.
My artwork shows deep ecological understanding, the same that Aboriginal peoples have always honored, and the understanding that Thoreau fostered in his time in the woods. Aboriginal people have been land stewards for the entirety of their existence, and their artwork shows this off, displaying sustainable practices and earth-honoring beauty.
Thoreau cultivated a respect for the land that he lived upon for a year and a half, and Aboriginal artwork displays this kind of respect for earth that I thought would be important to be shown. The artwork and art style that I used helps picture the beauty of the land in a deeper, more autonomous sense, giving the land its own agency to express itself. Environmental ethics are also a huge factor in Aboriginal life as well as in the ideologies that Thoreau garnered in his time away. The self-suffiency aspect of Thoreau’s insights are highlighted in my artwork as he is shown fishing, hunting, and hoeing his beans. He follows traditional knowledge and I was inspired by these two different cultures from completely different sides of the world to make my artwork.
Caroline Laschinger
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WvVF3uE5dWxtYp4-cf1jOeWyYHSCj3EAIP77on8f01I/edit?usp=sharing
link to art and quotes
meant to say thoreau was in the woods for 2.5 years**
For my creative resonance I decided to do a homemade dream catcher, and I was inspired by the book Ceremony. The dream catcher is a symbol of protection that is used to filter out bad dreams and allow good dreams to pass through. It is used in Indigenous cultural practices and represents the importance of persevering cultural traditions. Just like in the book of ceremony where Tayo is trying to reconnect with one’s own heritage to overcome alienation. My work involves the land and natural elements which are important to Indigenous people. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth!
Just as the dream catcher protected its owner from the “good” and “bad”, the ceremonies performed in the novel protected Tayo from dangerous forces when trying to reconnect with his people and the land!
The materials I used and how it is connected to Ceremony.
Willow branches– are associated with water, healing and emotional flexibility. In Ceremony water and emotional release are very important to Tayo’s healing process. Willow often grows near water which can represent spiritual cleansing that Tayo undergoes in the book of Ceremony.(The only cure I know is a good ceremony that is what she said)
Birch bark– are associated with resilience, and protection. In many Native cultures birch bark is used in medicine. Indigenous people have shown resilience in America during and after colonization. There have been many times where Tayo was protected like when it came towards freeing the cows from the white ranchers.
Birch flowers and maple seeds are associated with a symbol of new beginnings and a fresh start. In Tayo’s case even after the war and his cousin dying a period of dark hardships there is always a chance for new growth. Just like earth awakens in spring Tayo’s spirit did the same later in the book.
Moss– it likes to live in harmony with its surroundings just as Tayo and other Native groups want reconnection with the earth and live in harmony with the natural world.
Feathers– are seen as gifts from birds because they represent the spirit of the sky.
Beads– can represent the life cycles that happen on earth and help to focus and direct the energy of the dreams.
Star– can represent gundanice, just like tayo and the mountain lion.
“Aho”- “Amen” or ‘Agree”. I think we can all agree that Indigenous people have played an important role in building America over the centuries!
Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower presents a future where environmental collapse, social inequality, and institutional failure have created a fractured and dangerous world. Within this chaos, Lauren Olamina offers a vision of hope and transformation through Earthseed—a belief system grounded in adaptability and the idea that humanity must align with change to shape a better future. These ideas mirror the principles of sustainable development, which call for climate resilience, community empowerment, and ecological balance.
To explore the novel’s relevance today, I selected two contemporary works that echo its core themes: the song “Rising Seas” by Midnight Oil and the environmental installation “Gardens of Renewal” by Lily Kwong. “Rising Seas” is a searing climate anthem released ahead of COP26, calling out the global failure to act decisively in the face of environmental catastrophe. Its lyrics are a direct address to future generations, reflecting guilt, urgency, and a call to change: “We have to look you in the eye and say we sold you cheap.” This haunting admission parallels the world of Parable of the Sower, where adults have failed to protect their children from climate and societal breakdown. Later, the song urges action with a chilling demand: “Open up the floodgates to the rising seas.” This evokes the novel’s imagery of a collapsing world—one that requires new visions and radical responses.
Lily Kwong’s “Gardens of Renewal” offers a contrasting yet complementary perspective. Installed in New York City’s Madison Square Park, the spiral garden draws visitors inward through a progression of increasingly rare and climate-threatened plants. The path represents both ecological loss and a meditative journey of regeneration. Like Lauren’s Earthseed, the garden suggests that growth and resilience come from recognizing our place within the cycles of nature. Kwong describes the garden as “an act of resistance,” stating, “Maybe it won’t stop the drilling of a new oil field, but it will protect and nurture your spirit. It will build community. It will provide vital habitat.” She further emphasizes the need for collective action: “We need a radical reimagining of our way of life, and what better place to begin than a garden, … .”
Together, these works deepen the conversation initiated by Butler’s novel. They challenge us to face the failures of the present while envisioning alternative, sustainable futures. Whether through the mournful urgency of “Rising Seas” or the living, breathing metaphor of “Gardens of Renewal,” both pieces remind us that change—though difficult—is possible, and that it begins with acknowledging truth, fostering connection, and planting new seeds for what comes next.
