A few miles away from a heavily trafficked exit off I-5, a 122 year-old bunkhouse once used by dike workers sits clinging to the edge of the north fork of the Skagit River. It seems to defy our present-day world. This is the home and workspace of painter and ceramic artist Natalie Niblack.

It was a hot late August afternoon when I went to visit. Niblack's faithful dog, Lillybelle, ushered me through a screened door to her studio. A fan sent a cool breeze throughout the cabin, blending fragrances from her garden with the sweet aroma of fresh oil paint.

Her studio is in urgent climate-change eme...