From John

I’m John DeFaro. My studio practice moves within Green Religion, an evolving practice of environmental awareness, creative work, and stewardship of the Earth.

In my earliest memories, I needed to be outside. Roaming, crawling, disappearing into hedges or behind a tall evergreen. That instinct stayed with me. Into gardening. Into landscaping. Into the way I work.

Nearly twenty years ago, in South Florida, I registered greenreligion.com while recovering from a bad flu. I was moving slowly through the garden. Things were growing fast. The pace. The density. The feeling of being surrounded by life in motion.

Even then, I went outside.

Not as a decision. More as a return.

Under trees. Walking.
Whatever the landscape offered.

A way of being held in it.
A way of feeling better without needing to name why.

At some point, it became clear.
Green Religion. Immediate.

Green Religion did not begin with us.

Before we spoke, it was already here.
A way of being carried by the living world.

Wind through leaves. Birds in motion.
The almost quiet, constant exchange beneath the soil.

I looked into the term, read what I could find, and the domain was available. Waiting. I registered it.

Understanding came slowly. What began as a name became a way of seeing, and eventually, a platform shaped in response to what was already there.

I felt responsible to those two words. To give them time. To arrive when it was right.

That moment came.

Two years ago, I began working with artists, writers, and designers to shape the site. Collaborations extended into performance and photography. In the studio, the Green Paintings series took form, alongside fantastical landscape works developed with water-based aerosol on paper and canvas. Each piece signed and marked Green Religion on the back.

It took time, resources, and energy.
Well spent.

About a year ago, I returned to my colored pencils, as I often do after creative breaks. From that came the True Trees series.

I could see my hand differently. More patient. More sure. Spending weeks with a single tree, letting the drawing take its time.
Well worth it.

I've known from early on that I need to draw every day. Even the smallest gesture becomes something. It sustains the work.

My studio practice, Studio John DeFaro, continues that work. Through Green Religion, it opens outward. A way to participate. A way to move with it.

Having worked in design for much of my life, this return feels different. More complete.

Designing and shaping the garments, the objects, the things people live with through the Green Religion Shop brings it all together.

Art. Practice. Use.

What once moved through studios, clients, and collections now moves through this. Closer to the source. Closer to how I want to work.

This moves through art, storytelling, and objects made with intention. Pieces worn, held, lived with. Created to support awareness and participation.

Carried with care. Contributors are respected and supported. Collaborations are built to sustain the people within them, as much as the ideas they carry.

There is a lot of talk about missing out.
But here, nothing essential is out of reach.
You are not late.

This is about remembering.
About seeing again.

Climate anxiety begins to loosen.
Connection begins to return.

Participation can be simple.
A way of wearing. A way of noticing. A way of engaging.
For now.

This is a studio that builds through that rhythm.
Earning to sustain the work.
Sharing to expand it.

At the center is a commitment to the living world.

The canopy stays open.

Let it feel good. Let it show.

John DeFaro. photo Nicole Combeau