Kwong’s Garden: https://www.vogue.com/article/lily-kwong-madison-square-park-earth-day-essay?
Song: https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/song-you-need-to-know-midnight-oil-rising-seas-33088/ & https://www.ongoinghistoryofprotestsongs.com/2021/11/10/daily-dose-of-protest-rising-sea-midnight-oil/
Kendall Williamson
My collage of Australian national landmarks is deeply inspired by the book Gagudju Man by Bill Neidjie and reflects his powerful connection to land, culture, and storytelling. Although I couldn’t find any images of Kakadu National Park, the land belonging to Neidjie’s people, I included sites such as the Bay of Fires, the Devils Marbles, the Pinnacles, and Alpine National Park to illustrate the vastness, sacredness, and variety of Aboriginal land across the continent. I felt comfortable incorporating these diverse landscapes because, as Neidjie says, “Earth, same thing. You brought up with earth, tree, water.” This reflects the idea that all land holds meaning, not just one specific place, and that the deep connection Aboriginal people have with the environment is shared across regions. These landmarks collectively honor the deep spiritual and physical bond between Aboriginal people and their Country, a central theme in Neidjies’ writing.
The colors utilized in my collage also contain layered meanings that reflect the emotional responses I experienced while reading Gagudju Man. The orange represents optimism. After reading this book, I was able to feel optimistic about the future of Indigenous communities and natural landscapes because Allan Fox writes that the stories and poems of Big Bill Neidjie “are an attempt by an old Aboriginal custodian to pass on to all people.” I truly believe that stories are a personal way for people to connect to activism and other cultures. By reading this book assigned to me by a teacher, I was able to be enthusiastic that other people would be touched by these stories as I am now. The red represents the anger and grief of the disrespect and marginalization of Aboriginal people. The light blue represents a calm connection to the earth, while deep blue honors the wisdom passed through generations, embodied by Neidjie himself. This mirrors his belief that “Aboriginal law never change,” a powerful declaration of cultural continuity and commitment to tradition and the land.
Neidjie says, “All these places for us, all belong Gagudju,” and “This ground and this earth, like brother and mother.” These quotes guided the collage’s theme of environmental ethics and belonging. These quotes inspired me to explore my connection to nature. The back of the collage is a blur of teals and greens, my emotional way of depicting not just the land’s visual beauty but its stories, ecosystems, and spirits. As Neidjie affirms, “This important story. I hang onto this story all my life. My father tell me this story. My children can’t lose it.” My collage and painting is a tribute to those stories etched into the land, passed down through generations, and too important to be forgotten.
-Fia Mascari
link to paper and images:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w3mgmGUEN_33hLW8U1BIV-4y_C8Z1lbej1ey6i1CV6A/edit?usp=sharing
Shaping God, Shaping Man
For my Creative Response, I’ve chosen to respond to Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower by exploring further both EarthSeed’s foundational beliefs and the nature of end-of-days Evangelical religious media. My response took inspiration from the formats of religious tracts. These thin, often single-paged, evangelical pamphlets often detail the heroic day that Christ will return to Earth and urge you to prepare by repenting and committing yourself to God. These religious tracts appeared nearly everywhere I went as a child growing up in rural Appalachia. In every diner we ate at, every mom-and-pop shop we stopped at, these wallet-sized flyers, complete with some ornate decoration on the front cover, seemed to exist too.
This was one of my earliest introductions to evangelism. These flyers often include bible verses, recommended prayers for the reader, and some kind of ominous warning message describing all of the horrible things that will happen to you if you do not accept Christ before the end times arrive. The simple message of these tracts pointed to the notion that the only one who can save you is Jesus Christ. For now, you must accept Him into your heart and wait until His return to be saved. Earthseed is starkly different from these Bible Belt branches of Christianity because it preaches that God is Change, and Change can be brought about by man.
While reading Butler’s Parable of the Sower, I thought often of these little tracts and where I most often find them today. Typically, in a rather small diner off of some back road where only two local elderly folks sit at the high top enjoying their lunch. Often, in some makeshift rack made of plastic and a few wooden dowels. Often so covered in dust that your fingerprint lies clearly on the leaflet once you touch it. Many of their vibrant colors are slowly being sunbleached. It often feels like a scene straight out of the apocalypse, but this is reality.
