01/Feb/2008
Saving the wetlands: “Marsh Mission” Merges Two Kinds of Art into Meaningful Project
By Christiana Johns
Rhea Gary knows Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing. She can see the vanishing coast in her paintings when she compares them to the ones she did 15 years ago, and there are places where she once stood that are now under water.
Gary, a landscape painter, wanted to do something about the receding marches. “I always wanted to do a book on the wetlands, but I didn’t know a lot about publishing,” she said. Gary related her desire to a friend, former LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert’s wife, DeLaine, who not only encouraged her but put her in contact with someone who knew a thing or two about publishing and Louisiana’s wetlands.
Gary, along with famed wildlife photographer C.C. Lockwood, decided to put their artistic talents together to bring awareness to the immediate danger the coast is facing.
“Marsh Mission: Capturing the Vanishing Wetlands” is a collection of Lockwood’s photographs and Gary’s paintings of the vanishing Louisiana marshlands. By capturing the beauty of the marsh, these artists hope this project can get the nation’s attention and motivate people into action to save the invaluable wetlands.
More than just a book
When Gary approached Lockwood to help her with this project, he told her he always wanted to live on a houseboat for a year photographing the wetlands. For the first year of the project in 2003, Lockwood and his wife, Sue, did just that. Gary joined the couple frequently to get ideas to paint in her studio and on site.
But Marsh Mission is more than just a book. Gary and Lockwood kept a weekly journal of what they discovered and their experiences, which was published in The Advocate. Sue Lockwood, a school teacher, used her skills to create an educational Web site – Coastal Correspondent – where she has more than 30 lessons on subjects such as the bald cypress and blue heron to oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Ivan. Her lessons were used by 20 schools all over the country.
During the second year of the project, Gary and Lockwood’s art was featured as a traveling exhibit by the LSU Museum of Art. The exhibit was most recently in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where the artists did a lecture at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in October. The painter and photographer participated in a lecture series focusing on the importance of saving the wetlands to people all over the nation.
“The exhibits have been very successful,” Lockwood said. “Some people are shocked at what’s happening down there and they want to help. They’ve all been excited about our project, but it’s hard for the individual person to do something. It’s up to the government, the President and Congress to get down there and do the right thing.”
Lockwood said it is imperative for the government to take action by pumping the sediment over the levees from the Mississippi River and deposit it into the wetlands instead of letting it filter into the Gulf of Mexico. He said the sediment will make the marshes shallower, allowing for plant life to grow and protect the coast.
Awareness campaign
“This is an awareness campaign, not a fundraiser,” Gary said. “People that don’t live here have no idea.”
That’s why it was important to reach people outside of Louisiana too. Marsh Mission got some help from “CBS Sunday Morning” when the project was featured on the show. The mission also had help from American Airlines, who purchased the “CBS Sunday Morning” feature and showed it on flights. “It helped reach people who wouldn’t have heard about it otherwise,” Gary said. “It helped to get funds for coastal restoration.”
Through the Marsh Mission Web site, many made donations to send the book to a congressman in Washington D.C. and Gary said every congressman has received one.
Gary said although they speak to all age groups, she believes it is important to speak to schoolchildren because the younger generation is the one who has the most to lose from the loss of the wetlands. “They are the ones who will suffer the most,” Gary said.
Hurricanes a serious problem
“Marsh Mission” came out in bookstores one week before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. As devastating as the nation’s worst natural disaster was, followed by the destructive Hurricane Rita weeks later, Gary said the storms helped their cause. She said if there had been more coastal land, the storm surge would not have been as severe or d
estroyed the homes and lives of so many people.
Gary said during a lecture series at Marshall University, several students approached her afterward to tell her they had no idea the wetlands were disappearing or how important they were. She said they received e-mails from all over the country, and even from places as far off as Belgium and New Zealand.
“The hurricanes helped us,” she said. “It brought attention to how serious a problem this is. Suddenly people were very interested in what we were doing.”
