Kate Ellis Is Creating Nature’s Symphony Through Project Wonderland

Kate Ellis, a Folk-Americana singer/songwriter, shares insights about her new song Wonderland which involves an enthralling collaboration between the musician and a visual artist. 

This spellbinding work by Kate Ellis combines music, art, and nature to inspire change and bring a connection to the beauty of the natural world into people’s lives. The Wonderland Project is a collaboration with visual artist Geraldine Van Heemstra and joins the rallying cry for urgent government action to protect our planet at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 26) in November 2021. This song and project bring to life the surreal beauty and fragility of nature and strengthens the call to adopt sustainable and eco-friendly ways.

Kate and Geraldine are lovers of the force and beauty of nature, and are scared and saddened by the current exploitation and depletion of its resources. This project is their way of processing and communicating those feelings and connecting with other like-minded individuals. Through the song, the music video, and the sketchbook of watercolors and charcoal drawings, Kate and Geraldine hope to add artistic emotion and musical voice to the growing chorus urging world leaders to be brave and do what needs to be done to safeguard the future of our environment. 

The Inspiration

The inspiration for this song struck Kate during a walk in a city park, where she glimpsed flashes  of how alive, beautiful and powerful nature is and how indivisibly connected we are to the energy that runs through the veins of the Earth. 

In Kate’s words: “Wonderland‘ is about how perceiving nature in a viscerally connected way gives us a deeper appreciation of it and a deeper sense of loss for what we’re putting at risk. Geraldine’s artworks are the perfect expression of this.” The intangibility of the natural world is represented perfectly in this collaboration between music and art that brings out the vivid colors and shapes hidden among the elements of nature.

The Video

The entrancing video for “Wonderland” was created by filmmaker and multidisciplinary designer Yorgo Lykouria. It follows the beautiful process of Geraldine creating a sketchbook full of vibrant watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches in one day spent together with Kate in nature.

Her artworks take you through a journey of exploration observing how raw natural elements from the landscapes that surround us. The video follows her as she immerses herself in this activity, intercut and overlaid with Kate performing the song among the same landscapes that Geraldine is painting.

The Campaign

The book of original paintings (containing a letter to world leaders and a digital link to the music video) will be brought to COP26 by friends at the Letters To The Earth campaign and presented to delegates as a small gift to inspire them to reconnect with the wonder of our natural world.

Kate has also created a new playlist “Our Wonderland” filled with songs about the wonder and fragility of the natural world, including tracks by Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, Talking Heads, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles!

Meanwhile, the music video will be shown as part of the Cop26 United Nations Global Media Network programming and the project is backed by many renowned environmental organizations and NGOs that are working tirelessly to bring back the Earth to its former sacred state. This thoughtful, inspiring song and initiative is a call to save our humble Earth and its gifts.

To learn more about it visit Ourwonderland.org.