Savannah artist Elena Madden has been in “a blue mood.” But she’s not looking for pity “That’s a good thing for me,” says the 33-year-old painter. “Sometimes I go crazy—monochromatic. Lately I’ve been feeling that cerulean blue color.”

“That cerulean blue” leaps off the surface of recent works in Madden’s Ring Series— abstract mixed media paintings of large, shimmering overlapping circles in rich teals, blues and reds covering canvasses three- to four-feet square and capturing a juxtaposition of elements that the artist has made her own—the intersection of water and light.

In the 13 years since receiving her painting degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, the Ring Series is perhaps Madden’s best-recognized and most lasting body of work.

Armed with one of the Peach State’s most abundant resources, one Georgia-based company is stepping up with an answer to the world’s energy crisis.

Deep in the South hides a material that could revolutionize the way the United States—and the world—consumes energy. It’s renewable, plentiful and probably in most backyards. It’s the Georgia pine tree. Disbelievers need only ask Ross Harding, senior advisor at Energy Launch Partners, about the power of the pine.

“Georgia has over 24 million acres of pine trees,” Harding explains. “New Mexico has solar energy, Montana has wind energy, and here in Georgia we have the ability to turn woody biomass into cellulose-based energy.” According to Harding, the Peach State lucked out in the natural resource department—unlike other forms of energy, wood can be used to produce not only heat, but also power, electricity and liquid fuels.