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How climate data gives me the feels

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How climate data gives me the feels

The emotional rollercoaster behind painting my most complicated piece

Nicole Kelner
Mar 31, 2023
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How climate data gives me the feels

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Sunday I painted the most complicated piece I’ve ever made in 6 hours. I painted a graphic from the IPCC report to show how current and future generations could have different experiences with climate change. I created a gradient of 18 colors representing a variety of global temperature change scenarios. 

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Nicole Kelner @NicoleKelner
How current and future generations could have different experiences with climate change
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3:37 PM ∙ Mar 27, 2023
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I painted the chart to scale perfectly, which was a math challenge to make sure every single stroke was accurate to the original data. Then there was an emotional challenge. With the hundreds of tiny brush strokes, it created a uniquely tactile experience of feeling each of the warming scenarios.  

In the worst case scenario I used purple to represent the highest temperature change. I had to use so much purple. I felt anxiety in my body as I finished this row, seeing it encompass all 18 colors. 

For the “best case” scenario where emissions are “very low” I used orange to represent staying at 1.5 ℃ warming above pre-industrial levels.  I was able to use orange the entire row for that scenario. I felt slightly relieved, my anxiety calming.

The difference I felt while painting these brush strokes was startling. Depicting these warming scenarios with a paintbrush the size of a chia seed felt very intimate. 

I could feel this information as I painted it and I thought about what our days would feel like in that purple world.

I think that is part of why I like to paint climate solutions. When I paint about solutions, I feel the hope and the possibility of the future I want us to create together. It makes me want to work harder and provides me with motivation.

This painting process was a vivid reminder of the community working to keep us and our future generations in the orange. 

This newsletter is made with lots of love and creativity. If you’d like to support more climate art, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber ❤️

Life updates:

  • Earth day merch is live and will come in time if you order soon! Check it out here.

  • Creativity Circles for climate folks is gonna be a thing! I’m working on the curriculum and logistics now. If you are interested in that, fill out this form.

  • I’m coming to LA + SF in less than a month! I’ll be in LA April 27-30 and SF April 30-May 5. Shoot me a message if you want to meet up, I’ll be organizing some stuff.

Ways to support me:

  • 📗 Buy my book! It’s a great coffee table book for yourself, your office, or your nerdy climate friend.

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Melissa Alfano @MelPoweredUp
@jenbristol_ and @JasmileDeJesus I bought the book.
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6:28 PM ∙ Mar 30, 2023

Client Spotlight

I loved getting to work with GridRewards to think about the small changes we can make at home to make a big difference!

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Nicole Kelner @NicoleKelner
The toolkit we all need to fight climate change at home! 🔨🏡 I loved getting to work with @getgridrewards to think about the small changes we can make at home to make a big difference⚡️
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GridRewards @getgridrewards
These are our weapons for change- from smart thermostats to electric vehicles to GridRewards, we have the power in our hands to make a difference with one small change at a time. Thanks, @NicoleKelner !💚🌎 https://t.co/yAcre7XLje
7:14 PM ∙ Mar 29, 2023
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This newsletter is made with lots of love and creativity. If you’d like to support more climate art, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber ❤️

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How climate data gives me the feels

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How climate data gives me the feels

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Andy @Revkin
Writes Sustain What
Mar 31

Nice work! Your hand-painted variant on the IPCC synthesis graphic displaying risks facing successive generations reminds me of the Tempestry Project, using knitting to convey the rising temperature gradients laid out in "warming stripes" visualizations of climate data. Seeing your book, I'm thinking it'd be neat to get you on my #SustainWhat show with the knitters and others to explore next steps? Here's a related post with a link to that previous climate-art chat: Can Innovative Imagery Overcome Big-Number Numbness Stalling Action on Covid and Climate? https://revkin.substack.com/p/can-innovative-imagery-overcome-big-22-05-18

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