Franke James merges science, art and storytelling to inspire people to take action and “do the hardest thing first” for the planet. Franke uses her skills as an artist, photographer and writer to create visual essays on environmental and social issues. She is the author of two award-winning books, Bothered By My Green Conscience and Dear Office-Politics, the game everyone plays.

Franke made news headlines for her environmental actions by successfully winning permission from Toronto City Hall for the right to build a green driveway. Franke’s work has been featured on the CBC National News, CBC Radio, in Gopher Illustrated Magazine, The Toronto Star, National Post, Montreal Gazette, Times-Colonist, Ottawa Citizen, 350.org, Treehugger, Worldchanging, and in numerous blogs. Her story A Green Winter was part of an anthology entitled Perspectives on Contemporary Issues that included stories from Stephen Lewis, Margaret Atwood, and David Suzuki. Franke produced A Green Winter as an animated short. It was screened at the 2007 Green Living Show between appearances by Al Gore and Robert Kennedy, Jr.

Franke has a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University. She lives in Toronto where her favorite mode of transportation is walking.

Contact Franke James:

• Email: franke@frankejames.com
• Phone: 416-256-9166
• RSS Feed: http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?feed=rss2
• Twitter: Follow Franke on Twitter: http://twitter.com/frankejames

You can see the latest reviews and interviews about Franke’s book here: Reviews and Interviews: Bothered by My Green Conscience. You can also take a look at reviews and interviews about her visual essays which are listed below.

GopherIllustrated Magazine: Franke James is Drawing a Greener Conscience

GopherIllustrated, a Venezuelan magazine that defines itself as “a collectible in motion,” interviewed Franke in June 2010, and featured her visual essay, No One Will Know, Except You.

“Posting about climate change and a green conscience may strike some as preachy, and we at the Gopher have to confess a great deal of pickiness when it comes to reading up on it… Franke James is the opposite of preachy. She is the fairy godmother of green conscience, a concerned citizen and a terrifically talented storyteller. Today Franke lets us post some of her work (scroll down to read “No one will know, except you“) and answers some of our questions.”

Read the feature article by Michu Benaim.

CBC does “Dinner with a Stranger”

CBC television’s The National and CBC radio’s The Spark shared Franke’s story of “Dinner with a Stranger” with their audiences.

CBC National:  “Stranger for Christmas” by CBC video-journalist, Peter Wall.

Watch CBC video

CBC Radio: “Dinner with a Stranger” with Spark host, Nora Young.

Listen to show

Franke’s post about CBC coverage:

Just look where “Dinner with a Stranger” has led…

(Original visual essay: Dinner with a Stranger)

350 Storyteller: Franke James

By Kevin Buckland

“No doubt about it, we’ve got our work cut out for us with Climate Change. We’ve got a problem on our hands the size of our planet. Luckily, that planet is full of smart and dedicated people using their unique skills to make a difference. One of those people is artist and storyteller Franke James. To deal with such unprecedented problems, Franke has set about developing a new way of communication using her online Visual Stories. These wonderful tales read like the great illuminated manuscripts of the past, filling the meaning of their words with powerful images. Franke uses her skills as illustrator, writer, photographer and communicator to turn her personal experiences into a platform to address global issues. From selling her SUV to dyeing her hair, James turns her personal process into readable and accessible anecdotes. Best of all! She is now our most visual advocate for 350, and composed this visual feast to spread the word! In part 3 of her essay, Taking Action for 350, she speaks beautifully (literally – look at her images) about the campaign and the ways we all can make a difference. Still wondering what your doing on October 24th? Join Franke’s Freeze to Protest Climate Inaction campaign, and organize a freeze flash-mob!”

Read more…

Green Living Magazine

“Franke James is using her creativity to tackle climate change—armed with a paintbrush and a vivid imagination—and having dazzling results.”

The Go-Giver blog: Dinner with a Stranger

By co-author John David Mann

“‘We teach our kids not to talk to strangers. But some of our best conversations have been with strangers.’ So says The Stranger, in this charming pictorial-adventure-diary from Franke James, Toronto-based founder and editor of the blog Office-Politics®. Last August Franke wrote an extremely engaging and thoughtful piece about The Go-Giver (she even posted her own go-givers list of forty-five specific people). Franke just shared a remarkable story with us that seemed so go-giverish, we had to share it with you….” Read more…

BlogTO: Dinner With a Stranger

“Imagine that a total stranger sends you an email inviting himself and a friend over to your place for dinner, in exchange for which he’d contribute $200 to charity. Would you say yes, prepare a meal and see what’s in store? That is exactly what local artist Franke James (of un-paving paradise fame) did, and now she’s trying to get the idea to spread. Franke’s latest visual essay chronicles the experience, from the initial email appearing in her inbox to its almost magical conclusion. And now, in the comments, we’ve already heard from The Stranger’s mom and the Yonge Street Mission – Franke’s charity of choice – and now Franke and The Stranger are sharing ideas of how to expand upon this concept as a larger-scale fundraiser. I had a little chat with Franke about what was on her mind hosting this dinner, and what’s on her mind now…” read more

Life in the Greener Lane: Dear Prime Minister

In her most recent blog [visual essay] she takes on the Prime Minister in a way that only Franke could. The essay, entitled Dear Prime Minister, “You say a pollution tax would wreak havoc on our economy”, touches on a number of major issues facing Canadians today. The essay by no means tells you who to vote for, but it will make you think! And that’s the point, especially during this election and especially in these hard times. Climate change is a reality, period! And as Franke notes in her essay, why are we being forced to choose between the economy and the environment? We tend to forget that without an environment we would not have an economy, as everything we consume and I mean everything comes from our environment. read more

BlogTO: 12,000 Sitting Ducks Chronicles Propane Explosion

“Back in July we posted a story about a North York woman who had torn up her driveway and replaced it with a much more eco-friendly alternative. All the while she chronicled her adventures in a great photo essay called Paradise Unpaved. Well, now Franke James is at it again. But this time she has a photo essay of the recent propane explosion. It’s called 12,000 sitting ducks.” Read more…

National Post: Kicking a keen sense of green to the curb

“Franke James likes doing the hard things first, which is why, when it came to reducing her carbon footprint, she skipped right past the programmable thermostat and coffee thermos business and headed straight for the real green challenge — selling her SUV and replacing the driveway with a garden… Read more…” See as newspaper pdf.

