INTERVIEWS BY EMILY THOMPSON
Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona
Combined Hours Donated: 265
Darcy: Twenty years ago Kate took an art workshop from me, and we became friends and stayed connected in the artist community in Flagstaff. When Kate became the director of the Volunteer Program at the Trust, she convinced me to become a spring steward and go on a backpacking trip to survey springs in Grand Canyon. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but I was hooked!
Kate: I always loved working at the Trust and the creativity we were able to bring to the challenging environmental problems we worked on. Now, I want to give back as a volunteer the same way so many gave when I worked there. These times are scary for our public lands, and staying involved makes me feel like I’m still part of something really important.
Darcy: In the same way artists like Thomas Moran documented the landscapes of the West to lure people into unknown territory, we need art to show the world what we stand to lose, but also to tell the stories of our impacts to the land and to inspire action.
Kate: Art gets to the heart of why it is we care about things. It can really reach people and have an impact. As someone who comes from a science background, science just doesn’t move people. Art has the power to move people, to tell a story, to reach people in a way that makes people want to do something.
Darcy: I loved bringing together a group of artists with different passions and different talents and watching the creative process unfold for each person at Kane Ranch. For some it was getting up early to capture the first light and painting or taking pictures. For others, simply being out there and exploring the landscape or having discussions about conservation challenges was important. Kane Ranch is the perfect place to find creative inspiration.
Kate: I got to witness this unique chemistry that happened at Kane with these artists, some who have lived here for many years and others who are newer to this landscape and the Trust’s work. I woke up one morning at sunrise and looked out to see all these people soaking up the golden hour, geeking out about light, creeping around the bushes with their cameras, out there with their paints. It was so amazing!
Kate and Darcy volunteered their time to plan the 2017-2018 Kane Ranch Artist Retreat and exhibit. The exhibit, An Intimate Expanse: Voices for the Colorado Plateau, will be at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff April 6-May 20, 2018.
Emily Thompson directs the Grand Canyon Trust’s Volunteer Program.
All photos by Meredith Meeks.
Advocate Magazine
Spring/Summer 2018
