23

ETA 8 (1) pp. 2347 Intellect Limited 2012

International Journal of Education through Art
Volume 8 Number 1
2012 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/eta.8.1.23_1
Keywords
art
education
creativity
sustainability
well being
creative workshop
palavras-chave
arte
educao
criatividade
sustentabilidade
bem estar
workshop criativo
susana Tereso
Instituto Superior de Agronomia
environmental education
through art
absTracT
The work presented in this article aims to examine different approaches to experi-
encing the relationship between art and nature as a model of sustainability. The
objectives include the enhancement of sensibility senses, emotions, feelings, affec-
tions as a way to directly experience the well-being promoted by joining art and
nature, including harmony, beauty and diversity. The importance of the natural
cycles is revealed by focusing on the light and colour during the day. Scientific knowl-
edge is associated with the hands-on approach to achieving a superior consciousness.
Different methodologies relating education through art psychopedagogy, the creative
workshop and the experience and knowledge of the natural environment are created.
The ultimate goal is to generate new ideas and creative procedures for joining indi-
vidual well-being with global sustainability. The experiences developed in a natural
reserve were applied in rethinking the city as a common space where human beings
and local nature are joined to build a superior way of living.
resuMo
O trabalho apresentado neste artigo procura examinar diferentes aproximaes na
experimentao da relao entre arte e natureza como um modelo de sustentabili-
dade. Os objectivos incluem o realce da sensibilidade sensaes, emoes, senti-
mentos, afectos como forma de experienciar directamente o bem estar promovido
pela associao entre arte e natureza, incluindo harmonia, beleza e diversidade. A
importncia dos ciclos naturais revelada centrando-se na luz e na cor ao longo
do dia. O conhecimento cientfico associado a uma abordagem prtica no sentido
ETA_8.1_Tereso_23-[Link] 23 2/20/12 [Link] PM
Susana Tereso
24
de atingir uma conscincia superior. Foram concebidas diferentes metodologias que
relacionam a psicopedagogia da Educao pela Arte, o Workshop Criativo e a exper-
incia e o conhecimento do ambiente natural. O objectivo final consiste em gerar
ideias novas e procedimentos criativos, por forma a associar o bem estar individual
com a sustentabilidade global. As experincias desenvolvidas numa Reserva Natural
foram aplicadas na reflexo sobre a cidade como um espao comum onde os seres
humanos e a natureza local se associam para construir uma forma de viver superior.
InTroducTIon
Art is a fundamental tool for education (Read 1943, in Sousa 2003), and can
increase environmental sustainability through integration with science (J. Saltz,
Art Review, August 2006). The power of art to persuade, and to create doubt,
consciousness and a new global perspective, is fundamental in human mobi-
lization for this cause (J. Gilbert-Rolfe, E. Holloway, J. Hanley, S. Hustvedt and
S. Durant, Art Review, August 2006). Artistic movements such as Land Art, Earth
Works and Art Povera have represented environmental art mainly since the 1960s,
as a response to destruction of the environment and technological development.
A natural reserve is a model of the environment where humans receive
and preserve the well-being of nature. The natural reserve of the Sado Estuary
is a Portuguese Protected Area with 23160 hectares located in the region of
Setbal, where the River Sado meets the sea. Local activities include tour-
ism, salt extraction and fishing. Local human activities have been significantly
damaging to the natural environment of this natural reserve. The resident
population of the bottlenose dolphin, unique to Portugal, is vulnerable and at
risk of extinction. The Salinas habitat is also at risk of extinction due to human
interference. The Salinas are an essential habitat for the reproduction, resting
and nourishment of the aquatic birds of the Sado Estuary, creating a water
reservoir even during drought or in freezing temperatures. The forest of the
natural reserve is also endangered due to human activities, and climate change
may negatively affect approximately 75% of the species in the Sado region, as
a consequence of the severe impact on forestry and agricultural habitats fore-
seen for this region. Therefore, this postdoctoral biology project was started
with the aim to educate the local population, including the local schools.
The project was developed in such a way that achieving sustainable art
through a creative environmental education process was natural. The didac-
tical unit, the creative workshop, was applied to environmental education in
a series of creative activities, resulting in a possible process involving educa-
tion through art, as well as art in and of itself. Creative workshop procedure
includes a subjective approach, where each creative activity included an open
situation and the performance of tasks, confrontation and try in a differ-
ent way, as well as the material (Marcinkowska 2006: 39698). The princi-
ples of art education were applied, including learning through direct experience
for self-development, progressivism, puerocentrism (education centred on the
child), personalism (consideration of the childs personality), freedom, sponta-
neity, non-directivity, Luddism, creativity and the creative group (Sousa 2003).
