Local writer Thomas Rain Crowe named a finalist for an Eco Award for literature

Press release

Eco Arts Awards announces the Top Ten winners of its third annual contest. Among the 2014 winners in four categories are familiar names along with many up-and-coming artists whose careers are on the rise.

Eco Arts Awards, begun in 2012, is designed to encourage and recognize ecological thematic excellence in the arts. Another aspect of its mission is to expand the meaning of ecology to include social justice.

Eco Arts Awards founder, Kathryn Edwards, learned that being green includes the notion of how people treat each other in the grand context of the welfare of the world—of Gaia. Edwards, firmly believes that the ecological/environmental movement needs an ongoing boost from the arts to increase and stabilize its awareness in culture.

“We need to hear more inspired songs about the planet, use more and more recycled materials in the arts, and kick our imaginations into high gear!” she says. “I am very proud that we made it to our third year of awards. It has been a labor of love and dedication.”

Eco Arts Awards now curates a comprehensive collection of ecologically themed art in influential mediums such as film, photography, literature, music, fine art and repurposed materials in art & design. The work is showcased on the website TheArtofEcology.org. Edwards says The Art of Ecology is a resource for beleaguered environmental activists who are on the frontlines of advocacy. “Everyone, no matter their profession or line of work,” she says, “needs a renewal of inspiration!”

Four categories of art were judged: Repurposed Materials in Art & Design; Fine Art; Literature; and Songwriting. The Top Ten winners in each category for the 2014 Eco Arts Awards are:

Repurposed Materials in Art & Design
• Lisa & Scott Cylinder, “Trio;” Oley, PA
• Simon Levy, “Inside Out;” Ashland City, TN
• Betsy Youngquist, “Dylan;” Rockford, IL.
• Kent Epler, “The Tin Man;” New Albany, IN
• Boris Bally, “Brave 3 Necklace & Breastplate;” Providence, RI
• Bonnie Cohen, “Pillar of Light;” Akron, OH
• Harriete Berman, “Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin;” San Mateo, CA
• Larry Ringgold, “Sea Lion;” Chesapeake Beach, NC
• Arjun Rathi, “Kankotri Writing Installation;” Mumbai, India
• Larry Berger, “United States Rulers;” Livermore, CA

Fine Art
• Jonathan Palmer, “Expulsion from the Garden of Eden;” Fort Bragg, CA
• George Grub, “View from Ikateq/East Greenland;” NYC, NY
• Horio Crisan, “Protest;” Deva, Hunedoarra
• Regan Rosburg, “The Thread;” Denver, CO
• Dominque Dunstan, “Rakall, after Ferdinand Bauer 1801-1803;” Victoria, AU
• Kate Temple, “You/Me an Antonio 2013;” NYC, NY
• Katie Kalstein, “Bee Circle;” Port Collins, CO
• Tehereh Goudarzi, “Woven Imagination;” Khorramabad City, Lorestan
• Maggie Aston, “Birds in Paradise;” Greensboro, PA
• Sandra Heard, “Into the Abyss;” Perrysburg, Oh

Literature
• Jeremy Lloyd, “Babes in the Wilderness;” Walland, TN
• Michelle Bonczek, “Rapture;” Syracuse, NY
• Michael Hugos, “Real Time Visibility”
• Amy Greacen, “Naming Names;” Lafayette, CA
• Thomas Rain Crowe, “May It Continue;” North Carolina
• Jack Cooper, “Sunday Afternoon;” N. Hollywood, CA
• Jane Elizabeth Miller, “Wilderness Lessons,” Seattle, WA
• Jewels Marcus, “The Next Coming;” Fort Bragg, CA
• Ann Palmer, “Naturology;” Isle of Lewis, UK
• John Moir, “Nature’s Blinded Visionaries;” Santa Cruz, CA

Songwriting
• Mark Lucas, “Shopping Town” and “Standing on a Bridge;” New South Wales, AU
• Deborah Crooks, “Like an Earthquake;” Alameda, CA
• Miss Whimsey, “Daffodils;” Weaverville, CA
• Jim Papoulis/Mike Greenly, “We Can Plant a Forest;” NYC, NY/Wausau, WI
• Pachas Pajamas, “We Are Connected;” Oakland, CA
• The Charflies, “Heavenlake;” St. Louis, MO
• Lenny Soloman, “Spare Change” and “The Flood;” Seattle, WA
• Monocle Band, “Home;” Springfield, OR