Our cosmologies and religious beliefs can do so much to shape who we are as individuals, as well as how we function as a society. The epistemologies of religions can shape our value systems and how we respond to changes that might affect these value systems. In Judeo-Christian theologies, the arrival of the messiah will come when the apocalypse occurs, and this will save all of His devoted followers. In Buddhist doctrine, the arrival of the next Buddha, Maitreya, can only occur during a prosperous time, and this will bring about further prosperity for the followers of the Buddha. Lauren’s Earthseed does not wait for the arrival of a greater force. Rather, she affirms that man shapes God and that God then shapes man. “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you” (Butler, pp. FJJ). This forces the followers of Earthseed to act proactively rather than reactively. Since God is change, and we therefore hold God in our hands, we cannot sit idly by and wait for him to save us as the world crumbles around us. We must act now to try and save what we can and create a better world for our prosperity. If not this, then we must conceptualize a way to save mankind. When we work hard at these things, God provides the materials necessary. With these differences in foundational beliefs in mind, I created some of my own religious tracts, this time based on verses from Earthseed: The Books of the Living. The tracts urge people to act on their rescue and acknowledge their role in the rebuilding of a collapsed society. I quoted the Earthseed verses, since religious tracts often due this with other doctrines, and included messages of urgency, which are also nearly always included in said tracts. The finished tracts can be seen below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12qzEKXuDlsf4ntDeG_IGuxveHMgDxsHGKAGHDW2ybPg/edit?usp=sharing
Sofie Crump
Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower predicts a future in which systems of living fail to support living, presenting the collapse of social structures, environmental disintegration, and danger that is imminent in all forms and at all times as major threats to the livelihoods of Americans. The protagonist, Lauren Olamina maintains an understanding of the reality that most others cannot grasp.
Lauren was born with a condition called “hyperempathy” which gives her (or curses her with) the ability to involuntarily share pain with others who she sees in pain. As we progressed through the novel, it became clear that Lauren’s condition is at times, physically debilitating, but at other times, keeps her pushing forward as it allows her to understand and adapt to the inevitable and ever-looming change. On her condition, Lauren says,
“I was eleven then, and I still bled through the skin when I saw someone else bleeding. I couldn’t help doing it, and I always worried that it would give me away to people outside the family.” (11)
For my creative project, I took inspiration from the ‘Dammit Doll’, a plush made to bear the pain of one who uses it as an emotional outlet. Lauren refers to herself as a ‘sharer’, which we see both impeding and enhancing Lauren’s abilities at various points throughout the novel.
To represent Lauren’s sharing, I placed her heart on top of her clothing, as it is her guiding force throughout the troubles she persists. Lauren’s generous heart often shines through Butler’s writing, such as when she shares her scarce resources to support her group mates as they travel North in hopes of escaping the troubles. To represent how Lauren’s hyperempathy is equally debilitating, I placed pins in her heart.
I chose to make the seams that hold Lauren’s body together disorderly and visible to represent her strength and resiliency while also acknowledging that each of her setbacks are reflected in her ever-adapting means of navigating a rapidly changing world. For example, Lauren explains how her threads are both visible and subject to change when she says,
“I can take a lot of pain without falling apart. I’ve had to learn to do that. But it was hard, today, to keep peddling and keep up with the others when just about everyone I saw made me feel worse and worse.” (11)
For her facial expression, I chose to make one eye an “X”, representing parts of her that have died because of the realities she faces, such as acknowledging her disillusion for wanting to marry Curtis, the losses of her brother and father, and the loss of her home and community. Her other eye is a button, made to represent the artificial eye that she was forced to adopt in order to successfully navigate the detrimental state of the world. For example, Lauren kills men who are presumably dangerous, showing little remorse as she understands the killings are ones of necessity. Because of her condition, we can infer that these actions go against her nature, but because she has no option other than survival, she is forced to act in ways contrary to her morals.
Though she is understood to be overly empathetic, her mouth is sewn on to make a frown to represent the facade she wears to disguise her hyperempathy, Lauren saying,
“Sometimes people say I look grim or angry. Better to have them think that than to know the truth. Better to have them think anything than let them know just how easy it is to hurt me.” (13)
Lauren’s clothing was made to have rough and burnt edges and holes at the seams to represent the resource scarcity that persists through the novel, leading her to wear clothing that has been taken off the backs of victims of rampant violence, arson, or both. The clothing was also designed to be gender neutral, reflective of her presenting as a man for safety reasons as she travels North.
Link to picture of the project: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UPtyCrb1KAmA9zuE1AcvrK3DOVwbXd9HTG-NP-Jcl1A/edit?usp=sharing
-Carson Mease
Editor: You may think so; I do not. But I will not discuss the matter just now. I
have to answer your question, and that I can do well by asking you several
questions. Why do you want to drive away the English?
Reader: Because India has become impoverished by their Government. They take
away our money from year to year. The most important posts are reserved for
themselves. We are kept in a state of slavery. They behave insolently towards us
and disregard our feelings.
Editor: If they do not take our money away, become gentle, and give us
responsible posts, would you still consider their presence to be harmful?
Reader: That question is useless. It is similar to the question whether there is
any harm in associating with a tiger if he changes his nature. Such a question is
sheer waste of time. When a tiger changes his nature, Englishmen will change
theirs. This is not possible, and to believe it to be possible is contrary to human
experience.
Editor: Supposing we get Self-Government similar to what the Canadians and the
South Africans have, will it be good enough?