By acquiring the principles of art education, a higher consciousness and knowl-
edge on sustainability, I was prepared for the beginning of a personal artis-
tic project. I address the importance of entering a self-experience process to
attain deeper wisdom about ourselves and the natural environment of which
we are a part. Art education is experienced in this project through a holistic
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Environmental education through art
25
approach, applying the precautionary principle first defined in the frame of the
Rio Declaration. According to the Principle no. 15,
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be
widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are
threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall
not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation. ([Link]/[Link]/Default.
asp?DocumentID=78&ArticleID=1163)
The different approaches to sustainable art education described in this arti-
cle are important contributions to achieving a higher consciousness as a new
paradigm for art education.
projecT One day in SadO!
In 2004, my postdoctoral project started with One day in Sado! by joining nature
tourism and art photography in a special route in the natural reserve of the
Sado Estuary (RNES). A collaboration with the natural reserve services was
formed, allowing the organization and coordination of a one-day photography
tour joining professional and amateur nature photographers and their families
(Figure 1AC). Professional photographers could give technical and aesthetic
advice to the amateurs and to the family members. The participation of the
families allowed the establishment of a deeper relationship with nature, thereby
contributing to intergenerational sustainable consciousness. A preparatory expla-
nation of the tour environment and natural elements was previously published
on the Internet where people could register. Most participants had previously
taken a nature photography course, as had I. I led the tour in collaboration
with the local authorities, where people stayed together as a group and could
create their works in a free manner. Four locations in the natural reserve were
selected to be part of the tour, based on their aesthetics experienced on previous
visits. Starting with the observation of the sunrise in the northern area, the tour
took the participants on a walk in a forest of millenary wild olive trees, ended
with a lunch where people could exchange ideas and discuss their experiences.
The sunlight was followed through a walk in the western area where the water
reflections were explored, and in the South area at sunset. Forty-one works of
art photography were selected by photographer and professor Eurico Melo from
the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, based on their technical and aesthetic quali-
ties and not on being professional or amateur works. The works were exhib-
ited through a local travelling exhibition in the natural reserve and in the main
cultural locations of the city of Setbal, the City Hall Library and the Forum
Lusa Tody. In order to continue this project, the ris Movement was created in
collaboration with photographers Fonseca Loff and Daniel de Oliveira, by join-
ing art photography and nature tours in the natural reserve (Figure 1D). The ris
Movement started through a manifesto focusing on the value of well-being and
sharing in experimental photography, which was published through the crea-
tion of a website. The members participated in a number of creative photogra-
phy tours in the natural reserve of the Sado Estuary. The works of photography
created in this project were used in the frame of the following projects described
in this article, in presentations in Portuguese local schools, and in international
secondary and superior schools in the frame of the work visit to the International
Institute of Education Through Art in dz, Poland. One Day in Sado Estuary!
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Susana Tereso
26
was followed by the project To Feel the Mountain! where the same procedures
were followed but focused on the theme of the senses.
projecT TO Feel The MOunTain!
Art photography can work as a therapeutic process, by using colour for self-
expression. Our deepest emotions are in the subconscious as images, for which
colour has been used as art therapy (Withrow 2004). Colour, as an impor-
tant tool for creating emotional balance, affects each of us in different ways,
and a variety of visual stimuli and change is required for human well-being
(Mahnke and Mahnke 1993). Therefore, in 2005, the project To Feel the
Mountain! was created as an art photography route in the Natural Park of
the Serra de So Mamede based on our senses, in collaboration with the
Protected Area services. A Natural Park is a model of an environment
where humans can live in harmony with their environment. Nature can be
a dynamic partner in human well-being (Berger 2004). A walk in a natu-
ral place can be a key to the therapeutic process, as a home-in-nature
a hiding place where human beings feel safe and well (Berger 2006). The
trip to the Portuguese interior mountain Serra de So Mamede represents
a journey to our personal essence. A special art photography route was
designed along different places in the Natural Park, ending at the top of
the Serra de So Mamede mountain (Figure 1E). An existing route So
Mamede Path was also taken in collaboration with a local group, which
resulted in a number of works of art photography (Figure 1F). These works
were selected by each participant and presented through the organization of
a collective travelling exhibition in the main local cultural locations, includ-
ing Portalegre City Library, Marvo City Hall Museum, Arronches Cultural
Figure 1: Art and nature tourism projects: One Day in Sado! (A) Sun rising; (B) Day; (C) Sunset; (D) Tours
by the ris Movement Project. To Feel the Mountain!: (E) Exhibition, (F) So Mamede Path, (G) Detail
of the Installation in dz .
