This journey into earth preservation feels to be just the beginning of a greater understanding of how I can contribute with my art and my hands to the process of geo-healing. As a Purépecha, an indigenous citizen, I have understood what it is to honor our mother the earth through acts of ceremony and conscious caring of the terrain. The Art Lab adventure opens new ways in which I can directly participate in restoration and conservation as an act of intervention. It is clear that all humankind has much work to accomplish in order for mother earth to prevail for our coming generations.

The Biosphere 2 facility provided a unique opportunity for us to interrelate with on-site scientists. Although it brought the issues of hydrology to the forefront, it did not illustrate the omnipresence of the state of climate change that immediately impacts the human condition on multifarious levels. The biosphere provided fundamental background on current research and methodology.

It was our visit to the Tumamoc desert laboratory with Dr. Raymond M. Turner and his work with archive repeat photography that magnified the imminence of climate change. The longevity study on desert flora was one of the missing links I was looking for. Tumamoc also revealed itself as an ancient sacred site—one that is
directly connected over the millennia to its descendents, the Tohono O’odham. What I
observed was scientific appropriation of the area however, total absence of the O’odham in stewardship and protection of these ceremonial ruins—a place where cultural reclamation needs to occur—yet another aspect of preservation.

The full dilemma became clearer as we moved to the U of A for summarization of what we were looking at in terms of total climate modification. However, not until we stayed at Cuencos Los Ojos ranch, hub of the foundation by the same name, did I observe the actualization of comprehensive restoration initiatives.

Here is where things began to come full circle. Here I witnessed Valer Austin, the human trope for environmental conservation demonstrate how human beings have the power to wound as well as to mend our earth. Valer institutes everything from protection and replenishment of natural resources and fauna to water harvesting and education of the larger world community.

This experience, for me, became the “decisive moment”. Art and labor are tools at our disposal. We, as earth citizens, make it or break it for humanity. Now the question…how do “I” contribute to the healing as resourcefully as possible? This realization becomes the springboard for the creative process pulling me into an exploration of sound, image, movement and more.

While at the ranch, we got to build two small gabions. This physical practical exercise made me appreciate the hard work and the immense effort that goes into this method of land restoration. Earlier that same morning I had listened to Valer talk to me about how it all started and how the system of gabions is working.

She then spoke about her vision for a more peaceful future in the border region where land restoration goes hand in hand with providing meaningful employment for young people, making the drug trade a less attractive business to join. A transcription will be made from the video that documents Valers private talk with me. I may also do some video editing and perhaps use Valers voice over moving images. In an effort to visualize the land restoration project at El Coronado, I plan to create a series of graphic images or posters. The base for these posters will be aerial photographs of one particular area taken at intervals over ten years. Cindy was very kind to identify and pull the images that I will use.

What stands out in my memory from the first half of the ArtLab week is the talk about the Buffelgrass. We learned that Buffelgrass burns at very high temperatures and that the fire can reach a peak temperature of 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.

I contacted a colleague at UIUC and learned that carbon steel starts to loose its structural strength at 900 degrees F. The goal of my experiment is to heighten the awareness of the Buffelgrass invasion by visualizing its properties and opts strategy in taking over the Sonoran Desert. The experiment will be documented by time step photography and video.

An abstract representation of a saguaro cactus with one arm is built using thin steel string of the same type use in gabions. A carpet of Buffelgrass will be creeping in from the side until it covers the ground around the Saguaro. Then it creeps up and stuffs the wire mesh from the inside. A fire starts on the ground and will move up into the saguaro. The wire mesh will loose its strength and the cactus collapses. This experiment is on the dark side. Its focus is on the destructive nature of the Buffelgrass invasion.