November 6-29 ‘The lifeblood of joy flows in every living thing, from the mineral world through the plant world, to the world of living beings… if we can extend beyond every limit we have created for ourselves, we will see that our lives exist in everything, and that the deterioration of phenomena cannot touch that life, just as the arising and disappearing of the waves cannot influence the existence of water.’ – Thich Nhat Hanh (Commentary on the Anapanasati Sutta)
Over the past several years I’ve made a casual study of deep geological time in response to global climate crisis. According to scientists, our planet was formed over 4.5 billion years ago during which time five mass extinction events have occurred. In 2000, Paul Crutzen dubbed the years since human activity has had significant global impact (climate change and increased extinction rates) the Anthropocene epoch. Looking into the past with these geological binoculars of impermanence, I find hope.
The paintings in this body of work spring from my imagination and curiosity about what our ancestors, earth’s earliest living creatures, may have looked like before becoming part of the fossil record we are all destined to become enshrined in. May these colorful images inspire your own vision of hope and joy beyond our human age. -Susan J Christensen November, 2025