Reader: That question also is useless. We may get it when we have the same
powers; we shall then hoist our own flag. As is Japan, so must India be. We must
own our navy, our army, and we must have our own splendour, and then will
India’s voice ring through the world.
Editor: You have drawn the picture well. In effect it means this: that we want
English rule without the Englishman. You want the tiger’s nature, but not the
tiger; that is to say, you would make India English. And when it becomes English,
it will be called not Hindustan but Englistan. This is not the Swaraj that I want.
CREATIVE RESPONSE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dwjLHddEZEmSM7NKWATQ-Btloxru_0jE4jZW8t8X1go/edit?tab=t.0
My creative response is an analysis of an engraving published by Philip Galle as it relates to the ideas of colonialism, self-rule, and imperialism discussed in Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj. Through the conversations between the reader and editor throughout the book, we learn about Gandhi’s view of India’s self-rule and independence from colonialism as part of a conversation that includes what is meant to be the voice of the everyday Indian citizen. There comes a point in the conversation where the Editor (Gandhi) asks the reader (Citizen/Public) why he wants to drive the English out of India. The Reader cites Britain’s mistreatment of Indians and the impoverishment of their society, which cases the Editor to ask a very important question, “If they do not take our money away, become gentle, and give us responsible posts, would you still consider their presence to be harmful?”.
This question is essential to Gandhi’s view of Swaraj and decolonization, and has thought-provoking implications for how neo-colonialism could be combated in modern day. The tiger represents British rule, colonial power, violence, and materist society, which Gandhi views as an illness that must not infect India. There is a divide between the Editor and Reader, as the Reader seemingly wants to achieve Britain’s military might and power, while the Editor rejects this idea as simply conforming to Western ideals about how society and power should be operated. In the Editors view, you can not achieve this power without embracing the very ills of British society that India wants to be free from. India must forge its own identity and means of rule that is distinctly its own, and free from the shortcomings of Western society. I have chosen this engraving as a creative response to these ideas because I believe it can represent an interesting view of contemporary colonialism, in which the tiger takes on different forms, but its impact is all the same.
The engraving depicts a tiger that has been let out of its cage in an arena that is attacking what is assumed to be an innocent man. While this happens, the Emperor Commodus shoots an arrow from above to “prevent the wild beast from tearing him to pieces”. It is essentially a piece of theater to prop up the Emperor as a strong and noble leader, with the only real aspect being the danger the man faced, and may continue to face as the tiger lunges towards him. I believe this piece of art to portray the modern day relationship between the “tiger” and colonized society represented in Hind Swaraj, where we see global powers advancing economic, political, and ideological interests by exploiting poorer countries under the guise of aiding them. The emperor is responsible for putting the man in the arena with the uncaged tiger, yet he will parade himself as the hero for his audience, all while the man in the arena is in no better position himself.
The wealthy countries of today will continue to inject themselves into the politics and economies of developing countries as the benevolent superpower, only to advance the interests of their own government and corporations almost exclusively at the expense of the developing country. This dynamic plays on the conversation between the Reader and Editor, where the Reader seemingly desires British power on some level, which can be easily exploited by the “tiger”. It is important to note that many of these developing countries
Max Lawrence
Rain and Ceremony
In Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, rain is a recurring theme that strongly stood out to me. Silko writes about rain as a continual element of the natural world and also a powerful symbol for trauma, healing, memory, and the essential balance between people and the Earth. My creative response is a series of ten illustrations that track Tayo’s evolving relationship with rain, from his early hatred of it during the war to his eventual embrace of it as a sacred and healing force. As Tayo heals through ceremony and reconnects with traditional Laguna Pueblo knowledge, the rain transforms from a destructive force into a sacred one. My hope for the drawings is that they resemble Tayo’s journey in the presence of rain and his psychological and spiritual recovery to eventually depict Tayo’s reconnection with his ancestral traditions and land-based knowledge.
In the beginning, Tayo views rain as a curse. In the jungle, it is oppressive, endless, and suffocating. He blames it for his cousin Rocky’s death and for the disorientation of war. In the first scene I depicted, rain fills the muddy roads and overwhelms Tayo, symbolizing his inner chaos, loss, and disconnect from his fellow soldiers. Tayo and other soldiers are fighting the elements in tandem, but for him the ultimate enemy is the rain rather than the opposing soldiers. Instead of rain as a symbol of life through giving green lands and spring, it now represents destruction- sinking mud that swallows his friends, infection, and the haunting green that devours his surroundings. The jungle becomes a metaphor for his own emotional entrapment and helplessness. This marks Tayo’s first disconnection from the natural world and himself.
The second scene represents the aftermath of Reed Woman’s departure, where the absence of rain brings drought and desolation. This is supposed to show a stark contrast between scene one and two representing rain as life and the repercussions if the sacred bond between Tayo and land is severed.The land begins to dry out and blow away with the wind as a symbol of his loss of self along with the degradation of the landscape.