Lockwood said the storms made coastal restoration a more immediate need to everybody. “The marsh and barrier islands have protected Louisiana for years. As it sinks away and we have less of it, we have less protection. That became the No. 1 reason to save the marsh. A lot of people saw how much money and property we could lose so quickly. It brought to the forefront of everybody’s mind about how important it is.”
The artists
Gary, who has been painting for 40 years, always had an interest in painting landscapes. She traveled through France, Ireland and Italy painting still life, but after visiting many hilly towns, her interest in nature escalated. “Landscaping is my forte,” she said.
Her son, an avid fisherman, convinced her to come out on the wetlands to paint the scenery. She said she was hooked. She began painting her interpretation of the marshes in bright colors, using lots of red to convey the Louisiana heat. Gary works out of her studio at her house near the University Lakes.
“Personally, this has been very rewarding,” Gary said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be writing a book, lecturing and traveling around the country talking about the wetlands.”
Lockwood has been a nature photographer for more than 30 years and generally lives on site of the places he photographs. He has published several photography books but he said the wetlands have been his pet project since the early 70s.
“I’ve done a book on the Gulf Coast, and I began to realize in 1975 that it was eroding away,” Lockwood said. “A lot of what I’ve done has been to help get the word out and save the coast.”
Ready to give back
As the Marsh Mission project winds to a close – the traveling exhibition ended its tour in Wyoming and came back to Baton Rouge at the end of January – both Gary and Lockwood said they hope to continue using their art to bring awareness to the vanishing coast.
“I was ready to give back in some way,” Gary said. “This project has made me realize that if you really have a passion for something, the average person can really do something.”
While Lockwood has done 11 environmental books of his own, he said he plans to continue to speak about the Louisiana wetlands, and all of his future projects will always have something to do with the coast of Louisiana.
“I want people to understand the importance of the coast of Louisiana in so many ways,” he said. “For them to understand why it’s disappearing and hopefully get the word out and make the government start restoring it.”
Photos courtesy of Rhea Gary and C.C. Lockwood.
For more information about the artists or the project, visit these Web sites:
By Christiana Johns
Rhea Gary knows Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing. She can see the vanishing coast in her paintings when she compares them to the ones she did 15 years ago, and there are places where she once stood that are now under water.
Gary, a landscape painter, wanted to do something about the receding marches. “I always wanted to do a book on the wetlands, but I didn’t know a lot about publishing,” she said. Gary related her desire to a friend, former LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert’s wife, DeLaine, who not only encouraged her but put her in contact with someone who knew a thing or two about publishing and Louisiana’s wetlands.
Gary, along with famed wildlife photographer C.C. Lockwood, decided to put their artistic talents together to bring awareness to the immediate danger the coast is facing.
“Marsh Mission: Capturing the Vanishing Wetlands” is a collection of Lockwood’s photographs and Gary’s paintings of the vanishing Louisiana marshlands. By capturing the beauty of the marsh, these artists hope this project can get the nation’s attention and motivate people into action to save the invaluable wetlands.
More than just a book
When Gary approached Lockwood to help her with this project, he told her he always wanted to live on a houseboat for a year photographing the wetlands. For the first year of the project in 2003, Lockwood and his wife, Sue, did just that. Gary joined the couple frequently to get ideas to paint in her studio and on site.
But Marsh Mission is more than just a book. Gary and Lockwood kept a weekly journal of what they discovered and their experiences, which was published in The Advocate. Sue Lockwood, a school teacher, used her skills to create an educational Web site – Coastal Correspondent – where she has more than 30 lessons on subjects such as the bald cypress and blue heron to oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Ivan. Her lessons were used by 20 schools all over the country.
During the second year of the project, Gary and Lockwood’s art was featured as a traveling exhibit by the LSU Museum of Art. The exhibit was most recently in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where the artists did a lecture at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in October. The painter and photographer participated in a lecture series focusing on the importance of saving the wetlands to people all over the nation. “The exhibits have been very successful,” Lockwood said. “Some people are shocked at what’s happening down there and they want to help. They’ve all been excited about our project, but it’s hard for the individual person to do something. It’s up to the government, the President and Congress to get down there and do the right thing.”
