Deborah Fisher – A Blade of Grass and Beyond

Deborah Fisher is best known as the writer, producer, and showrunner for Ginny & Georgia on Netflix. Additionally, she has contributed her talent to numerous other television shows like Alias, Law & Order: LA Twisted, and Charmed.

Her art practice explores how things we build are interdependent ecosystems and emphasizes public projects. She has participated in various roundtable discussions designed to increase arts funding and further the discourse around socially engaged art.

A Blade of Grass

Deborah Fisher is an engaging, creative leader working to expand artists’ roles in civic life. She founded A Blade of Grass, a non-profit dedicated exclusively to cultivating socially engaged art. Additionally, Deborah served as art, strategy, and philanthropy advisor to Shelley and Donald Rubin; studio manager for Socrates Sculpture Park; educator/curriculum developer at Brooklyn Center for Urban Environment; as well as studio manager at Socrates Sculpture Park; educator/curriculum developer for Brooklyn Center for Urban Environmental Environment – both experiences that helped form her approach to leadership that goes far beyond traditional assumptions about leadership practices.

In her recent essay, she asserts that an ideal art institution provides a consistent meeting place between art and audience that fosters an ever-renewing cycle of meaningful discourse, community engagement, financial resources, and resources for artists themselves to thrive. Unfortunately, many organizations undertaking this type of work are struggling financially, and their attendance numbers continue to decrease due to reduced funding sources, fatigue over gala events, and museum attendance drops.

A Blade of Grass is one of the last organizations that remain committed to the idea that socially engaged art can transform communities. Their mission is to support artists as they address societal problems with art; grants are available as resources to aid this effort.

The organization strives to foster connections among communities through events and publications. Events feature panel discussions on art’s impact and role in society with various perspectives from diverse fields present; books and articles examine its influence.

Deborah Fischer was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a member of a Quaker family. Her grandfather, Joshua Fisher, participated in early transatlantic trade while Samuel R Fisher ran an expansive mercantile firm; Hannah Rodman Fisher from Newport, Rhode Island, also belonged to a Quaker family associated with shipping.

Fish Museum and Circus

Deborah Fisher’s work explores how different value, waste, and meaning systems emerge in the material world. Her artistic practice centers mainly around public sculpture and social projects; her pieces have been shown at venues including Street Art NYC and Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts. Furthermore, Deborah has written and lectured internationally about these subjects relating to art and civic engagement.

Fish Museum and Circus is an online cabinet of curiosities created and curated by artist Jennifer Fish. Specializing in charming miscellany for sewing rooms and maker studios – ceramic and wool pincushions among them – she also designs sewing patterns as well as writes books such as Quilt Giving, Sewing Simple Softies and Uppercase Magazine, Bright Hopes Collaborative Quilt Project and Bo Twal are two organizations she founded that specialize in providing handmade dolls to children internationally.

She holds an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Childhood memories inspire her work spent creating dolls and strange objects, natural structures like crystals and accretion, as well as her desire to understand how Earth organizes itself into form and function.

One of her significant projects, New Orleans Elegy, is an evolving artwork that will change in appearance and meaning over time. It is constructed of wires and bronze that react to each other in different ways to alter its structure. Over time, it will disintegrate gradually until there’s only a trace left – a visual reminder of just how fragile life in New Orleans truly is.

Sea Circus, an array of concrete and steel sculptures created for Jekyll Island National Park during the 1930s, became a popular attraction during that decade and remains a beautiful spot to hike or picnic today with boardwalks through dense scrub brush and trees that cross safely over 20-foot-high sentinel dunes.

Artist and curator of Fish Museum and Circus. She writes for two online magazines and has shown at Socrates Sculpture Park, Dangerous Curve Gallery LA, and Phantom Galleries Los Angeles. Additionally, she advises Shelley & Donald Rubin and is part of the Center for Artistic Activism.

Deborah Fisher Consulting

Deborah Fisher Consulting provides management and professional services consultancy to human service and behavioral health organizations and their staff, professionals, and volunteers. A proven innovator with strong organizational understanding and collaborative skills across diverse stakeholder groups, Deborah provides comprehensive consulting services such as strategic change consultation, capacity-building programs, and program development services to clients.

Krisis Institute is a nonprofit organization created from Dr. Kim’s dissertation research (Adult Public Education for Disaster/Emergency Preparedness Discourses). Krisis Institute brings her passion for advocating for those living with chronic behavioral health, medical, and cognitive conditions, and advocacy work on their behalf. Kim is often called upon as an authority on social practice, arts funding, and civic engagement discussions hosted by Dieu Donne Gallery Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art No Longer Empty Flux Factory Eyebeam, among other organizations.

Deborah has over 28 years of tax preparation experience, having prepared taxes for individuals, small businesses, governmental entities, trusts, and estates. She has managed several IRS audits and complex compliance issues for Fortune 500 corporations to multibillion-dollar entities ranging from complex audit issues. Deborah has worked at various accounting firms as a tax specialist and manager.

Debbie hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and holds real estate licenses in both states. Her specialization lies in historic downtown, waterfront, and equestrian properties as well as working experience working at Jenny Pruitt & Associates (the Sotheby’s and Christie’s affiliate in Buckhead), has provided invaluable knowledge of understanding client needs while meeting them with disciplined luxury and understated elegance. Debbie is also an active member of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors and the South Carolina Association of Realtors.

She enjoys horseback riding, traveling, antique auctions, and history – which she and her husband indulge in by living in downtown Charleston and taking full advantage of all its charm. Together, they relish in its rich culture and beautiful scenery as well as relaxing on beach bicycles at Kiawah and appreciate preserving Charleston’s history and artisanship in their work and lives – dedicating themselves to raising three children with two dogs each while spending quality time with family and friends.

Handsome Properties

Deborah Fisher specializes in helping clients buy and sell homes and real estate investments. Combining traditional approaches with cutting-edge technologies, she has helped transform residential real estate sales and marketing processes – successfully navigating complex markets and housing cycles while being known as an authority on luxury home sales.

Deborah Fisher was born in Philadelphia to a family involved in early transatlantic trade; her father, Samuel R Fisher, owned a large mercantile business while her grandfather worked as a shipper. Deborah belonged to Hicksite Quakers who preferred simple living over more worldly urban (Orthodox) Quaker practices.

In her later years, she was an outspoken leader of the women’s rights movement and an advocate of liberal Quaker spirituality. Additionally, she founded Swarthmore College with her industrialist son Joseph and served on its original board of managers; similar to Lucretia Mott, she held many similar sympathies but did not actively support women’s rights causes.

Sophisticated financial acumen and an in-depth appreciation for Charleston’s historic integrity make her the ideal agent to represent buyers and sellers in luxury home sales transactions. Committed to providing only top-tier service, she will go the extra mile to meet all her clientele’s needs.

Handsome Properties is a premier boutique real estate firm offering some of the most exclusive historic properties on the Charleston peninsula for sale. Their inventory features single-family, luxury, waterfront homes and condominiums for sale and offers property management and vacation rental services.

Handsome Properties is pleased to welcome Alisa Connolly as the latest member of their sales team. Hailing originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Alisa was drawn to Charleston’s unique culture and community while living on the West Coast, leading her to relocate and join Handsome Properties’ sales force.