The third scene represents his return home. He believes he has “prayed the rain away” due to his rejection of rain at war and the land ultimately suffers. Starving animals and a dried landscape is meant to depict drought and manifestations of spiritual imbalance. This moment is supposed to reflect the environmental and personal consequences Tayo faces from rejecting the honor of natural cycles and the intrinsic relationship between himself, his culture, and the land. It is meant to show his guilt intensifying as a warning from the Reed Woman.
Scene four introduces Emo, who mocks the dry land, calling it proof of indigenous loss. Tayo’s anger at Emo’s negativity signals a crucial moment in Tayo; he sees that Emo is wrong, and begins to reject his deprecation to the land. I drew a dry and desolate planet to depict Emo’s perception of Earth.
In scene five, the desert cattle represent resilience and a lost connection to land. Like Tayo they were also separated from the land that they are descendants from. Their fear mirrors Tayo’s, but also their potential to adapt and survive offers hope, “They are scared because the land is unfamiliar, and they are lost. They dont stop being scared either, even when they look quiet and they quit running. Scared animals die off easily”(68).
By scene six, the house with a tin roof represents the beginning of Tayo’s intimacy with Ts’eh while rain falls gently outside. Rain is no longer a threat, it is intimacy.
Scene seven shows Tayo’s perspective of running through light rain at dawn when he was awakened by dreams of Ts’eh. He no longer hides from the rain; it is now part of his healing.
In scene eight, he digs his toes into the sand, wet from the heavy rain, walking forward barefoot. I found this to be a marked difference between now and the beginning of the story. He is no longer sinking, he is now walking forward.
Scene nine places him in the rain again, watching Robert drive away. The conversation leading up to this moment was Robert telling Tayo that the people at home are worried for him. A thunderstorm begins during their exchange and to me it represented a warning to Tayo to stay on his path and complete his ceremony.
Finally, in scene ten, Tayo observes clay washing away from the sacred mural. He is tasked by Ts’eh to repaint it as it had not been since the war. The rain is now ceremonial, cleansing but also a reminder to remember and carry stories forward. I drew a book for this scene to represent the importance of him carrying on his story. Through these images, I wanted to show that sustainability both environmental and cultural, is a process of remembering, honoring, and reconnecting with the land. Tayo’s healing becomes living in harmony with Earth, guided by ancestral knowledge and ceremony. In this way, rain in Ceremony becomes a sacred teacher, representing healing as a continual reciprocal relationship with the world around us.
Sasha Fuellhart
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1plr-P96naV8L-s4KE2QXEa232-ix1O-V_KiS3Y5IfLg/edit?usp=sharing
https://static.demilked.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/gothic-dystopian-postapocalyptic-surreal-paintings-zdzislaw-beksinski-thumb640.jpg
While reading “Parable of the Sower,” I immediately thought, “dystopian.” Which was very accurate as the book progressed, with an apocalyptic setting and a turbulent, uncertain, society. This piece is a perfect illustration of these themes, showing a figure crawling away from an apocalyptic society. I found this piece by online research, and it was created by Polish artist, Zdzisław Beksiński. None of his work has any known context or meaning. He described his pieces to be based on dreams and feelings rather than specific events. Although, he stated that he did not like when people would try and depict and interpret his work in order to find the deeper meaning, I actually thought this could be beneficial for me, as a way to give meaning to the piece in connection to Lauren and Parable of the Sower, without disregarding the artists preferences. I wanted to try my best to separate the artist’s beliefs with this assignment, respectfully.
This piece in specific, makes me think about Lauren’s journey, physically and mentally, throughout the book. Immediately, I thought of Lauren escaping her neighborhood amongst the fires and chaos to find safety, all while being alone. She was on a getaway, and had no idea where her family was at the time, let alone anyone she knew. “I didnʼt know. I couldnʼt think. I had never been outside the walls when it was so dark. My only hope of staying alive was to listen, hear any movement before it got too close to me, see what I could by starlight, be as quiet as I could” (chapter 14).
The figure in the painting I associate with Lauren, meaning her physical body, and a representation of Lauren’s mental state and spiritual state. With thoughts of Earthseed, Christianity, and her moral values.
When speaking of Lauren physically, initially, I associated it with chapter 14. The part of the book where amongst the robberies in Lauren’s neighborhood, the extreme fires and truck breaking into the gated community. This is what I associate with the background of the painting. With Lauren, alone and independent, escaping trying to find safety.
