Climate Artist Nicole Kelner's Coloring Books Spark Creativity and Action
Plus, a beach tradition, climate stripes dress, and delicious matzo ball soup! (And don't miss the big list of local holiday markets at the end of the issue!)
Hello! How’s it going? It’s been quiet here at PST because I had a bad cold for three weeks. It totally took me out! I even lost my voice for four days. What happened to the average cold, haha? Anyway, I’m excited to be back!
For this week’s issue, I interviewed climate artist Nicole Kelner, who writes Arts and Climate Change. Her newsletter is packed with creative resources to take action and learn about climate change, including a Crowdsourced Climate-Friendly Gift Guide. Nicole also teaches climate courses, workshops, and “en plein air” watercolor classes in Prospect Park. Also, she recently published two coloring books, Electrify Everything: The Clean Energy Coloring Book and Electrify Your Home: The Mini Coloring Book. “I really love my coloring books! It’s a full circle moment combining my education background, art background, and climate,” she told me.
In her interview, Nicole talks about zero-waste challenges, what she loves about living in Park Slope, and going from co-founder of an after-school program to a climate artist. She also shares her Park Slope favorites, including a matzo ball soup, lemon soda, artichoke and parmesan pastry, comedy show, and more.
Kelley MacDonald: Hi Nicole! I can’t wait to hear about your climate art, but first, where did you grow up?
Nicole Kelner: I grew up in the suburbs of Philly. I'm from an artsy town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on the border of PA and Jersey. It's a very idyllic place to grow up. There’s a lot of creative community there. Park Slope reminds me of it in some ways, where Park Slope feels like the suburbs of New York, even though we're still in the city.
When did you move to Park Slope, and what do you love about living here?
I moved to Park Slope a year and a half ago, but I’ve lived in New York for seven years. I’ve lived in a bunch of different areas in the city — Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Kips Bay, Alphabet City, Crown Heights, Long Island City. I thought I wanted to live in Greenpoint, but there was no availability, so I started expanding my search. I decided to look in Park Slope and fell in love with it. I found a great spot close to Prospect Park. I feel like I found a home in the city for the first time.
I have a handful of friends all within walking distance, which is the first time I've had that in New York. That makes it feel particularly like a neighborhood for me because I run into friends on the street. Also, I joined the Food Coop, and I love it so much. I go there for all of my things — groceries, flowers, gifts, everything! I’m there every other day or every few days. It’s a staple part of my routine, which is something I've never really had in New York, and it feels like a community in that sense.
Were you interested in art from a young age?
I took every art class I could growing up. I went to art camp. I took AP art in high school, but that was the last art class I took before becoming a full-time artist. I went to Penn State, where I studied communications and entrepreneurship, and I wasn't able to take art classes in college because my university wouldn't let anyone that wasn't an art major take an art class. So I lost touch with art for a while after high school. I’ve had a very circuitous path to becoming an artist. My 10-year-old self would believe that I'm a full-time artist, but my 20-year-old self wouldn’t. I love that [my work now] feels connected to what I enjoyed growing up.
What made you decide to study communications and entrepreneurship in college instead of an art degree?
I was a little too practical [laughs]. I couldn't imagine art being a career. I loved it, but I wanted a practical degree. When I was in college, I started my first business, which was a handbag business. I taught myself how to sew. I chose patterns and designs, and I sewed all these purses and grew this little business. That was my creative expression for a while.
The first time I lived in New York was for a fashion internship. I took night classes at FIT, but they were theoretical fashion classes, not practical classes so I didn’t actually get to sew. But this was my creativity creeping out in all sorts of ways. I didn't exactly know how to channel it fully for a long time.
What type of work did you do after college?
After college, I co-founded an after-school program to teach kids how to code called The Coding Space. We had a location in Park Slope, which was the first time I spent time in the neighborhood. I sold the company in 2019. It still exists and is [located] at the Greenwood Baptist Church, which is so funny, because I walk by there almost every day.
I did some design for the website and found ways to be creative, but it was more the logic part of my brain working when I was COO. I learned how to code by teaching kids how to code. That was really great, but I wasn't practicing much art at the time.
What sparked your interest in working in the climate space?
I did a zero-waste challenge while I was running The Coding Space. I was super overwhelmed with how much work it took to live that lifestyle. It was my awakening moment to wow, the system's really broken, and I want to find a way to make an impact in this space. It took a bit of time to transition into the work, but right before COVID hit, I made a conscious effort to make a career transition into climate, and I went all in.
I know from first-hand experience that career transitions can be hard. How did your career transition happen? Where was your first role in the climate space?