A
D
E F G
B C
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Environmental education through art
27
Center and Campo Maior Cultural Center. In the frame of a work visit to the
International Institute of Education Through Art, these works were used as
part of an installation (Figure 1G), performance and happening in the frame
of the international conference Art Therapy in dz, Poland (Tereso 2007b).
In the happening, it was suggested to the participants that they imagine
that the chocolate packages were a mandala cake inspired by the work of
Professor Wieslaw Karolak (2004), and that they taste them. Inside some of
the packages were previously placed thumbnails of the photographs exhib-
ited earlier in the collective travelling exhibition. With these photography
thumbnails, the participants built an exhibition of painting easels covered
with locally collected oak leaves. The experience and knowledge obtained
from the work visit to the International Institute of Education Through Art
in Poland resulted in the project We are Going to Save the Dolphin! and the
programme We are going to take care of Sado!.
projecT Walk TO MOuriSca TideMill!
This project was developed in 2006 in the RNES, in collaboration with the
RNES services and teacher Brbara Giraldes from the Centro Alfredo Pinheiro
primary school in Cascais, Portugal, who I had met during my participation
in a workshop on Education Through Art at the Cascais Cultural Center in
2005. According to Richard Louv, there is a relationship between nature
deficit and disturbing childhood trends, presenting ideas for a better way
to live with nature (2008). The natural environment has been the context
and content of training for teaching of environmental education through art
(Miraglia and Smilan 2009). In order to integrate knowledge on and experi-
ence of education through art obtained in the workshop mentioned above, a
creative workshop was integrated into a walking route in the project Walk to
Mourisca Tidemill!. A walk guidebook was prepared for the class of 69-year-
old students of Centro Alfredo Pinheiro, including the definitions of natu-
ral reserve, estuary and marshland, the localization of the RNES, natural
and cultural elements they would see during the walk, and the materials
required for the walk. The guide-book and my art photography works on
this natural reserve were part of a presentation at the school. From this
project, close-up and Polaroid photography, drawing, painting and writing
were developed by the students during a special walking route that I led in
collaboration with their teacher Brbara Giraldes (Figure 2AL). Based on
what the participants experienced during the walk, groups of four to five
children created a story sketch. In the classroom, under the supervision of
their teacher, the students further developed one of the story sketches into a
legend (Figure 2M). The opinions of the students and teacher on the activi-
ties were all positive. The resulting works were shown through a collective
travelling exhibition in the natural reserve and in the main citys cultural
locations, including the telling of the legend created (Tereso 2007a). The
exhibition included an installation using local materials such as burlap and
flour once used to make the bread in this tidemill, together with ecological
coloured flour, and a tent for the storytelling made by the visiting teachers
for their students. The work visit to the International Institute of Education
Through Art mentioned above gave me a deeper knowledge on and experi-
ence of education through art and in the methodology of the creative work-
shop, allowing me to create the project We are going to save the dolphin! and
the programme We are going to take care of Sado!
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Susana Tereso
28
projecT We are gOing TO Save The dOlphin!
From the experiments previously described, in 2008 a model of environmental
education through art was designed based on a thorough investigation into
the RNES environmental questions, the biology, habitat and history of the
natural elements involved, contact with the local cultural and artistic entities
and their most interesting RNES natural elements, and the development of
creative activities, workshops and projects using education through art meth-
odologies (AAVV 2000, 2004; Sousa 2003; Marcinkowska 2006; Santos 2008).
A work visit was made to the International Institute of Education Through
Art in dz, Poland, in the frame of which a class of 1013-year-old students
from a local school illustrated the legend previously created (Tereso 2008).
Figure 2: Project Walk to Mourisca Tidemill!. (A) The walk; (B)(E) Close-up photography; (F) Legend
sketch; (G)(K) Polaroid photography; (L) Painting; (M) Legend.
A B C
D
E F
G H I J
K
L
M
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Environmental education through art
29
In the classroom, the students attended a presentation of the previous projects
developed, and participated in the telling of the legend (Figure 3AC). After
one week, a creative activity started by presenting the bottlenose dolphin
through the five human senses. Each group made an illustration using flour
and water over students used paper (Figure 3DJ). In Portugal, the work-
shop We are going to save the dolphin! included four creative activities involv-
ing 109 students from five local primary schools: a private school, a school for
orphan students and three schools located next to the natural reserve. The
schools were invited to participate in the activities in and through the RNES
as host institution of the project. Activity 1 was performed in the classroom,
where teachers and students told the legend and performed and drama. In
the RNES, the students identified with the dolphin and created a personal
dorsal fin and dolphin by reusing personal materials (Activity 2), and through
body expression (Activity 3) based on published bottlenose dolphin sounds
and movements. After identifying with the dolphins population situation,
Figure 3: Activities developed in collaboration with a school in dz, Poland (A)(C) Oral presentation;
(D)(J) Legend illustrations.