Furthermore, the disastrous background can also depict the beliefs of Christianity that Lauren grew up with and escaping these ideologies, developing and identifying with Earthseed. The chaos and destruction helped birth the further development of Earthseed and Lauren’s character development with spirituality, religion, and how she views God.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1J7Q_QYVtoo0ZD2nGYRIgUE67FJlPs0nxO2zokTI703c/edit?usp=sharing
Abbey Smith
For my project, I have decided to create a clay model inspired by Ceremony. This model was inspired when the first ceremony in the story takes place. I wanted a piece of tangible artwork that could communicate the message that I wanted to share. The motor, the guy with the head on the wall, the trees on fire, and people in explosions are all aspects that I wanted to include and pull my creation together. I am a visual learner, and for me, this was a way that I could share my style of learning with other people. I experienced many different styles of art on campus, and what inspired me was to just go with what I felt was important. War is a dark and destructive curse on a landscape, no matter how the battle is fought. The cannon represents the literal ones referenced in Ceremony, which were used to do the disconnected killing. The cannon is also to represent the Western world and those who contribute to climate change. The people who are contributing to climate change are killing the earth the same way that the mortar kills people. Being in different places around the world, killing each other without even knowing or caring about it. People who do nothing are selflessly killing people, and they do not even know it. The wall is to show the disconnect and separation between the two areas of the art piece. There is a separation that in Ceremony references killing people. The person with the head on the wall is Tayo, but can be seen as any person because it is a faceless person that I made on purpose so that people could be connected and put themselves in the place of the little clay man. The trees on fire and the explosions are meant to represent the destruction that is being caused by the mortar. There are not only people who are affected, but also the environment around us. The environment being destroyed shows that things can be destroyed, and if nobody knows what is being killed, there will be no help or effort to change. “It was all too alien to comprehend, the mortars and big guns; and even if he could have taken the old man to see the target areas, even if he could have led him through the fallen jungle trees and muddy craters of torn earth to show him the dead, the old man would not have believed anything so monstrous. The massive reach that the effect can be felt is massive. There are so many things that have changed in this world based on simple decisions. “I’m sick, but I never killed any enemy. I never even touched them.” He was shivering and sweating when he sat up. “ The faceless killing can make anyone feel uneasy if they know that they are the reason for the demise of other people. The suffering of others does not justify the safety of others and live in luxury.
-Vincent Spinelli
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSnmpTUWgACYWeMrNfoRzSsJw2j9eGg096c74VRO5iGDZa0q3C-x9ZavdJbTWzm4ZT4vpMMLykr–50/pub
I decided to make my creative response using inspiration from Ceremony. The theme of interconnectedness from this book stood out to me and I wanted to create something that evoked feelings of belonging and peace. Tayo’s journey of gaining back harmony with the land and self is beautifully written and it tells a lot about how slowing down and connecting with nature can be a healing process. A song that reminded me of this feeling, and the whole story of Ceremony, was “Orange Sky” by Alexi Murdoch. Some lyrics that tell a similar story go as such:
“Well I had a dream I
Stood beneath an orange sky
Yes, I had a dream I
Stood beneath an orange sky
With my brother standing by”
Another lyric:
“Sometimes, sometimes my mind is too strong to carry on
Too strong to carry on
But when I am alone
When I’ve thrown off the weight of this crazy stone
When I’ve lost all care for the things I own
That’s when I miss you (3x)
You are my home”
And another:
“My salvation lies in your love”
I find that these lyrics relate to the relationship Tayo had with his brother and uncle, and once he realized that he didn’t fully lose them and that their life persisted on within himself, he was able to move on from both his grief of losing them and the trauma he packed on from the war and society in general. He was able to gain his “salvation” by falling back in love with nature and his spirituality. The idea that the singer is coming to all of these realizations under an orange sky furthers the theme of interconnectedness with nature.
I didn’t think this song fully encapsulated my feelings on the theme of interconnectedness so I wanted to make a visual that could add to that. I made this design that shows an orange sky, depicting a swirling sun/sun and wind. It is a bit more abstract and I wanted it to look this way so there would be more room for interpretation. And that’s because this interconnectedness does affect us all differently, so whatever feelings the image evokes, maybe paired with the song, is what I was aiming for. For me, the image depicts the power of the sun and how what nature creates directly impacts me. And more specifically, I am a part of that intricate story as the wind and the power of the sun reaches out towards me. The sun has always been a powerful symbol of the goodness and intensity of nature for me. Orange is my favorite color probably for that reason and of course the song is named “Orange Sky”; this is why I made the graphic completely orange. I also added a quote from Ceremony about the sunrise:
“Sunrise!
We come at sunrise
to greet you.
We call you
at sunrise.
Father of the clouds
you are beautiful
at sunrise.
Sunrise!” (Silko 169).
