A blog reader, who rightly thought I’d be fascinated by her art quilts, introduced me the textile art of Linda Gass. Gass is a Californian whose work is informed by her environmental activist passions. She hand paints and stitches aerial views of endangered landscapes on silk crepe de chine. With needle and thread she magically makes bird’s eye views of oil refineries and water treatment plants beautiful.
Her work focuses on creating awareness of the struggle for water resources in California and the American West. Growing up during the drought years in California made Gass keenly aware of the preciousness of water, an irreplaceable element for all life. She has done research on the history and practice of water management and hopes to use the lure of beauty in her work to encourage people to look at the hard issues confronting us. Visit Gass’ website to see more of her work. Click here to see where her work is exhibited.
Title: Refined? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h
Refined? detail
Artist Statement: Refined? is an aerial view of the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, CA. The refinery extends over 2500 acres and processes 225,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The site of this refinery is on the edges of San Francisco Bay and was chosen for the convenience and efficiency of delivering oil by tanker ship. The water quality of the bay has paid a high price for this convenience. Dioxin and PCB discharges from the refinery have polluted the waters around the refinery – eating any oysters or fish caught in this area is a serious health hazard. Having industrial processing like this right next to the bay highlights the vulnerability of the bay and the vigilance we must maintain in protecting it.
Title: Sanitary? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h
Sanitary? detail
Artist Statement: Sanitary? is an aerial view of Newby Island Sanitary Landfill in Milpitas, CA one of several landfills right on the San Francisco Bay. Newby Island is a 342-acre pile that is estimated to be 14 years away from reaching its maximum permitted height of 120 feet. The facility processes 4,000 tons of garbage daily. According to the company website, the landfill is an island surrounded by a levee which keeps its runoff from directly entering the bay, and the water that drains from it is treated in the dump’s own treatment plant. The landfill has a composite clay layer beneath it and that in combination with a synthetic liner and an underdrain system keeps contaminants from leaching into the groundwater. These many layers of mitigation are susceptible to failure and underscore the vulnerability of the bay and ground water to contamination.
Title: Treatment? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h
Treatment? detail
P.S. I have a new ‘Poppy Gall Design’ facebook page. “Like” it to see what sorts of projects I’m working on and to be an interactive part of my design studio.