A
C D E F
G H I
J
B
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Susana Tereso
30
each student created a personal petition postcard to the director of the RNES
(Activity 4). The workshop We are going to Save the Dolphin! resulted in a total
of 544 works of self-expression (Figure 4AC). I followed the principle that
it is important to involve the students in the programme in an active way
(Ballantyne et al. 2001a).
programme we are goIng To TaKe care of sado!
In 20082009, the previous experience led to the creation of an envi-
ronmental education through art programme in the RNES host institu-
tion, whereby the schools were invited to participate by publishing the
programme on the Internet ([Link]
O+ICNB/Centro+de+Documentacao/Noticias+-+Arquivo/Detalhe+Noticia/
Vamos+Cuidar+[Link]). The creative activities that I led and involving at
least one school class started with a nature tourism walking route, pre-existing
or specially created depending on the creative activity needs. Three enquiries
directed to the professors, students and their parents were created based on
the previous approaches developed by an Australian research group focusing
on the impact of different environmental education programmes (Ballantyne
et al. 2001a2001c, 2006). Unusual or pleasant experiences outside the class-
room such as a creative walk in the natural environment may inspire inter-
generational discussion (Ballantyne et al. 2001a). Intergenerational influence is
the process through which young people can act as catalysts of environmen-
tal change among their parents and other adult members of the community
(Uzzell 1994). Knowing that young people can influence the adult environmen-
tal consciousness (Kruger 1992; Sutherland and Ham 1992; Uzzell 1994), the
Australian research group suggested using this process in their programmes
(Ballantyne et al. 1998a). The enquiries on the training course aimed to analyse
the effectiveness of acquiring knowledge and experience on environmen-
tal education through art. The enquiries directed to the teachers/educators
analysed the objectives of the creative activities and their achievement, and
the difficulties, results and innovation of the proposals. The students parents
enquiries analysed the intergenerational influence of the students, by focusing
on the depth of the discussion between students and parents, on the activi-
ties or factors inspiring their discussion, and on the level of influence of their
discussion on the parents changes in attitudes and behaviour. I followed the
principle that students can share their environmental knowledge and attitudes
with their parents, creating a positive influence (Ballantyne et al. 1998b, 2001a).
After the realization of each activity of the RNES programme, the intergen-
erational influence of environmental education was promoted by proposing to
the teachers/educators that they reproduce and recreate the activity together
with their students and students parents, and also involve the local popula-
tion. I followed the principle that the experience of teaching others about good
environmental practices contributes to our own environmental conscience.
In addition, it might be a way to get parents involved and thereby be influ-
enced by their children. In the frame of the Australian environmental education
programmes according to students parents, the intergenerational discussion
was inspired by homework projects or school and community presentations
made by the students (Ballantyne et al. 2001a, 2001b). One of the schools
participating in the previous project We are going to save the dolphin! sent me
a Powerpoint presentation on sensitivity towards on dolphins. According to
the psicopedagogic basis of education through art, people should satisfy their
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Environmental education through art
31
own needs (Sousa 2003), for which they are not obliged to perform the activi-
ties proposed (B. Marcinkowska, personal communication). This principle was
applied to both the creative activities and the answers to the enquiries. The crea-
tive workshop To Know the Reserve by Color! included the creation of trees made
of flour and water and painted with natural elements by 12-year-old children,
resulting in 32 works (Figure 4D). The benefits of colour (Mahnke and Mahnke
1993; Withrow 2004) are experimented with using local natural elements. To
Photograph the little drop of water girl included storytelling and drama performed
with the collaboration of 35-year-old children, followed by the creation of a
personal story through collage, resulting in 35 works (Figure 4EG). To Play in
the Estuary! included the building of musical instruments made of tree elements
by 35-year-old children, followed by music expression exercises inspired by
education through music exercises (Sousa 2003), and drawing, resulting in
sixteen works (Figure 4H). The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood
education is a reference, where learning through the use of the senses joins
self-expression with the environment as educator (Cadwell and Gandini 1997;
Tarr 2001). Give Me a Water Mirror! involved bird photography and sound
identification by 78-year-old students in the natural reserve during the walk,
followed by the creation of a personal bird and bird sound, and the creation
of a written and/or visual petition for bird preservation, resulting in 34 works
(Figure 4I). We are going to save the dolphin! involved primary and secondary
school students, and incorporated new visual techniques resulting in 206 works
(Figure 4J), and the legend drama (Figure 4K). I Am a Tree! included the crea-
tion of a personal tree, group body expression for creating a forest, and the
creation of a petition associated with global climate change, resulting in 56
works (Figure 4L). Teaching about global warming has been proven to increase
students consciousness and action-taking in solving this problem (Lester et al.
