Artists at one with the landscape

Natural world more than just inspiration for many on-island

By Joshua B. Gray

(excerpts)

..."If we are all part of nature and we make art, then nature and art are one and the same," said MJ Dickson, an island artist who is currently teaching a nature-drawing class at the Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts. "As we notice the loss of habitats for flora and fauna through development and climate change, the question is how to be more sensitive to the issues at hand, how to develop and leave open space, how to preserve life where the climate is shifting. If my technical ability to visualize a thought can create awareness of some of these concerns, then I am happy to contribute in any way that I can."

...Dickson said that as she hopes to continue to raise awareness of environmental issues on Nantucket, she realizes this is a cause all people must share, from every corner of the Earth. "When I travel I find that living, observing and making art on Nantucket has made me more aware of how similar the world is," she said. "I find the same wildflowers continents away, the same shorebirds on the coast of many countries, and the same seaweed on beaches everywhere. These are the common bonds we share (and where) many people focus on the differences, I am always surprised by what is the same."

MJ Levy Dickson

The Inquirer and Mirror

Artists at one with the landscape