Gale Mead

I started exploring the ocean at an early age – in utero, actually, as my mother wasn’t about to let a little thing like pregnancy keep her from the submersible and scuba expeditions that were her lifeblood. I soon became somewhat less portable, but as a child I would occasionally accompany her, diving and snorkeling in the warm waters of Hawaii and the Caribbean, and supporting her work as an ambassador for the ocean around the world. During her absences, I cultivated an interest in a wide range of artistic pursuits.

Anne McCaffrey named a character in one of her novels “Joat,” a spacefaring girl who was a “Jack of all Trades,” and that comes as close as anything to describe me (minus the interplanetary adventuring). I sing, I paint, I write lyrics and prose, I knit, I make photographs, etc. etc. I do these things pretty well, but as the saying goes, Jack of all trades, Master of none. I am always learning.

I’ve spent much of my life trying to understand my own species, with degrees in psychology and an early career in counseling, constantly seeking to make sense of this complex bundle of contradictions that comprises human nature. I’ve been observing over the course of decades, watching in horror as we foul our own nest and inflict the most sinister of cruelties on ourselves, on every other species, and on our planet. Yet individually and collectively, we are also capable of such compassion, grace, intellect and beauty. Better minds than mine have been contemplating these mysteries for millennia, but never before have we been in such grave danger of self-destruction.

That is, in large part, what led me to leave behind work as a counselor and join my mother for five years exploring the oceans on the Sustainable Seas Expedition, where my “Joat” credentials expanded to include submersible pilot and expedition “blogger,” in the years before that term had even joined our cultural lexicon. I then spent several years focusing on independent above- and underwater photo and videography projects, including expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctica, Galapagos, Cocos, and other adventures closer to home. Another half-decade was focused on writing and performing music, mostly in the folk-rock genre. When Neil Young put out a call for protest songs in response to the excesses of the Bush administration, I responded, and was among the featured artists on that project.

More recently, I’ve adopted a less adventurous lifestyle while still observing the world and the people around me, trying to make sense of it all, and pursuing various means of creative expression. My ambition is to find ways to bring this eclectic, weird assortment of experiences and abilities together, to help enlighten and inspire my fellow humans to take better care of each other, and the planet we call home.