Li Pallas began studying divination through mastering the I-Ching at age nine. Since then she has embarked on an alchemic path melding fields of printmaking, painting, graphic design, installation art, gift giving, storytelling, journalism, organic food, urban gardening, and home making. Through holistic research as opposed to a specialized approach, she places herself into extremely localized communities and invents culturally appropriate miniutopias; seeds of magical realism that amplify and expose the preexisting possibilities of common understanding and peace. By handcrafting sustainable, healthy, loving, and supportive environments she aims to prove people are overwhelmingly good natured, that personal experience is the only form of expert opinion, and that beauty and kindness are the most powerful agents of change. She reads tarot and listens to Talking Heads. She invites strangers to eat with her at crowded coffee shops. She believes in psychogeography and insects; and she wants to help you make your media.
For information on Li’s colorful adventures email li.pallas.loves.you@gmail.com and visit http://ecoaesthetic.wordpress.com
Gia Hamilton, Gris Gris Lab founder, envisioned The Lab 8 years ago while pregnant with her first child. After two unassisted births, one homebirth and engaging in wacky home experiments like “TV Free Home,” “Living Without a Net,” and ” Make Your Own Toys” in planet Brooklyn, Gia returned home to New Orleans. As an Urban Shaman, Gia can be found randomly building altars around the city, leading moon rituals, tending to the Magic Garden, making herbal preparations and dancing for hours to any music that moves her spirit. On any given day, Gia transforms into a superhero – Goddess In Action- using her Jedi Master, Maker of Magic, Tickle Monster Mommy, Intentional Community Organizer, Lifestyle Coaching, Alternative Educating, Radical Parenting, Healing and Artistic powers to create sacred spaces, initiate healing and creatively consult those in her presence. In the evenings, after an eventful and magical day, she enjoys quantum tunneling with her three sons into far and not so far universes.
Laine Kaplan-Levenson is a sound artist residing in New Orleans. Her contributions to the project involve organizing recorded stories for a listening station at Gris Gris Lab and the Old Ironworks as well as her avid enthusiasm and understanding of the project. She and Li hold obscure relational ties growing up under the same area code in New York State, and hailing the greater Boston/Providence region thereafter; still it was not until their arrival in the Crescent City that they became friends and collaborators over potluck vegetable lasagna.
Heidi Hickman is a photo documentarian with deep familial roots in New Orleans. She grew up in Chicago where she began her current project visually examining food deserts. Now continuing her project down south, she stumbled upon Gris Gris Lab and Li on the day of her install. Heidi being the magnificent and magnanimous lady she is, held the ladder while Li was wallpapering and took additional information to friends she knew would contribute. Her stellar photography can be seen on the site from her time at the Food Security Conference in New Orleans, as well as photographs of the tours of Gris Gris Lab from the same conference. She is also particularly swell at dice.
Additionally Li Pallas would like to thank (in no particular order) Rachel Arons of Edible New Orleans, Vaiden Kirchheimer of PK Gallery, The Community Printshop at Louisiana Artworks, Meg Turner, Jean Cozzens, Andrew Oesch, Sarah Reiter, Emmy Bright, Susan Sakash, Michael Pajon (especially for letting me borrow his camera), Ken Nahan, Maureen Iverson, Vanessa Adams, Mimi Cake of Snip. Snap. Savor., Matt Toups, Rachel Speck, Kristie Spierling, Jack, John and Wendy O’Neal, Mark Sanders (who loaned me a voice recorder after knowing me for 2 hours), Sarah Bearse, Nataki Jett, Saphira Contreras, Laura Spalding, Douglas Paulson, Carey Clouse, everyone who attended her fall silk screen class, Sarah Weisbuch, Stephen Kwok, Amanda Stone, Misha Heil, Christiane Wurmstedt, Scott Eustis, Nailah Ricco, Emily Wheelis, John Gerken, and Elyse Manning.