Lockwood said it is imperative for the government to take action by pumping the sediment over the levees from the Mississippi River and deposit it into the wetlands instead of letting it filter into the Gulf of Mexico. He said the sediment will make the marshes shallower, allowing for plant life to grow and protect the coast.
Awareness campaign
“This is an awareness campaign, not a fundraiser,” Gary said. “People that don’t live here have no idea.”
That’s why it was important to reach people outside of Louisiana too. Marsh Mission got some help from “CBS Sunday Morning” when the project was featured on the show. The mission also had help from American Airlines, who purchased the “CBS Sunday Morning” feature and showed it on flights. “It helped reach people who wouldn’t have heard about it otherwise,” Gary said. “It helped to get funds for coastal restoration.”
Through the Marsh Mission Web site, many made donations to send the book to a congressman in Washington D.C. and Gary said every congressman has received one.
Gary said although they speak to all age groups, she believes it is important to speak to schoolchildren because the younger generation is the one who has the most to lose from the loss of the wetlands. “They are the ones who will suffer the most,” Gary said.
Hurricanes a serious problem
“Marsh Mission” came out in bookstores one week before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. As devastating as the nation’s worst natural disaster was, followed by the destructive Hurricane Rita weeks later, Gary said the storms helped their cause. She said if there had been more coastal land, the storm surge would not have been as severe or d
estroyed the homes and lives of so many people. Gary said during a lecture series at Marshall University, several students approached her afterward to tell her they had no idea the wetlands were disappearing or how important they were. She said they received e-mails from all over the country, and even from places as far off as Belgium and New Zealand.
“The hurricanes helped us,” she said. “It brought attention to how serious a problem this is. Suddenly people were very interested in what we were doing.”
Lockwood said the storms made coastal restoration a more immediate need to everybody. “The marsh and barrier islands have protected Louisiana for years. As it sinks away and we have less of it, we have less protection. That became the No. 1 reason to save the marsh. A lot of people saw how much money and property we could lose so quickly. It brought to the forefront of everybody’s mind about how important it is.”
The artists
Gary, who has been painting for 40 years, always had an interest in painting landscapes. She traveled through France, Ireland and Italy painting still life, but after visiting many hilly towns, her interest in nature escalated. “Landscaping is my forte,” she said.
Her son, an avid fisherman, convinced her to come out on the wetlands to paint the scenery. She said she was hooked. She began painting her interpretation of the marshes in bright colors, using lots of red to convey the Louisiana heat. Gary works out of her studio at her house near the University Lakes.
“Personally, this has been very rewarding,” Gary said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be writing a book, lecturing and traveling around the country talking about the wetlands.”
Lockwood has been a nature photographer for more than 30 years and generally lives on site of the places he photographs. He has published several photography books but he said the wetlands have been his pet project since the early 70s.
“I’ve done a book on the Gulf Coast, and I began to realize in 1975 that it was eroding away,” Lockwood said. “A lot of what I’ve done has been to help get the word out and save the coast.”
Ready to give back
As the Marsh Mission project winds to a close – the traveling exhibition ended its tour in Wyoming and came back to Baton Rouge at the end of January – both Gary and Lockwood said they hope to continue using their art to bring awareness to the vanishing coast.
“I was ready to give back in some way,” Gary said. “This project has made me realize that if you really have a passion for something, the average person can really do something.”
While Lockwood has done 11 environmental books of his own, he said he plans to continue to speak about the Louisiana wetlands, and all of his future projects will always have something to do with the coast of Louisiana.
“I want people to understand the importance of the coast of Louisiana in so many ways,” he said. “For them to understand why it’s disappearing and hopefully get the word out and make the government start restoring it.”
Photos courtesy of Rhea Gary and C.C. Lockwood.
For more information about the artists or the project, visit these Web sites:
