Flowstone Falls: Descend to Ascend, 2010.
Flowstone Falls: Descend to Ascend is a month long paper cut meditation on change which I completed in February of 2010. Flowstone falls are limestone cave formations that build up over time as water flowing down over cave walls deposits dissolved limestone. I found flowstone to be a perfect metaphor for energy descent, the need for humans to move downwards in energy consumption so we may build back upwards to a world that is more just, healthy and joyful. If humanity and our civilization wishes to continue to evolve we must embrace energy descent. Using less energy is contingent on the total reordering of our individual lives. In order to make this a durable, systemic change, we must also rework our greater social and cultural fabric. The only way to achieve this is by weaving together our individual efforts at the neighborly level.
While working on this cutting daily, I was reading a book on Living Systems theory by Fritja Copra called the Web of Life. From this book I gleaned two essential theories:
I conclude that in order to fix these feedback loops we must work at re-localizing our communities into functional networks.
Soon after finishing the paper cut I saw and bought Rob Hopkins' book, The Transition Handbook: Making our community more resilient in uncertain times. By the end of April, my walking buddy, and I had decided to start a neighborhood market. By fall I had helped to gather a Chuckanut Transition initiating group and had began meeting monthly.
While working on this cutting daily, I was reading a book on Living Systems theory by Fritja Copra called the Web of Life. From this book I gleaned two essential theories:
- Organisms are systems within systems. Our cells are organisms within our organs, our organs are organisms within our body, our bodies are organisms within our bio-regional ecosystems, and our bio-regional ecosystems are organisms within Earth or Gaia. Gaia is not a name created by some Earth Worshipping Hippie Momma, but was the name given by a scientist who had the original task of theorizing if there was any life on Mars. The realization he came upon overshadowed any extraterrestrial finds: Earth is an organism unto itself.
- According to living systems theory, organisms evolve through feedback loops. I then theorized that If our society as an organism was not evolving then the individuals that make up our social structure had become too isolated and individualized and that because of the growing complexity of technology, business, and population our feedback loops had broken down.
I conclude that in order to fix these feedback loops we must work at re-localizing our communities into functional networks.
Soon after finishing the paper cut I saw and bought Rob Hopkins' book, The Transition Handbook: Making our community more resilient in uncertain times. By the end of April, my walking buddy, and I had decided to start a neighborhood market. By fall I had helped to gather a Chuckanut Transition initiating group and had began meeting monthly.