2006). Trees! included body expression and tree-texture exercises, followed by
the creation of a personal pine or cork oak tree through written and/or visual
expression, resulting in 90 works (Figure 4M). To Photograph the Marshlands!
included photography of natural reserve elements similar to elements from
each of the other Portuguese Protected Areas, by students from the primary
and secondary schools (Figure 4N). Air Diary! included the smelling, touching
and observation of local aromatic plants and, after consulting the manuscript
Air Diary on local aromatic plants, the creation of a personal aromatic plant as
a character (Figure 4O). To Feel the Estuary! was developed in collaboration with
a local artist, and involved a creative moonlight walk based on the adult partici-
pants touch, smell and taste, followed by a drawing session using permanent
ink (Figure 4P). The public animation project was developed in collaboration
with a local professor from the Superior School of Education, involving a pres-
entation of the previous work and local birds in the classroom, a guided visit
to the natural reserve and Salinas, and the ateliers Bread, Soup, Salt and Dance
involving 150 students from a local primary school (Figure 4Q, R). To visit the
Sado Collection! included a guided visit to Susana Teresos Sado Collection instal-
lation, followed by the creation of a drawing project by 1416-year-old students,
where a personal natural reserve was applied to a group-made natural reserve,
resulting in 36 works (Figure 4S). Individual exhibitions Take Care of Sado!
and We are Going to Take Care of Sado! were followed by the organization
of the collective exhibition Art in Sado!, with the participation of local artists,
in the local city libraries (Figure 4T). Further creative activities were performed
in 2009 and 2010 by establishing the collaboration project We are going to know
the Sado Estuary with a local school, involving the teaching of drawing, painting
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Susana Tereso
32
Figure 4: Programme We are going to save the dolphin! (A) dolphin dorsal fin; (B) body
expression; (C) postcard petitions from the five schools. Programme We are going to take care of
the Sado!; creative workshops; (D) To Know the Reserve by Color!; (E)(G) To Photograph
The little drop of water girl!; (E) drawing; (F) tissue collage; (G) paper collage; (H) To Play in
the Estuary!; (I) Give Me a Water Mirror!; (J) We Are Going to Save the Dolphin!; (K) Legend
drama; (L) I Am a Tree!; (M) Trees!; (N) To Photograph the Marshlands; (O) Air Diary!;
(P) To Feel the Estuary!; (Q)(R) public animation project; (S) creative workshop
To visit the Sado Collection!; (T) Sado Collection.
A B C D
E F G H
M N
O
P
Q R S T
I
J K
L
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Environmental education through art
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and modelling of estuary natural elements. This experience inspired me to
start a Ph.D. on Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon
(FBAUL), involving an art research project that is ongoing.
projecT paradiSe
During the final part of my postdoctoral degree in Biology, and as my recent
Ph.D. on painting was running in Lisbon, I decided to start the art project Paradise
in Lisbon, aiming to participate in the sustainability of the city by promoting the
creation of urban parks (Tereso 2010). The idea of urban parks has developed
mainly from the nineteenth century onwards, trying to mimic nature, and in
particular the multidimensional value of trees in city comfort has been recog-
nized (Almeida 2006). The concept of a green city has been greatly expanded
worldwide. However, according to the study European Green City, Lisbon is
a weak performer ([Link]
accessed 31 January 2010). The city should provide its inhabitants with about
ten square meters of green space, integrated in the habitation structure, and
thirty square meters as complementary green space of recreation and, there-
fore, of intensive use (Telles 2003: 285). This idea was explored through the
photography work Green City (Figure 5), where photographs of my art studio
localized close to the Arrabida Natural Park. I decided to organize the collective
exhibition Naked Lisbon in 2011, including works by students of the Superior
Creativity School the Escola Superior de Design, Marketing e Publicidade
Figure 5: Project Paradise. Work of photography Green City (art studio) (A)(N) 15cm10cm.
A B C D
E F G H I
J K L M N
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Susana Tereso
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(IADE), the personal works Green City and Rosemary, and the engraving series
Wild Olive Tree and the video Cork Oak by the invited artist Lus Valente.
