Makers & Mentors: Carla Rokes
- frontdesk8455
- Jul 9
- 1 min read
Solastalgia Series
The term solastalgia describes the emotional distress experienced when one's sense of home is disrupted by environmental change.
Living in a coastal city, I feel this anxiety woven into daily life.
While the physical impacts of climate change may not always be visible around me, the constant stream of imagery—hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts—serves as a reminder that familiar landscapes are shifting, and with them, our sense of place. These once-stable environments are now marked by vulnerability.
This body of work moves through the emotional terrain shaped by shifting environmental realities. Through mixed media drawings, forms evolve intuitively—emerging, dissolving, and reassembling in ways that mirror the unpredictable rhythms of the natural world. Structured patterns blur into fluid gestures, creating compositions that suggest instability and transformation.
These works contemplate the interconnectedness of human and environmental systems, the tension between resilience and fragility, and the vulnerability of witnessing change that feels both distant and immediate.
In my teaching, I share this process-driven, multimedia approach to help students explore their own narratives and develop confidence in experimentation. Through layering, mark-making, and material exploration, I encourage students to embrace ambiguity, find personal meaning, and connect their experiences to broader themes and contexts.
Carla Rokes
Professor of Art, Drawing and Design
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Pembroke, NC
Website: https://carlarokes.com/home.html
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