Artist In Residence. May 7th – June 3rd 2024.
Clara Benadon is a passionate naturalist, trained marine ecologist, and long-time fiber artist from Maryland, USA. From August 2023-24, she is traveling the world as a Thomas J. Watson fellow to explore ties between environmental change and the fiber industry.
What strategies do farmers employ to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable climate? How are fiber artists interacting with their local ecologies to center sustainability in their work? And, how can traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Western science be leveraged to promote climate resilience in a local and global context?
Clara will join from out of the blue studio gallery from May 7th to June 3rd 2024 to study these questions. She hopes to learn about methods to reduce agricultural emissions in New Zealand, both on the level of individual community members and larger scientific or policy-making institutions. Clara will collaborate with climate action organisations and converse with local farmers to understand the efficacy of, and response to, environmental agricultural regulations. By working with a combination of fiber art mediums and hosting community-minded crafting and mending workshops, she will probe the nexus between agriculture, art, and science.
A graduate from Bowdoin Collegehttps://www.bowdoin.edu/
A recent graduate of The William – Mystic Coastal and Ocean Studies Programme. https://mystic.williams.edu/
Also a recipient of an internship at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the US Department of Commerce https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship. Clara received the Barry Goldwater Schlarship while in University. This is awarded to promising young STEM researchers https://goldwaterscholarship.gov/
Clara is travelling to New Zealand as a recipient of The Watson Fellowship https://watson.foundation/fellowships/tj/fellows
You can follow Clara’s travels and the communities she engages with on Instagram @clara.makes.stuff. Her Ravelry page is https://www.ravelry.com/designers/clara-benadon