As trees are a symbol of the purity of air, stability and ultimately the cosmos
(Bachelard 2000), seven Portuguese indigenous trees adapted to the local
conditions were the subjects of drawing, painting, engraving and installation
(Figure 6). Local indigenous plants are increasingly being used for adaptation to
local conditions, in accordance with the local landscape, and for their capacity
for reproduction (Costa 1996). The exhibited works were based on the philoso-
phy of sumi-e painting, a Japanese traditional style focusing on the essential, the
Figure 6: Project Paradise. Experiments joining the sumi-e and occidental paintings (A) sumi-e technique;
(B) introduction of red colour in the sumi-e painting; (C), (D) different Portuguese indigenous trees;
(E), (F) watercolour using one type of paint or various paints on Japanese paper; (G) rosemary painting on
manufactured azulejo; sumi-e stroke with (H) watercolour, and (I) after graphite sketch, with (J) sumi ink
(K) on canvas.
A B C D
E F G
H I J K
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Environmental education through art
35
soul of natural elements, and ritual based on harmony (Sato 2010). In order to
present ideas for the citys sustainability, the exhibition Urban Parks occurred
in 2011 at the headquarters of Lisbon City Hall, where seven Portuguese indig-
enous trees were exhibited together with the artworks (Tereso 2011). In paral-
lel, five art exhibitions focusing on the idea of joining human beings with each
of the indigenous trees have been planned for the next five seasons, in collabo-
ration with Sesimbra City Hall.
projecT SuMi-e painTing and SuSTainabiliTy
A Ph.D. project on the fine arts by the FBAUL has been in development
since 2010 in a private studio at the Arrabida Natural Park. At present, this
Protected Area is in danger due to the presence of the cement company Secil
and various quarries (Figure 7). In this frame, the state of the art on artis-
tic concepts of sustainability and ecosystem has been delineated (Figure 8).
The Revival of Space by George Steinmann was identified as a sustainable
mental sculpture

(Kurt 2006: 139). International art movements on natural
Figure 7: Unsustainability in the Arrabida Natural Park (A) Cement industry
Secil; (B)(D) Quarry Quimipedra; (E)(F) Arrabida Mountain, by Susana
Tereso, digital photography 30cm40cm, 2011.
A
C
E
B
D
F
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Susana Tereso
36
Figure 8: Artworks from contemporary artists based on artistic concepts of sustainability (A) George Steinman,
The Revival of Space, reform of the Tallin Art Hall as sustainable sculpture, 19921995; (B) Sandhi
Schimmel Gold, Mother Nature, Collage on paper, 2010; (C) Renata de Andrade, installation, no date (n.d.);
(D) Henrique Oliveira, Tapumes, wood 3.5m23m1.4m (2006); (E) Ann Elis, necklace, trush jewellery;
(F) Steven Rodrig, Theres No Data Like Home, circuit boards, 20.32cm10.16cm12.7cm (n.d.);
(G) Robert Bradford, no title, armature wooden toys, 1m2m0.5m (n.d.); (H) Braga Tepi, Meditao
Universal, iron sculpture, 180cm44cm54cm and base diameter 46cm (n.d.); (I) Bansky, Graffiti over wall,
I dont believe in Global Warming (n.d.); (J) Verheggen, Dog Sled Riders, iron sculpture on iceberg (2010);
(K) Miguel Palma, sculpture Carbon 14 (1998); (L) Fernanda Fragateiro, project Air, Earth, Water, Light,
Iron, Time, installation at the Garden of the Painters (2008); (M) Alberto Carneiro, The four elements,
installation of iron, plastic, photography and natural elements, 200 x 200 x 200 cm (196970).
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
I
K L M
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Environmental education through art
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environment started by exhibitions such as Earth Works in 1968 (Kastner
and Wallis 1998: 2), and Earth Art in 1969. The present fear of global envi-
ronmental unsustainability was expressed in exhibitions such as Radical
Nature Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 19692009 in 2009

([Link]/artgallery/[Link]?ID=8908, accessed 01 May
2011), and Rising to the Climate Challenge ([Link]/modern/
eventseducation/symposia/[Link], accessed 1 May 2011). In Portugal,
different artistic concepts of sustainability have been created, such as the
ecological art of Alberto Carneiro (19681971; Rosendo 2007a, 2007b),
Ecossistema in 1995 and Carbono 14 in 1998 by Miguel Palma, and the project
Air, Earth, Water, Light, Iron, Time by Fernanda Fragateiro (2008). Natural
plants have been used in artistic installations such as the projects of Joseph
Beuys (Reames 2005: 42), Mark Dion and the Chicago Urban Ecology Action
Group, Guerrilla Gardening

([Link]/, accessed 1 May
2011), and Time Landscape by Alain Sonfist.
art, Science and Technique
The project Sumi-e painting and Sustainability is developing a sustainability
concept by joining the fine arts with scientific data and technical knowledge, as
are many contemporary artists (Kagan 1994; AAVV 2007; Laiglesia et al. 2010).
