THEME

Global Warming is REAL: Efforts Inspired by Global Warming Changes

As scientific reports and photographs highlight the changes in our planet’s atmosphere, we become more aware of how global warming affects us both now and in the future. We are also witnessing a rise in positive initiatives aimed at reducing pollution, protecting endangered plants and animals, and mitigating the warming effects of the oceans. As awareness of both the challenges and the efforts to address them grows, we encourage artists to draw inspiration from the urgency to enlighten viewers about this powerful theme, as well as from a sense of excitement and relief regarding the leading-edge efforts to preserve our magnificent planet.

There are no specific limitations on expression; however, your artwork should be contemporary, created using wax-based media, and related to the theme of the exhibit. The core of this exhibition will be a creative interpretation of your thoughts and feelings on this subject expressed through art. The juror will select works based on how well they interpret the “Global Warming is REAL” theme and the overall quality of the submitted artwork.

We are pleased to announce the juror for this year’s exhibition:

TAMI PHELPS

Tami Phelps is an Alaskan cold wax artist who believes artists have the opportunity, and quite possibly the responsibility, to take action through art with stories, knowledge, and passion about the crisis of global warming on our planet.

Growing up, she lived in diverse environments, including the plains of Nebraska, Black Hills of South Dakota, mountains of Colorado, deserts of Arizona, tropics of Hawaii, and the Alaska subarctic. It has become surreal to revisit these locations and experience their dramatic changes in her lifetime.

Most of Tami’s cold wax paintings are based on concepts and storytelling. They are often inspired by the surrealism of Salvador Dali’s art. Tami is also influenced by Dr. Maria Montessori’s cultural curriculum of the hands-on studies of air, land, and water, and her teachings of respect for self, others, and the environment. Sixteen years ago, Tami retired from a 20-year teaching career in a public Montessori school in Anchorage, Alaska, and is now a full-time artist.

Tami has exhibited her award-winning artwork on national and international stages. Some of these include EAI Global Warming exhibitions, the London Art Biennale 2023, and the preeminent report on climate change in the United States—the 2023 National Climate Assessment Report—with her artwork heading the chapter on climate change in Alaska. Additional information about her Conceptual Nature art collection and much more can be found on her website, tamiphelps.com. Be sure to watch Tami’s video, which can be found here.

Tami learns from and appreciates other artists who challenge her to reach beyond what makes her feel comfortable. Bring it!

“I dreamt of painting with light bulbs in a ‘kiddy pool’ as if they were sidewalk chalk sticks. My water-top painting dream haunted me, inspiring reflection on my waking concerns about our planet’s confrontation with the surreal nightmare of climate change that will not wake up on its own.”

— Tami Phelps

When Terra Melts at Midnight – cold wax painting ©Tami Phelps 2024 –  shown in the Dreamscapes 2025 Exhibit, Tubac Center of the Arts