By Sean Sullivan

Through a participatory art project, local residents are learning how to get creative in building a more energy-efficient way of life.

The project is a collaboration between local artists Julia Csekö and Raquel Fornasaro, who shared a vision for a tangible way to inspire and educate neighbors about ways to conserve power and save money.

“Two heads think better than one,” said Csekö.

Shaped like small house, the art installations will be a community effort, calling on the creativity of local residents throughout March. Volunteers will each add a personal touch to the piece in a series of roving workshops held locally.

Natick’s house will make the rounds, popping up at Natick landmarks and institutions, where locals will be invited to add their own creativity to the structure.

“You can just come and make art with us,” Csekö said.

There will be two mini houses, one based in Natick and other in Framingham. The two communities are partnering in the program, which is fully funded by the state’s Mass Save program.

That initiative is powered by Massachusetts utility companies and energy-efficiency groups. Through education, incentives and other resources, Mass Save’s mission is to help residents and businesses lessen the cost and environmental impact of energy use.

The interior walls of each house will be decorated with murals made with input from community members. The themes of those paintings will be energy conservation and shared responsibility.

The structures’ exterior walls will feature community-created shingles, each a piece of the power-and-planet-saving puzzle. The shingles will be color-coded, with different shades along the spectrum corresponding to the environmental impact of an action.

On the utopian end, purple shingles represent the pinnacle of sustainable impact.

Found within this category are upgrades like home insulation, energy-efficient windows and heat pumps, among other technologies.

“All that good stuff,” said Csekö.

On the other side, red shingles represent an inefficient use of resources, with lots of areas of opportunity to improve.

Together, the shades of color will tell the story of a collective “Energy Conservation Journey.”

“We thought it was absolutely perfect,” said Fornasaro of the duo’s idea of a mini house as a canvas for conservation. The places people live and work constitute a sizable chunk of the energy used as a civilization.

Much of Fornasaro’s art is inspired by the subject of sustainability, particularly recycling.

Both Brazilian-American, she and Csekö share similar ancestry.

“It was a good combo,” said Fornasaro.

“We were really excited about it,” said Jillian Wilson-Martin. She serves as Director of Sustainability for Natick. 

Fueled by the state grant and purpose, Wilson-Martin said the group wanted to educate and inspire “in a way that wasn’t just sending them another letter. We were really excited about it.”

Fornasaro echoed that sentiment, acknowledging that it’s all too easy to fall into the default of business-as-usual when using the energy that enables modern life.

“It’s easy to not be able to find solutions,” she said.

“A Home for Future Generations” is the title of their project, one that belongs to the community of all living things.

“To bring the issue to the public in a more positive way,” said Fornasaro. “A little bit of hope.”