There is an increasing tendency towards the creation of spaces in the border
between art and life, in which social, scientific and art experimental works are
developed for sustainability (Kurt 2006: 143). Art and science are both associ-
ated with creativity. Art, as a word to which nothing real already corresponds
(Heidegger 2004: 11), finds in science an objective and validated knowledge
(Wilson 2002: 3), and in art technology its methods, technical processes, materi-
als and tools (Bain 1937: 860). Science theorizes the real (Heiddeger 2007: 158),
whereas art is focused on the artists individuality (Rodrguez in Laiglesia
et al. 2010: 27). Considering that art and science involve different sustainabil-
ity conceptualization processes (Kurt 2006: 143), by joining art and science,
we can put together the sensitive and rational knowledges in a broader vision
(Cassidy 1964: 16; Prez,2008: 5051). Technique links the concepts with the
real world and transforms the knowledge into a product (Franco in Laiglesia
et al. 2010: 212). By joining art, science and technique, we can obtain experi-
mental objects (Caeiro in Laiglesia et al. 2010: 47). The hybridization process may
involve the establishment of dialogues, such as in the project Neuston, where a
more profound knowledge valorized the emotional (Valverde in Laiglesia et al.
2010: 199), and in the project Hydrotopia/Hydrophobia: Contemporary Art and
Waters Fortunes focusing on the sustainable agriculture on the coast and in the
marshlands (Kurt 2006: 143). The difficulty in separating the artistic and scien-
tific aspects of the projects (Tudela in Laiglesia et al. 2010: 277) may emerge
in a discourse plurality associated with a holistic consciousness of the need for
sustainability. In the frame of my Ph.D. project Sumi-e Painting and Sustainability,
the scientific data from seven trees and indigenous (autochthonous) aromatic
plants from the Arrabida Natural Park were associated with the sumi-e paint-
ing technique. These plants are being increasingly used in the indigenous land-
scape due to their adaptability, low maintenance costs and good framing in the
local landscape (Costa 1996; Magalhes 1992: 30203), and possibly to a new
ecological conscience of the need to conserve the local natural environment
(Castro 2000). This includes to preserve the spirit of the place as all that gives to
a landscape a unique character, including the factors involved in the landscape
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Susana Tereso
38
Figure 9: Portuguese indigenous plants in the winter (A) Quercus faginea; (B) Populus nigra var. italica;
(C) Fraxinus angustifolia; (D) Pinus pinea; (E) Fraxinus angustifolia leaves (herbarium); (F) Olea
europaea var. sylvestris; (G) Lavandula stoechas, digital photography 30cm40cm (2011).
A B C
D E
F G
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Environmental education through art
39
perception (Magalhes 1994) such as the local plants (Magalhes 1992: 302).
In my project, a herbarium of leaves from each local indigenous tree was
constructed. A number of photography works were made focusing on these
plants in the winter (Figure 9). Sumi-e paintings of the Portuguese indigenous
trees have been created in the spring (Figure 10). More works on this painting
technique are being developed through different seasons until September 2012,
which will be exhibited in each season, in the frame of local individual exhibi-
tions already set up with the local Sesimbra City Hall.
As a teacher at the Superior School of Art and Design IADE, I developed a
creative workshop on sumi-e painting with the participation of two classes. The
workshop started by giving the students an introduction to the sumi-e essence
and painters, and the abstraction and colour introduced in the contempo-
rary sumi-e painting (Figure 11), materials (Figure 12) and gesture (Figure 13).
Although the traditional sumi-e painting uses only sumi (black) ink, colour has
been used by sumi-e contemporary artists (Okamoto 1996: 77). Traditionally,
colour is part of occidental painting (Menezes 2008), and it has been shown to
affect our well-being (Heller 2009). A number of painting sessions were then
carried out, where it was proposed to the students to apply the sumi-e paint-
ing line to their own occidental painting styles (Figure 14).
Figure 10: Project Sumi-e Painting and Sustainability. Experiments on sumi-e
painting based on photography and graphite sketches on indigenous local trees,
sumi ink on Japanese paper 33cm24cm (A)(D) e 132cm96cm; (E) A Local
tree, B Arbutus unedo, C Fraxinus angustifolia, D Olea europaea var.
sylvestris and E Quercus suber.