BlogTO: Whack the PM Predicts Election Results

Whack the PM is a non-partisan and spectacularly satirical election website that lets you beat the crap out of the party leaders in an effort to predict the next Prime Minister of Canada. In this game where winning means you’ll lose, candidates are hoping to come out unscathed after participants answer hot topic questions by whacking a party leader on the head… Plus this will likely be the first – and last – time you see any of the candidates rubbing shoulders in a single hot tub… Whack the PM is the product of the artistically minded James Gang, including Franke James of green driveway fame. It’s also not entirely satire… You’ll have to excuse me now as I go back to whacking Mr. Harper. Read more…

Poptech.org: The Real Poop on Franke James

“I was first introduced to Canadian visual artist Franke James’ work via a link from Max Gladwell, a site that explores social media and green living. Ms. James, who describes her visual essays as “a freewheeling mix of illustrations, photographs and hand-drawn text,” sits squarely at the intersection of these two spaces…Read More…”

BlogTO.com: Toronto Resident Tears Up Driveway to Plant Paradise

“Local artist and eco-minded citizen Franke James decided to do the hard thing first and replace her interlocking brick front yard (parking lot) with plants and an eco driveway (paradise). What she didn’t expect was a North York demand for concrete, asphalt or interlocking driveways. But, with persistence, she made one of the city’s greenest front yards a reality… Read more…”

Treehugger.com 2008: Paradise Unpaved: Franke James’ Driveway One Year Later

“A year ago we recounted how artist Franke James gave up her SUV and then decided to rip up her driveway, except the law said that every house had to have a driveway paved with concrete, asphalt or brick. Even porous pavers like turfstone were illegal. Franke took her case (and a printout of TreeHugger) to City Hall and won; now she tells her story in her wonderful mix of humour, drawing and photography…” Read more…

Treehugger.com 2009: Bothered By My Green Conscience by Franke James
Treehugger.com 2008:Paradise Unpaved: Franke James’ Driveway One Year Later
Treehugger.com 2007: Franke James on Global Warming in Canada
Treehugger.com 2007 : Selling the SUV: Do the Hardest Things First
Treehugger.com 2007: Don’t Rip Up Your Driveway in North York

Franke is Inventive:

Franke is the inventor of an ethical dilemma-based game: Dear Office-Politics, the game everyone plays. The game launched in 2004 and has recently been published as a game & book. The dilemmas are based on letters submitted to the Office-Politics.com web site from 2002 to 2007. It has found a special niche in the training market, and won positive reviews from organizations as diverse as Unicef and the US Army. Feedback from players has been excellent and demonstrates that it can be a useful tool in bringing office politics problems into the open. The game is useful for team building, enhancing communication, exercising ethical muscles, raising awareness, and understanding culture and fit.

Franke’s fascination with psychology is reflected in the online games and quizzes which she has co-created with James Gang co-founder Bill James. They include The Room [Umbra], The Love Quiz, The Looking Glass, Office-Politics [Online Contest], Whack the Mayor, and Whack the PM (2004, 2006, 2008). Their joint work has been featured on AOL, USA Today, Yahoo, iVillage.com as well as in many publications, including Rockport Publishing’s “The Best Work from the Web.”

The James Gang’s satirical humour grabbed headlines during the three Canadian Federal Elections in 2008, 2006, and 2004. The Whack the PM online game drew more than 33,000 visitors to the site. The Toronto Star, National Post, CBC Radio, CTV News, Global TV News, CH TV News, CKOM Saskatoon, 610 CKV, QR77 Calgary Today, London Free Press, the McLuhan Foundation blog plus numerous online sources, also covered the ‘whacky’ story.

More about Franke James and The James Gang

Editorial and Advertising clients have included Resolute Funds Limited, Roots Canada, Umbra, iVillage, Sony Music Canada, MICA Management Resources (Tom Peters, Stephen Covey), Dr. Edward de Bono, Dr. Marty Seldman, Upper Canada College, Stella Artois, Monster, TELUS, Algorithmics, Changepoint, Moveable Type and the Ontario Government among others.

Franke has presented at events and conferences including the McMichael Gallery, the Ontario Science Centre, Sheridan College, CUTC, NMBA, Flashforward San Francisco, Flashforward New York, and the World Animation Celebration, Hollywood and has acted as a Judge for the Flashforward Film Festival and Marketing Magazine’s Digital Awards.

As Co-founder of The James Gang, her strategic insights and creative flair have helped clients such as Air Quality Ontario deliver environmental and health messages in an entertaining and persuasive way. Her interactive artwork has won numerous awards and been featured on CBC, CTV, Global News, iVillage, USA Today, AOL, Yahoo and others.

Franke has presented at software conferences in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Toronto on the topic of creativity and how to license intellectual property. Visit The James Gang to find out more, or contact Franke.

Contact Franke James:

• Email: franke@frankejames.com
• Phone: 416-256-9166
• RSS Feed: http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?feed=rss2
• Twitter: Follow Franke on Twitter: http://twitter.com/frankejames

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