We know sunrise is important to the culture of Tayo’s people, as they begin and end every poem or saying with that. The sunrise represents rebirth and healing for them. When Tayo speaks this poem out loud in the book, it’s his natural reaction to feeling a sense of peace in the morning and wanting to connect with his spiritual side. All of these elements I’ve talked about represent that interconnectedness. Between me, my emotions, my past experiences, and all of the other living and nonliving things around me, there is a web that connects all of it and each one influences another. (my slideshow – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OH4hvqHrduj23oogpmT9oNtlsoAuj-qlW2N6MXclH7Q/edit?usp=sharing)
Ella Holmes
“So today we remembered the friends and the family members we’ve lost. We spoke our individual memories and quoted Bible passages, Earthseed verses, and bits of songs and poems that were favorites of the living or the dead. Then we buried our dead and we planted oak trees. Afterward, we sat together and talked and ate a meal and decided to call this place Acorn.” -Parable of the Sower, Chapter 25
For my creative response, I created a visual replica of what I think the camp of Acorn looks like. Acorn is a key setting introduced in the later chapters of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. I chose to focus on Acorn because it represents the community that Lauren Olamina wants to build. The camp shows how people can come together with hope and work toward a better future instead of waiting for change to happen. In my replica, I included important elements that reflect the spirit of Acorn. The wall represents safety and security, keeping out the dangers from the outside world and creating a haven for its residents. The tents symbolize the beginning of community building and the diverse people who join together for a common goal. The log cabins show progress toward stability, hinting at a future where people can settle down. The bonfire is a central feature in my replica because it serves as a gathering place where people can share stories and support each other. This area represents the importance of connection and teamwork among the residents. I also added a small garden, which represents growth and sustenance. The garden shows their commitment to self-sufficiency and symbolizes hope for renewal— a contrast to the despair outside. Livestock highlights the community’s efforts to live sustainably and stay connected to nature. Finally, the flag is a strong symbol of unity and identity. It represents the shared values and goals that bring the community together. It shows their dreams and efforts to create a safe environment in a challenging world. Overall, I chose to depict the camp of Acorn because it embodies what Lauren envisions for her neighborhood of Robledo. It is a community built on hope, teamwork, and taking action to create change. Acorn stands out as a model of what is possible when people join together with a shared commitment to a brighter future. My visual representation captures not just the physical aspects of Acorn but also the key themes of hope, resilience, and the power of community during tough times. I decided to build my replica using living things to show a deeper connection to nature. To do this, I went outside to collect natural materials. I gathered moss, plants, rocks, and sand, each chosen for their unique features. By using these materials, I want to create a piece that reflects the beauty of the environment and highlights our relationship with nature.
-Aura Cochran
Modern Country & Folk Music to Walden
I chose to curate a playlist composed of modern country and folk music ranging from the 1960s to the music of today, that directly related to the various themes of Thoreau’s Walden. The playlist is titled, “I want to sell all of my belongings and live in the woods” which I felt was a pretty apt title for a playlist that is connected to Walden. I chose to specifically highlight three different themes that connect the playlist to Walden, which are the journey of finding purpose, anti materialism/consumerism, and environmentalism.
As far as the theme “journey of finding purpose” goes, Thoreau has an arguably extremist and radical mindset when it comes to discovering one’s self-purpose. He quite literally gave up all societal comforts and chose a subsistence living lifestyle in the woods. All in order to “live deliberately”. This sentiment is very similar to many of the songs that I chose to enter into my playlist. Many of the songs tell stories of people going on exciting adventures to find their purpose, such as a young singer leaving their small town in search of greener pastures in J.R. Carrol’s “Where the Red Fern Grows”.
Thoreau also consistently advocates against the frivolous luxuries of modern society. He consistently speaks on topics related to a relative disgust of materialism. Most of the songs in my playlist aren’t “disgusted” by materialism, but many of them discuss abandoning societal comforts similarly to Thoreau. Specifically, “L.A. Freeway” by Guy Clark.
Thoreau’s messages about nature in Walden also helped to form the foundation of the environmentalism movements in the US many years later. He often spoke fondly of the natural beauty in his surroundings and was very appreciative of what nature had to offer him. Similarly, “By the Waters of the James” by The Local Honeys discusses an appreciation of nature and how grateful the artists were to grow up in such a beautiful environment.
If you want to listen to my playlist on Spotify, follow the link here: I want to sell all of my belongings and live in the woods
-Jack Brion
“Split”
I chose to make a piece based on the book “Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko. I have titled the piece “Split” to embody the conflict within the main character Tayo’s mind. Within his mind there is a fight between his native culture and his European/white side. In the drawing there are two sides, on the right is typical “patriotic” symbolism, including a bald eagle, a gun, a military dog tag hanging between its beak, a mushroom cloud, and finally a cross caked into the dried mud. On the left side, there is a humming bird holding burning sage, a spiderweb in mud, and a spotted cow.
Each individual piece of this illustration represents a different piece of Tayo. Starting with the right side, the bald eagle holding a weapon is a clear representation of Americanism. The military dog tag shows Tayo’s past haunting him, and how modern medicine is not always the best solution to all modern problems. The symbol of catholicism, represents how “modern” religion has pushed out and demonized, native culture, and turned it into a side show as seen in the town of Gallup. The town of Gallup and Betonie both show the perpetual cycle of violence that colonization has created, Betonie has broken the cycle. The mushroom cloud and the automatic gun, both show how seperated the modern world has become from one another.
