about
Organic Arts
The mission of Organic Arts is to raise awareness about the environment through visual art. It provides a demonstration for how people can interact with the natural world in a way that is gentle, respectful, thoughtful and restorative.
The goal is to bring people together and to help heal our collective disconnection from the natural world. Creative expression is key in helping us to heal as individuals, as a community and as key participants in the ecosystem of the earth that we share with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and all forms of life. Respecting how we are part of a whole, and need to change the paradigm from one of extraction to one that replenishes, regenerates and restores is essential.
organic artist
Jenn Alexander
Artist | Designer | Thinker
Jenn Alexander started this site Organic Arts as a way of sharing ideas about art, expression and environmental concerns.
She loves all of the beautiful patterns and colors in nature and uses them to express the inner life energy of her subjects. Her focus is on creating organic art.
Organic Art: A style of art that reflects the non-linear, curvy, chaotic patterns found in nature.
Background
Originally from the Sandhills of North Carolina, she spent her youth playing in the long leaf and loblolly pine forests near the Cape Fear River, a beautiful but very polluted river. Her home town, Fayetteville, is right next to the largest military base in the country which also happens to harbor a large outpost of old growth long leaf pine forest as well as a number of endangered species.
It is a complex place with lots of contradictions. A constant flow of new people moved in and out as families were assigned to new posts. Her friends lived in places all around the world. There was a lot of diversity and food options from places not common in a mid-size town in the southern US at that time. Having the exposure to different cultures helped foster a curiosity about the world and when she was able she ventured to see as much as possible.
Although the military is the main industry in town, she hopes that one day that beautiful old growth long leaf reserve will be turned into an open sanctuary where people can explore the forest freely and there is no need to prepare for war.
Artistic and Environmental Work
After finishing her degree at art school she traveled west in search of wide open vistas and creative possibilities. Settling in San Francisco, she's participated in the evolution of the internet through design and online creative work. She's worked to strike a balance between the intangible nature of digital art and design and tangible, tactile art made by hand.
She's served as the Vice President of the Friends of McLaren Park where she helped plant native plants and worked on the environmental restoration of the park.
Working with a local community group she built a series of mosaics made of recycled materials for a park in San Francisco's Mission district.
Participating in the San Francisco art community, she's had the opportunity to know many of the great and talented people who have contributed to the creative energy of the Bay Area from when she was one of the first artists at the Boxshop using an old shipping container as an art studio.
Peace starts from within
As a regular practicing meditator she tries to bring an open mind to everything she does and believes it is important to listen and learn from all the people she has the opportunity to meet, know, collaborate with.
Making Organic Art
Nature and environmental health are a driving force in her work and she has found peace and healing since her early days from walking in the pine forests and now in the redwood forests and oak groves. It has been said that nature is the most creative artist and she finds inspiration all around. Giving back to the earth is an area of thinking that occupies her mind.
She's very interested in ways to make art that is either less destructive, neutral or hopefully in some way regenerative. Her practice has moved ever more towards environmental health and along the way she has moved beyond different mediums to find healthier solutions for creative inspiration. She is always open to learning and improving if there are better ways of creating.
If you would like to contribute to these efforts please consider donating or purchasing a work of art.