Communing

This body of work represents an eight month residency and exploration of the landscape, ecosystem, and species of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Saukville Field Station. The Field Station is a natural area reserved for scientific research and hands-on education; such as geological surveys, bird population tracking, and herpetology studies. Its borders overlap with those of the Cedarburg Bog Natural Area, a Wisconsin state protected natural area. The landscape is a place of peace and healing, brought about by the chorus of birds in the tree canopy, and the whispers of the prairie grasses coming together to create an echo of quiet resilience.

During this residency I examined three core questions, acting as a guide and frame of reference for my experiences: What is my land ethic? How can I foster a sense of place? How can I build a reciprocal relationship with the land? Each month I visited the field station and recorded the changing landscape through photographs, videos, and audio clips. I wandered along crisscrossing deer paths and human made trails. Traveling over wild prairies, a beechwood forest, and wetlands. During my walks I gathered natural materials, such as feathers, water, bones, and seeds. This routine of walking and gathering inspired my intuitive art practice which often aligns with methods found in scientific inquiry. I cultivated “the art of noticing,” finding small and remarkable moments, such as the sparkle of sunlight on a spiderweb or the rustling of a deer behind a stand of young trees.

Gathered items, images, and sounds are talismans of memory. Memories are immortalized in the artmaking process. These works are made through slow, methodical, and at times, meditative practices. The lithographic print process consists of a series of incised marks into the surface of a smooth limestone, which is then treated through multiple rounds of chemicals, inks, and water before being ready to print. The cut paper landscapes consist of thousands of tiny cuts with a small blade, to come together to create a forest of light and shadows. Revisiting the gathered natural materials and interring them in the display case, and their paper reflections, continued the cycle of memory making. These processes are full body experiences; lifting, scraping, climbing ladders, and cutting. With each mark and decision, memories deepen. My labor is an act of care, honoring the animals, plants, waters, and land.  

Observing the ever changing flora and fauna of this micro-ecosystem invites reflection on the small, incremental shifts that shape everyday life. These changes are mirrored in the cycles of growth, death and renewal of the plants, animals, and weather. They come together to act as teachers of patience, grace, community, and rest; gifting us with a soft place to land and heal. It is a sanctuary.