Cool, Clear Water

Now, if individual beauty is an indication of good health, then we can extrapolate from that, that the beauty of the environment is also an indication of health. We’re attracted to green hills, lush forests and clear water for the same reason that we’re attracted to shiny hair and eyes. We know that those things mean a clean and healthy place for us to live and breathe.

Thus, I make the argument that an appreciation of beauty is an environmentalist stance. Looking — really looking — is the first step in developing a relationship with the world around you. If you’re really looking, you notice when a river is dying or wildlife habitat is disappearing.

Someone sent me some articles on the subject of beauty in response to my last article. One by Ansel Adams said, “Art … is both the taking and giving of beauty, the turning out to the light the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit. It is the recreation on another plane of the realities of the world; the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men, and of all the inter-relations of these.”

The enjoyment of beauty is not just entertainment. Beauty is not inherently superficial, although it can be looked at superficially. But real beauty is very deep and has powerful implications for us. Beauty is often spiritually moving and when it is experienced that way, it should be taken seriously.

Judy’s clear and brilliant watercolors are a joy to look at, as I’m sure they were a joy to produce. But if looking at them gives you a feeling of warmth and connection to the place we live in, don’t underestimate that response. That’s the idea behind this exhibit. That’s what Judy and the folks at Humboldt Baykeeper want you to feel. They want you to fall in love with a clean and healthy environment, and then fight fiercely to keep it that way. After all, it’s our birthright to breathe clean air, drink clean water and experience the beauty of the world around us.

Judy’s watercolors are on exhibit through the month of January at Humboldt Baykeeper, 217 E Street in Eureka. Thanks to Patricia Daniels for the Ansel Adams quote.

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