Special Earth Week Message: Featuring Sibylle Szaggars Redford

Sibylle Szaggars Redford is one of our world's most passionate and influential environmental artists, and founder of The Way of the Rain. Brushwood Center could think of no one better to spotlight for Earth Week. As our global community faces unprecedented challenges, her message of collective action resonates like never before and is beautifully communicated through her performance art and rain paintings.
Sibylle Szaggars Redford and Robert Redford were honored at Brushwood Center in 2018 as the Smith Nature Symposium Environmental Leadership Award Recipients.

​Sibylle Szaggars Redford

Sibylle Szaggars Redford has dedicated her life's work to creating art informed by her spiritual consciousness of our connection to life, the land, and the world by raising awareness of our environmentally unsound practices. Szaggars Redford is a German born multimedia environmental artist whose artwork has been exhibited throughout Europe, Monaco, Peru, Singapore, Japan, Suriname and the United States.
Having worked as an environmental artist for almost four decades, her desire is to create art that transcends words, languages, cultures and politics. Szaggars Redford creates art in order to speak to a deeper universal consciousness that’s connected to and dependent on the earth and its environments.
Her stunning Rain Paintings are watercolor paintings that tell the story of changing rain patterns resulting from climate change. Rain literally acts as her collaborator as she places her paper outside for the rains to shape her watercolor pigment compositions.
In 2015, Szaggars Redford founded The Way of the Rain, a nonprofit organization with the specific purpose of developing, producing and performing educational and artistic performances – themed and designed to promote public awareness to support the protection of our Earth.
The Way of the Rain has performed across the globe, collaborating with organizations dedicated to protection of the planet, including Brushwood Center. 

​A Special Gift from The Way of the Rain

This Earth Week, take time to reflect on the importance of nature in your life by watching The Way of the Rain's inspiring multi-media series "Reflections on Earth". This series of videos, updated weekly and curated by artistic director Sibylle Szaggars Redford, features stunning nature imagery, soothing music by world renowned composer Tim Janis, and stirring spoken word performed by Robert Redford. 
It is the goal of The Way of the Rain to inspire, encourage and keep alive the beauty and dilemma of our Planet Earth, especially during this world-wide pandemic. Take a moment while we are all confined to our homes and allow the breathtaking images and soothing music to gift you a much needed escape. Subscribe to the video series here.

"Nature is my spiritual connection to life, the land and the world, and Nature is my guide and inspiration in creating art," Szaggars Redford says. Pictured here with her Rain Painting Silk.

At-Home Art & Nature Activity for Families

This week, we take inspiration from Sibylle Szaggars Redford's work and will make our own rain paintings!  All you need is paper (printer paper, paper plates, and coffee filters all work well), water-soluble markers, and a spray bottle or dropper.  Create a drawing with the washable markers; try overlapping your colors a bit for better end results.  Using your spray bottle or dropper, create "rain" over your drawing (or, if weather cooperates, use real rain outside!). The more rain you expose your work to, the more blended and unique your piece will become.  Allow your piece to dry before moving, and then find the perfect place to display your new art!