Artist Statement
“In my work, I almost always use a cloudy and mysterious background that could be sunset, could be fire, could be something entirely unexpected on the horizon. While painting this mural, I switched my earbuds between music and news on the hour, and was stunned by the constant reporting of extreme weather events happening in real time while I worked. This unavoidable news pushed me to deepen and brighten the ominous horizon behind my short-eared owl, a species native to East Boston and profoundly threatened by the loss of its coastal grassland habitat.
And yet... despite the threats to our oceans and coasts, I always invest the creatures in my work with an almost magical level of resilience and hopeful optimism, in this case symbolized by the fresh, clear spirit of a clean ocean wave at the heart of the owl. I hope that my reverence for wildlife shows in my attention to detail, and inspires others to pay this same close attention to the threats on our collective horizon, but also to the great possibilities for change, conservation and abundance that remain if we work together.”
— Josie Morway
The Focus
Biodiversity Loss, the Short-eared Owl
Take Action
Support local ecosystems by:
• Reducing your carbon footprint.
• Advocate for conservation efforts, and voice your opinion to your town/city/state government and elected leaders
• Volunteer for climate action initiatives, like urban farms and other activist efforts to protect open space
• Vote for environmentally-minded candidates.
• Vote with your dollar — support brands and organizations working towards a sustainable future.
