Wild Things
A little over a year ago, I was invited to exhibit my work in the Ruth Brennan Gallery at the Dahl Art Museum in Rapid City, South Dakota. At that time, I was working on several series of work dedicated to the restoration of wild spaces in the Chicago area. These works were informed and inspired by the re-wilding efforts taking place along Chicago's lakefront, in the Cook County Forest Preserve, and at Big Marsh Park on the southeast side of the city.
My interest in each of these locations came as a result of living near the Loyola Dune Grass Restoration Project along the shores of Lake Michigan on Chicago's far north side. Over a decade ago, Loyola University joined with the Chicago Park District to combat the steady erosion of the sandy beach landscape by planting native dune grass seedlings along the bike path of this six acre site. These grasses, and the rising dunes that support them, have transformed the lakefront to something akin to its pre-industrial state. This formerly constructed public beach with its flat mono-culture environment is once again an undulating terrain supporting densely packed fountains of arching grasses, native plants, and wildlife.
I walk to the lakefront almost daily to observe its steadily changing form. I sketch there, gather natural materials for printing, keep notes, and take photographs. I also do these collecting practices in the woods along the North Branch of the Chicago River that is undergoing a floodplain gully restoration effort and at the Big Marsh where a former slag and dumping site is being developed into an eco-recreation park. Using this visual research, I combine my first hand experience with sensory impressions and memory to construct ecological narratives grounded in the concept of wildness and its expression in natural forms and energies.
In preparing for this exhibition, it was important for me to include a multi-disciplinary range of work dedicated to wild spaces and connected by my interest in constructed supports, built textures, and seasonal colors. Assembled paper surfaces, made from recycled and sustainably sourced papers, were initiated with black ink printings made from natural forms and handmade tools and further developed with watercolor, gouache, gesso, color pencil, and found objects. This collection of large-scale drawings and paintings, mixed media collograph prints, altered books and sketchbooks is on display from March 22 - June 15, 2024.