Projects with the Land
These projects bring botanical prints into the outdoors to interact with the land and people in a variety of ways.
My goal is to awaken our awareness of plant shapes, colors, and our relationships to them. I use botanical prints as a way of starting the conversation because their marks feel like an interface or language between human consciousness and the land.
Contact me using this form to discuss commissions and collaborations at your event, garden or venue.
Plant Beings
installations and wall hangings
The Plant Beings outdoor ephemeral installation occurred at Columbia Ecovillage on July 9, 2022.
My goal was to interact with the land and trees using botanical prints on fabric.
What energy do the plants and space want to express? How can my fabric shapes and prints activate the space? Over a few months I spent time there listening and feeling. As images and came to me I made the prints, then stitched them together into fabric sculptures. The first time I saw them installed was the morning of July 9th. It was thrilling to see how the sculptures became a conversation with the place.
I created four sculptures inspired by different trees and places. I mostly printed plants I found on the property. Red twig dogwood, autumn olive, bamboo, bracken fern, wild rose, fringecup.
LAY: Five linen towels placed in a star on the ground under a Mulberry tree.
TURN: Ten foot long strips of fabric sewn to a circular frame and suspended from a black walnut tree.
REACH: Fifty foot long piece of fabric draped between two cherry trees.
GATHER: Five fabric panels hanging in an apple tree.
photos of the installation: Kamala Kingsley Photography
PROCESS
Botanical printing teaches me to observe the seasons and the plants more closely to collaborate on images or sculptures. The process blends chemistry, experimentation, intuition, trust, and respect for the plants. There are many techniques. The one I use involves mordanting the fabric so it will accept the pigments from the plants and working with tannins to create dark contrasting colors and shapes. I enjoy discovering new plants and learning what color and shapes they print. I feel honored and amazed at what comes through each time.
WALL PIECES
Bring the energy of plants into your home, office, or building with this collection of artworks on fabric. They are ready to hang with cleat or bamboo. Custom commissions for specific applications welcome. See all available in the Plant Messengers shop.
Wondering Herbarium
Wondering Herbarium
Wandering Herbarium is a plant scavenger hunt created in spring and summer 2023 for Terra Incognita, an interdisciplinary, site-specific land art exhibition at The Verdancy Project in Troutdale, Oregon.
During the public viewings in August, this artwork brought the attention of visitors down to the level of individual plants growing in profusion on the property. Viewers received a small booklet with names and descriptions of eight different plants to help them use observation to match the botanical print sculptures to the nearby plants and names.
