KATHERINE BALL

Most recently, I've been helping organize occupy-related actions, including the Swarm and N17: the day of nonviolent civil disobedience to shut down the banks. I do both visual design for actions (flyers, flags, etc) and help orchestrate the logistics. This is the first time in my life that I've worked collaboratively on everything---I love it!
websites: www.pdxbikeswarm.org      www.n17pdx.org    
Occupy article: Knot of Hope     
Swarm articles: Bikes lend support to historic protest at Occupy Portland    The 'bike swarm' evolves into a movement of its own 
Bike Swarm! It's the Occupy Movement's New Tool
N17 article: N17 action against bank closes downtown branches; 48 arrested; police use pepper spray

This summer, I lived on an island dwelling in the middle of the lake and experimented with using mushrooms to filter the E. coli and toxic waste from illegal dumping in the lake. I also build a greywater system in my off-grid, igloo-like home and organized community events about water, including a free school on water and water yoga class. 
www.imamuseum.org/island2011
article: Living on Indy Island   
video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uztUkzSuuTo 

Last year, I rode my bicycle across the country and interviewed people about what they were doing to stop climate change. When the five of us reached Washington DC, we talked to 30 congressional offices about the solutions we had learned from our fellow americans. Then, we headed down to Cancun for the UN Climate Change Conference, where I lived in the jungle at the peoples' climate summit and learned about how capitalism is destroying the wild world. 
website: www.solutionsrevolution.org
summary: www.solutionsrevolution.org/summary

Last winter, I studied at the School of Walls and Space in Copenhagen. Nils Norman is an amazing, engaging teacher and the students are totally rad. Especially the ones that unscrew unneeded screws to build mushroom log hanging devices. I learned so much there (Fermentation! Caliban and the Witch! Harvey's reading of Marx!), I feel like I owe everything to them. 
wallsandspace.wordpress.com
 

A couple years ago, I helped run The Free Market, a free farmers market in a food desert and transistional housing area in downtown, Portland. The food was gleaned from a local farmers market. This happened outside of the art and community space I co-ran with artist Alec Neal, called SEA Change. 
www.seachangegallery.org

 In case it is not obvious already, I love my bicycle.