Blackfoot River

Back in July, J and I took a long-awaited trip to Montana, a place I have been wanting to show him for a long time.  I've looked forward to returning ever since I spent a summer there in college - at the time my university's Forestry program included a 7 week field school at an out of state location, and Montana was the destination for my class.  This post just includes one stop off on the trip, along the Blackfoot River just east of Missoula.  We spent an afternoon sitting by the river, exploring along the bank and observing the various things that grow there.  Unfortunately, the weather was not warm enough to make us brave the frigid water for a swim-- next time.

I'll make additional posts from this trip, hopefully in the near future.  I haven't been blogging much lately, because my time has been monopolized by creating artwork.  This is a good problem to have, but I'm hoping to start writing more again soon and balancing this space of inspiration, reflection and updates with my art making practice.  Until then...

I was really excited to discover what I believe to be showy milkweed along the river bank!  I had just begun my project, Missing Pieces, at the time and milkweed was pretty much on the brain all summer long.  What a beautiful plant!

Wolf lichen is incredibly fascinating to me.  Driving along mountain roads up north, you'll come around a bend to see a dead tree just covered in fluorescent yellow fruticose lichen, one of those things that I'm amazed is real.  Wolf lichen has inspired some of my work this past year, both that I have shared as well as another project that I haven't posted about.  That one will likely stay under wraps for quite a while, but check out my wolf lichen wall hanging.

Another type of lichen to inspire my work recently has been pixie cup.  I've knitted some pieces inspired by these for my shop, including terrariums, holiday ornaments, and a wall hanging.

Tube lichen is especially fascinating - the texture and colors, the fruiting structures.  I recently created a piece inspired by this type of lichen for Cultivating Craft, an exhibition at 108 Contemporary in Tulsa that opens in December.  I'll share more on that soon.

Lichen of the Wichita Wildlife Refuge

Lichen is my favorite thing to observe anywhere I go.  The Wichita Wildlife Refuge has a stunning array of lichen, and I'm always really drawn to the brightly colored crustose species covering the granite rock faces there.  So beautiful.  We went out and hiked for a day recently, and I spotted some beautiful foliose and fruticose lichens as well.  These are just some images of what I observed.  Happy Friday!

Witch's Hair

 When we started planning our recent trip to Washington state, I knew that I wanted to take advantage of the landscape for at least one small installation.  Time was not abundant, so in the end it turned out to be pretty minimal.  After getting my lichen feet wet through collaborating with Sarah Hearn this spring, I've spent much of the summer planning out some new work that branches into lichen territory.  I love knitting fungi, but also find lichen to be extremely fascinating the more I learn about it.  And the more I observe it I find that I just can't help stopping to get up close and take in every one that I spot.  It's hard to pull away at times!

This piece was inspired by Witch's hair (a rather magnified version of witch's hair).  I wish I could have made it larger, but I do intend to continue exploring this species for a larger body of work that I've begun, so if you like it then stick around!

Just after I took my last photo, I heard a creak and glanced over to see a large snag tip and crash to the ground across the trail about 50 feet away.  No one was nearby, thankfully, but it was magnificent to see.  It's strange how an incident like witnessing a giant fall to the ground like that can make you feel so small, when it also brings you to realize that the giant itself is minuscule in comparison to the magnitude of the world.  Nature is so vast.  We are but one tiny component in this, yet we as humans feel that we control it all.  It's a nice reminder that the world keeps spinning, trees keep growing and falling and the Earth will continue to nurture everything on it until the end of time.  I feel refreshed and inspired with each moment that I spend in the wild.

Bits and Pieces

Here is a peek at progress on something I've been working on.  It may not look like much, but there are a few hundred little i-cords there.  Every piece is a part of something bigger… sometimes it takes a while to see the bigger picture.

I'm excited about this work and can't wait to share with you how it progresses.

Lichen Collaboration for START Norman

Back in April, I made mention of a collaboration that I worked on with Sarah Hearn for the threshold: the promised land exhibition, part of START Norman.  Sarah is a visual artist who also showed work in Rare Earth at Plug Projects in Kansas City last year.  A kindred nature-inspired artist, much of her work involves lichen -- a group of organisms that has strongly grasped my attention as of late.  I've been in awe of Sarah's beautiful macrophotography of these intriguing life forms, intricate paper cutting, and thought provoking installation since I first saw it.  Clearly, I was all about working on a piece together for our site specific installations in Norman.

