For several years now, I have been enthusiastically following the adventures of a surfer/sailor who is literally living a dream life in the south pacific. Liz Clark, 28, is the captain of the good ship Swell and is a collegiate champion surfer currently sponsored by Patagonia. Liz chose to leave behind a world whose systems of consumption and goals of acquisition have become so damaging to the larger environment, and live closer to her ideals and closer to nature. Recently, I wrote to liz to tell her the impact her journey has made on me and to begin a discussion about our beliefs in environmentalism and the state of the world. I also offered to make her a surfboard. She accepted the offer and I finished the board only days before I left for New Zealand, with help with the woodburning and waxing from my good friend Sean. What resulted was a board I named Mandala, which was held by Patagonia while I flew to Aotearoa, and put on display there before being shipped to Liz while she was recently in California. Liz’s journey has also clearly taken on spiritual aspects and I felt like the ties to the Buddhist artwork expressing both beauty and impermanence, was relevant to the wonder and struggle in our natural world. Whether the board will make it to the reefs of the southern Pacific has yet to be seen, but I am honored to have a work of my hands in the possession of a talented and conscientious surfer. Liz blogs about her adventures, and many of the amazing people and causes in her life at
www.swellvoyage.com. She has a segment in the woman made and woman focused flick
Dear and Yonder and you can catch an interview she did with Korduroy.tv
here.
For several years now, I have been enthusiastically following the adventures of a surfer/sailor who is literally living a dream life in the south pacific. Liz Clark, 28, is the captain of the good ship Swell and is a collegiate champion surfer currently sponsored by Patagonia. Liz chose to leave behind a world whose systems of consumption and goals of acquisition have become so damaging to the larger environment, and live closer to her ideals and closer to nature. Recently, I wrote to liz to tell her the impact her journey has made on me and to begin a discussion about our beliefs in environmentalism and the state of the world. I also offered to make her a surfboard. She accepted the offer and I finished the board only days before I left for New Zealand, with help with the woodburning and waxing from my good friend Sean. What resulted was a board I named Mandala, which was held by Patagonia while I flew to Aotearoa, and put on display there before being shipped to Liz while she was recently in California. Liz’s journey has also clearly taken on spiritual aspects and I felt like the ties to the Buddhist artwork expressing both beauty and impermanence, was relevant to the wonder and struggle in our natural world. Whether the board will make it to the reefs of the southern Pacific has yet to be seen, but I am honored to have a work of my hands in the possession of a talented and conscientious surfer. Liz blogs about her adventures, and many of the amazing people and causes in her life at www.swellvoyage.com. She has a segment in the woman made and woman focused flick Dear and Yonder and you can catch an interview she did with Korduroy.tv here.
