"Nature Working with Artists." What does it mean? How is this theme different, if at all, from last year's environmental art show's theme... "Artists Working with Nature?" The title suggests a new tilt in perspective, perhaps a shift in awareness to consider how nature participates in all we take on. Gualala Arts is issuing an open invitation to respond co-creatively with nature.

The exhibit will span many media, the artists might illuminate or provoke you. Environmental art responds to the same mix of feelings most of us have about both the gifts and ravaging the Earth bears. The artist becomes a brush in the hand of Nature. If that idea appeals, please read Everything has a Deep Dream for inspiration.

Everything has a Deep Dream I've spent many years learning how to fix life, only to discover at the end of the day that life is not broken. There is a hidden seed of greater wholeness in everyone and everything. we serve life best when we water it and befriend it. when we listen before we act. In befriending life, we do not make things happen according to our own design. We uncover something that is already happening in us and around us and create conditions that enable it. Everything is moving towards its place of wholeness, always struggling against odds. Everything has a deep dream of itself and its fulfillment. by Rachel Naomi Remen

This year's environmental art exhibit, "Nature Working with Artists," will be open September 9 through October 8. Come meet the artist at the reception Saturday, September 8 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The exhibit will also be up during the Earth Fair on Saturday, October 7.

This exhibit is listed in the California Coastal Commission's COASTWEEKS calendar. Each fall, people all over the United States participate in COASTWEEKS, a three-week celebration of our coastal resources that begins on the third Saturday in September.

"2300" by Harmony Susalla

2300 "According to the International Herald Tribune, more than 2,300 cotton farmers in India have committed suicide in the last six years. It is estimated that one conventional cotton farmer in Vidarbha, India commits suicide every 8 hours. These 2,300 knots of organic cotton scraps each represent a life lost and also hope that another life will be saved." See full description of "2300." More info on the artist's website.

Gualala Arts Center is located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, and is open from 9 am to 4 pm weekdays, and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information.