Kimberly Kenna is a children’s book author who grew up along the shore of Long Island Sound. Her books focus on strong girls and their powerful drive to protect the natural world. Her stories aim to get readers involved, have them think about themselves, their relationships with others and with nature.

Nicole Baker, Artivist Series, Women Mind the Water

Nicole Baker, fishing gear recycler/business entrepreneur

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Nicole Baker has created a system that offers a solution to the disposal of used fishing gear. Net Your Problem is a business that collects used ropes and nets from fishers in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, California and other coastal areas. These are passed it on to recyclers and upcyclers. Since it began in 2017, Net Your Problem has recycled millions of pounds of fishing gear.

Dimitra Skandali grew up on Paros, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. She

says the island has shaped the way she sees the world. Dimitra combines

traditional fiber arts like crochet, embroidery, and weaving with sea

grasses and beach trash as a way to focus attention on the ocean and the

environmental issues that impact its health and sustainability. While her

work is rooted in her relationship with the Aegean Sea, Dimitra also has

ties to the Pacific Ocean, having spent almost a decade in California. By

using beach trash and natural materials she explores sustainability and

other environmental issues like ocean pollution. Her installations, which

have been curated in more than 90 solo and group exhibitions worldwide,

allude to increasing environmental risks alongside human migrations and

struggles with identity.

Dimitra Skandali, Artivist Series, Women Mind the Water

Dimitra Skandali, Fiber arts

Lisa Kozel Mangione, Artivist Series, Women Mind the Water

Lisa Kozel Mangione, mixed media

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Lisa Kozel Mangione is a mixed media artist who is the definition of

artivist. Lisa raises money for charitable causes by either donating her

work to the organizations directly or selling her work and donating the

proceeds. Lisa is using her art in service of the Perryman Peninsula

Project, a rural community in Harford County, Maryland. The land known as

Mitchell Farm is under consideration for development as a freight

distribution district. The possibility of the land being transformed from

rural to industrial has spurred Lisa to action. She is concerned about the

harm the development will cause on an area that used to be wetland. Already

industrialization impacts local waterways and ultimately Chesapeake Bay,

the largest estuary in the United States. The new proposal will cause

additional pressure and to be sited closer or on the water. Lisa wants

people to know that even an average person can make a difference. “If

everybody realizes that they have a small piece of the puzzle. It may be a

small piece but when you put all the pieces together it becomes something

big and good.

Blue deGersigny is a plastic artist and designer. Blue lives in South

Africa, a country quite literally at the southern tip of the African

Continent. It is a country with nearly 3000 km or 1800 miles of coastline,

bordering the Indian, South Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. From the beaches

near her home, Blue collects colorful plastic and transforms it into

eye-catching wearable art. Her intention is to make people aware of plastic

debris and pick it up rather than walking by it.

Blue de Gersigny, Artivist Series, Women Mind the Water

Blue de Gersigny, beach plastic artist

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Margaret Wertheim, Artivist Series, Women Mind the Water

Margaret Wertheim, crocheted coral reef project

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