Instagram: @catrinsabbey

Seeds of the Future

The forest is dark as a procession, lantern-lit by its leader, weaves through the forest carrying ornate metal bowls and pitchers of food and drink. Soon they reach a clearing, and the feast is set. 

These objects compose Seeds of the Future, copper tableware made for edible native seeds like acorns and sumac. The work creates a dialogue between viewers and nature. Each dish references the seed contained within, blurring the line between human and nature-made forms. These forms make plant identification possible while suggesting a use for them. When people taste these plants they may be inspired to grow them, helping plants, animals, and insects–which in turn support us.

Seeds of the Future uses object-making to activate climate theory, offering a foothold on the path to a world beyond the climate crisis, where human and non-human lives and systems coexist. As we develop conceptual frameworks for overcoming the climate crisis, enshrining these frameworks in alluring physical objects can prompt their enactment, bringing the eco-utopia that many scholars, scientists, and hopeful citizens dream of off the screen and into reality, creating a material culture for a nascent eco-harmonious culture. The future can be bright and magical in spite of everything.

Bio

Catrin Sabbey is a multimedia climate artist specializing in Metalsmithing. She currently lives in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and graduated from Maine College of Art & Design with a BFA in Metalsmithing & Jewelry and a minor in Sustainable Ecosystems: Art & Design in 2025.

As a craftsperson, Sabbey creates objects and accompanying ceremonies to model eco-utopian futures, prompting people to imagine how a world that solved climate change might look and feel—and to work towards making it real.