“In the old way of warfare, you couldn’t kill another human being in battle without knowing it, without seeing the result, because even a wounded deer that got up and ran again left great clots of lung blood or spilled guts on the ground. That way the hunter knew it would die. Human beings were no different. But the old man would not have believed white warfare – killing across great distances without knowing who or how many had died. It was all too aien to comprehend, the mortars and big guns; and even if he could have led him through the fallen jungle trees and muddy craters of torn earth to show him the dead, the old man would not have believed anything so monstrous. Ku’oosh would have looked at the dismembered corpses and the atomic heat-flash outlines, where human bodies had evaporated, and the old man would have said something close and terrible had killed these people. Not even oldtime witches killed like that.” (p. 33-34)
Betonie and the spotted cow share very similar ideals, that adaptation to your environment is not abandonment, but survival. The spotted cattle are hybrids that are not easily domesticated, they symbolize a living resistance to domination. They also represent Tayo’s own pathway, he cannot return to the “old” ways that are untouched by outside influence. He much find healing by not rejecting change but shaping it. The cows are a living reminder of resilience.
The hummingbird carrying sage, is used in ceremonies, cleansing, and protection, it suggesting that Tayo’s healing is active, not something static or easily captured. The spiderweb in the dried mud represents the interconnectedness of everything.
Through split I wanted to show the pull between destruction and renewal that defines Tayo’s journey. On one side the promises of American triumph tends to be hollow. On the other side, there is slow enduring work of survival and regeneration. The split is within Tayo, within the land, within history itself.
When times change, you need to change.
-Kendall Nerenberg
Title: Crossing: My Fox and the fault lines of industrial development
In Lauren Hinson’s pieces “Anthropogenia” and “Storytelling,” she opposes the dominance of human-centric narratives in why and how we interpret the world and its happenings. Hinson details how storytelling not only explains the past but also actively shapes our presents and the trajectories of our futures. One day while driving along 421 highway in Boone, NC, I saw a fox narrowly escape traffic while trying to cross a busy highway, I immediately thought of the themes in Hinson’s work, who does the world belong to? Whose stories really matter in the end?
I later drew this encounter with my pen and some paper, naming it “My Fox and the fault lines of industrial development” this image captures the fleeting and dangerous feeling of moments between survival and death, nature and machinery, a story and the silence. The fox is shown to be standing on the edge of two worlds, one dominated entirely by human infrastructure, loud noises and control while the other is a more layered and less human world with nature and earthal feelings. The small highway that defines these two differences represents not just the physical barrier but also the narrative one where the natural environment is excluded from progress.
In my drawing I also attempted to include actual text fragments from Hinson’s “Storytelling,” that could stand as a reminder to myself and others that nature can be shown in a multitude of ways not just physically but also through words and phrases. My fox’s dash acts almost as an act of resistance, crossing not just the space but the ideology that seeks a place where a story can still be told even if the outcome is not what we expected. My visual response helps me understand how industrial development restricted lives and narratives within types of art has but with the use of storytelling a path can be made to reintroduce reciprocity, recognition, and sustainability.
(image attachment)
-Lex Blake
Both the page and image are attached in this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IcU_xKXEkn3M6ChN-n4fOuAG5-Hca1F50SbEe6YKoVc/edit?usp=sharing
-Will Bradford
My reflection and image of my creative response is attached below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ba9fA5iosLtO3vTUf4mTWFYgP09M9dzBnnA5O2njhdI/edit?usp=sharing
-Iona Blackburn
Native American culture is noted for its extensive oral heritage. Instead of writing down their history, these indigenous people used their verbal language to pass on their history, customs, rites, and stories through vivid narratives. Tribal elders often share these profound stories with younger generations. They convey their tribal heritage while also entertaining and preserving their culture. Every time a story is repeated, it revives the culture and enriches its verbal language. It provides meaning to the tribe’s history while also teaching life principles such as love, leadership, and honour. Their symbiotic relationship with the environment, as well as their personal interactions with the animals on which they relied, are depicted in stories.
Storytelling in Ceremony encompasses both the specific Native American storytelling tradition and storytelling in general. Native American culture is oral, and stories are used to transmit knowledge about biology, history, morality, and medicine. These stories are often rhythmic, almost sung, and heavily repetitive, as their purpose is to impart knowledge that can be retained. Tayo’s quest for insight through ceremonies, as he learns to make peace with his past and regain equilibrium with the spiritual realm, is a defining feature of his recovery journey. Through storytelling, Tayo discovers that his own tale is a part of a greater, collective narrative, and it is through this connection that he achieves healing and serenity. Ceremony presents this storytelling technique as poems that are woven throughout and frame the primary story.
In my painting, I envisioned a group of people sharing stories. With the quote from Silko, “you don’t have anything if you don’t have stories.” This quote really encompasses the importance of storytelling in Tayo’s journey throughout the book, as well as Silko’s personal experiences. Tayo finds comfort and answers to his struggles with belonging and life’s meaning. In the background, I tried to create a beautiful landscape that flourishes as these stories are shared, reflecting how the stories that many Indigenous communities share hold high regard for the environment. I was inspired by animist paintings and gave the sun a face, which connects to many Native American beliefs that all aspects of the environment are alive.
Link to painting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-AngmPyDrWEU-8N2BZh78yZtRN-oK2YmrFof0LAs1FY/edit?usp=sharing
-Amelia Hagen