A B C
E D
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Susana Tereso
40
Figure 11: Sumi-e painting artists (A) Liang Kai (11401210); (B) Ma Yuan (1160651225); (C) Hsia Kuei
(11901225); (D) Sesshu (14201506); (E) Sengai Gibon (17501837); (F) Shozo Sato (1950); (G) Naomi
Okamoto (1950); (H) Zen abstract painting by Lu Shoukun (19191975).
A
B
C
E
D
H G F
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Environmental education through art
41
Figure 12: Materials and techniques shown to the IADE students in the frame of the sumi-e workshop
(A) Stone for grinding the sumi ink; (B) Sumi ink bar; (C) Traditional Choryu brushes; (D) Mountain horse
brush; (E) Menso brush; (F) Occidental brushes based on the Japanese brush; (G) The ink-grinding ritual.
The sumi-e line pattern made by using the brushes; (H) menso; (I) choryu.
A B C
F E D
G H I
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Susana Tereso
42
dIscussIon
The crises in both art materiality (Michaud 1997, 2003) and sustainability may
be solved through art organicity, where the creation process uses a holistic
approach. Traditionally, the sumi-e painting uses only dark ink, representing
all the other colours used in occidental painting (Sato 2010). The abstract Zen
painting of the contemporary Japanese artist Lu Shoukun, and new ways of
using dark ink by contemporary Chinese painters such as Qi Baishi, Huang
Binhong, Wu Changshuo, Zhu Da and Shitao (Clarke 2000), gave new insights
to the project. The creative workshop joined with the environmental educa-
tion framework of this study was a valuable way to reach the participants,
engaging them in learning about and becoming active in global sustainability.
The scientific knowledge on the local natural environment was joined with
the creative workshop methodology (Marcinkowska 2006).
In conclusion, a model joining art, nature and scientific knowledge was
developed as an approach to sustainable art and expression. From the analysis
Figure 13: Painting exercises showing the quality of the line and the poetry of the gesture in the sumi-e
painting. sumi ink on Japanese paper 33cm24cm (A) Regular thickness line; (B) Thin-thick line; (C) Thin-
thick-thin line with; (D) Spiral line; (E) Thin-thick-thin and spiral lines; (F) Free circular lines.
A B C
D E F
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Environmental education through art
43
Figure 14: (A)(G) Paintings made by IADE student Ricardo Valente in the frame of the living model sessions,
acrylic on paper 40cm30cm (2011).
of inquiries performed by the professors, students and their parents, the
objectives of education through art were achieved. The activities were pleas-
ant and fun in that they allowed the participants to observe and photograph
the natural reserve and different species in their habitat, and to walk in the
natural space and learn about it. The participants learned to respect nature,
and the characteristics, importance and beauty of living beings. There was a
consciousness about the risk that natural elements and habitats will disappear,
and on ways to protect them. The participants interest in establishing a future
relation with nature, the natural environment and its freedom, and the inter-
generational dialogue and parents sensitization and knowledge, indicates the
educative effectiveness of the model in sustaining our global house.
According to the Intergovernamental Panel on Climate Change reports,
global climate change is a reality (Dresner 2008). The Biodiversity Convention
is not effective in avoiding habitat destruction, and many species are at risk of
extinction. The most recent ecological studies focus on global climate changes,
species extinction and the need for scientific contributions in society due to
the urgency of the environmental questions (AAVV 2010). The expensive
energy flows between the financial town and the personal house in the city
suburbs may be avoided through a sustainable way of living in the city. The
control of noise and air pollution together with the assurance of green spaces
parallel to each building may be a way forward in city well-being. The use
of autochthonous plants in the exhibitions is a sign of the flow of the natu-
ral reserve into the city. Natural harmony, beauty and diversity are personal
A B C D
E F G
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Susana Tereso
44
rights and may move human beings towards fundamental changes in the city
environment in the future.
acKnowledgemenTs
This study was supported by a grant to the author from the Fundao para a
Cincia e Tecnologia (FCT).
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suggesTed cITaTIon
Tereso, S. (2012), Environmental education through art, International Journal
of Education through Art 8: 1, pp. 2347, doi: 10.1386/eta.8.1.23_1
conTrIbuTor deTaIls
Susana Tereso has a graduate degree, a Masters and a Ph.D. in Biology
and is working on a Ph.D. on Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the
University of Lisbon. Since 2004, she has been developing a postdoctoral
project including creativity projects, a programme on education through art
and an art project.
Contact: Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-17 Lisboa,
Portugal.
E-mail: susanaisabeltereso@[Link]
ETA_8.1_Tereso_23-[Link] 47 2/9/12 [Link] PM
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