159 A Climate Revolution with Mary DeMocker
Mary has reveled in an artistic life, performing harp, dressing sets for NY film productions, and now using public art and writing to mobilize for climate action. A National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, Mary may be the first harpist to perform in both The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where she worked with composer John Cage, and the subway stop under Bloomingdales. As a student leader, she sang along with Pete Seeger during the 10-day apartheid divestment sit-in at Columbia University.
Mary later studied at Eastman School of Music and University of Oregon’s School of Music and performed widely, including solo appearances at major music festivals. She toured the original interactive musical “The Incredible Earth Circus” in schools and was commissioned to write six children’s plays, three of which are still regularly performed.
In 1996, Mary began to write about conscious parenting in an era of rapid global transformation. She uses several forms–social commentary, essays, interviews, reporting, and interactive art–to advocate for a healthy, just, and fun world. Her writing has appeared in The Sun, EcoWatch, Common Dreams, Mothering.com, Spirituality & Health, Oregon Quarterly, The Oregonian, The Folk Harp Journal,and ISLE (Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment)a quarterly journal published by Oxford University Press.
Mary co-founded Eugene’s chapter of the international climate action group 350.orgwhere, as Creative Director, she specializes in collaborating with families and young people.
On the home front, Mary is grateful to be married to a physicist/math instructor who can, among other fine things, help the teens survive Algebra.