I'm excited to share the photos of our collaboration with you now, which Sarah so kindly captured for us.  This work is a colony of two lichen interpretations: Parmotrema perforatum (perforated ruffle lichen) and Peltigera canina (dog-lichen).  My contribution included the moss growing among the dog-lichen, and apothecia and ruffles throughout the perforated ruffle lichen.

In addition to the collaboration, Sarah placed several mini-installations of lichen throughout the site, and designed a scavenger hunt for visitors to use in finding them all!  They blended in quite well to their surroundings.  She added my two Succession installations to the hunt as well.  I loved this engaging concept, and hope it was a fun way for visitors to learn about and connect with nature.

After this project, I've found that I can't stop observing lichen whenever I see it.  I'm captivated by it!  This is a subject matter that you will likely see more of in the future.

Lichen Inspiration

Lichen is becoming more and more of an intrigue for me.  I've always observed it, although not necessarily all that closely and I never really knew much about it.  The more I learn, the more I want to know about these tiny symbiotic organisms formed by the coming together of a fungi, cyanobacteria and  algae.  The closer you look at them and the more you learn about their habits, the more amazing they become!  The delicately intricate medulla, and teeny apothecia.  The fact that they are used as indicators of air quality.  I find myself consistently inspecting lichen when I spot it, and feeling inspired to explore it with future work.  The collaboration that I worked on with Sarah Hearn was just a taste, and it definitely left me craving more.  One of my favorite parts about my artistic process is the amount of information that I learn about each organism that I make.  While I'm no expert, I know so much more about mycology than I did before I started replicating it with fiber.  I'm looking forward to researching and experiencing the same with lichenology in the future!

Here are some specimens observed at Martin Park Nature Center when I was out there scoping out installation spots for Niche.  On a side note, the collaboration that I mentioned above is still on exhibit at START Norman in the Old Lumber Yard on Main St until May 10th, in addition to Succession.

StART Norman || Succession + lichen

StART Norman is a project of the Norman Arts Council, "...born out of the idea that the arts can affect positive and lasting change through placemaking – the act of bringing the “community” back to the Community through a series of art exhibits and installations and temporary improvements to a designated area of Downtown Norman.

I am excited to be a part of Threshold: the promised land, an exhibit of installations by several local artists in the Old Lumber Yard on Main St in Norman, part of the StART Norman project.  Here is the curatorial statement for the exhibit from curators Laura Reese and heather ahtone:

Threshold: the promised land will explore the space as a site for transformation. Threshold implies an opening for change, a boundary yet to be crossed, and the maximum or minimum point of change. The phrase “promised land” brings to mind hope and new beginnings, as well as reflection on local history. The artists will create work that examines themes around building, construction and future potential as well as the economy of exchange. In the early years of the city’s second century, Norman’s citizens seek to express the vibrancy of the community and to celebrate the diversity that makes it an amazing place to live. The exhibition will be accompanied by educational programming and creative performance by local musicians, performance artists, poets, and others. The intent of this installation is to transform the community of Norman through the vehicle of art, reflecting inclusivity and respect as core values of the city.

My installation is entitled "Succession".  Many of the themes I commonly explore with my work apply here, but at the same time this site is very different--- it is man-made.  Much like with Dyed-In-The-Wool, I am intrigued by the breakdown of a once heavily used and well maintained structure that has been reclaimed in a way by the natural environment.  Its next stage of life - succession.

In addition to "Succession", I have also been working on a collaboration with an artist who I very much admire and who shares my affinity for tiny woodland organisms, Sarah Hearn.  She is creating several small lichen installations and we have worked together on one of them, which I'm very excited to see in its final state.

The images in this post are just some recent progress shots.  The opening is this Friday, March 11th at 6 PM, and the exhibit will be up through May 10th!

Lichen

I can't help but be blown away when observing the different types of lichen I see on our hiking excursions.  Such intriguing organisms!  My friend Sarah Hearn makes some incredible artwork focusing on lichen.  Check it out!