Experience How Art Energizes Community

Risë Anderson

Sauk Creek Nature Preserve

I chose to do my project on the Sauk Creek Nature Preserve in Port Washington, because it is in my backyard. I feel it makes the most sense for me to explore an area that I have lived in most of my life.

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I like the topography of the Sauk Creek Nature Preserve, the limestone outcropping, and that it has a water feature. I understand it was a homestead, so that tells me it has a story that I look forward to learning more about. I also like that it is not a pristine Eden, but rather a transitional landscape.

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I will begin by keeping a journal and whatever gets deposited in that journal will determine the focus of my project. I am mostly known for my sculptural work in basketry, but I also like to use mixed media assemblage as a format.

Michael Bunton

Kratzsch Conservancy

I had never been to the Kratzsch Conservancy in Newburg prior to this project, so this provides me the opportunity to explore a new landscape. I was pleased to discover grasslands, wetlands and forested areas containing a nice variety of trees. The preserve also offers the opportunity to hike, bird watch, fish, hunt, boat, and cross country ski. I love hiking and being outside exploring, and this place offers plenty of both.

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I am a photographer. I shoot primarily with 35mm film in black and white, and develop my own photos in the darkroom at Studio 224. I will be shooting photos at different times of the day, and throughout the different seasons.

Brooklyn Henke

Spirit Lake

I am interested in Spirit Lake in Mequon. As an artist and educator, I am inspired by connections – the nature of life and death; the cycles of the land; the constant battle and relationships between plant, land, and insect. There are multiple spaces and ecosystems, and I am interested in all of them. I spent some time through my graduate degree painting and studying the macroinvertebrates of the Milwaukee River. I find these life cycles fascinating. 

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In our yard, we are fighting back buckthorn, garlic mustard, and other invasive species, and have begun creating various pollinator gardens and bringing back native plants. I am interested to spend time in a location where effective land stewardship is underway. In increasing the number of native wildflowers and plants over the course of the last 3 years, we have seen a corresponding shift in the number of butterflies, number of bees (and range of species), and other pollinators. I feel passionate about education and nature in education- and I would love to spend time not only studying and reflecting on the insect/plant interactions, but also for my work to serve an educational impact. 

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I plan on working in two methods: Recording and studying by way of Macrophotography; and meditations on my findings through watercolor and ink on gessoed panel. I would like the works to range from service of science and education, to intricate and playful.

Chris Hewitt

Kurtz Woods Natural Area

I am interested in the Kurtz Woods Natural Area located both in the village of Saukville and the town of Grafton. The heavily wooded kettles and moraines remind me of my childhood in Burlington, Wisconsin. I look forward to exploring the Kurtz Woods in the same way I spent my time in the woods at my childhood home.

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I plan to do a series of paintings inspired by the property and my explorations. Much of my time will be spent mapping on site, and then the documentation of my work will be completed in my studio.

Gina Litherland

Bratt Woods

I am interested in Bratt Woods, in Grafton, because it has a rich and varied terrain that includes a forest on the Milwaukee River with a wide variety of wildlife. The unique flora and fauna of southeastern Wisconsin has always been an inspiration to me and having access to this beautiful forested area situated on a river will provide me with a wealth of material to draw.

I hope to do preliminary photographic studies and drawings of the local wildlife and plant life to develop into a series of mixed media drawings and/or prints showing the seasonal changes in the area. My process would include some preliminary drawings and show the development of the drawings into a narrative that shows the subtle impact of the natural world on the human psyche.

Cynthia Lorenz

Huiras Lake

I am interested in Huiras Lake in the town of Fredonia because of the pristine wetlands and the plant species. The plants of Huiras Lake are ones that are typical of Northern Wisconsin where I grew up and not southeastern Wisconsin. I was also pleased to discover an old stone building on the property. I wish to chronicle and bring to life the elements of our environments that typically go unseen and foster awareness of the importance of these microcosms. 

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I will be drawing on paper with pencil, pen and using a digital camera. The completed work will consist of process and preparatory drawings, sketches and photographs. My work will culminate into a stop motion animation combining drawing and photography.

Patricia Bertha Mattingly

Donges Bay Gorge

I chose the Donges Bay Gorge in Mequon, because it was designed by Jens Jensen, a landscape architect originally from Denmark. I have visited various projects of his in Chicago and Wisconsin with my husband who's a landscape architect. I was delighted when I visited this site and saw the credit to Jens Jensen in the pool house. I love the history of the land, formally the Kurt’s family property. Jensen’s style is natural restoration honoring the existing design of nature and making it more hospitable to humans with trails, outlooks and structures. This property is vast, varied and enchanted.

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I hope to make mixed medium works on paper representing different aspects of the property. I am considering perhaps a combination of various seasons or times of the day, highlighting both the seen and mystical qualities of the land and its inhabitants.

I will be sketching, making some gouache studies and taking photos and notes for reference on site. The larger pieces will be made in my studio. I am envisioning these pieces as a combination of field notes, sketches and poetic impressions within the larger drawings.

Todd Mrozinski

Fellenz Woods

I'm interested in Fellenz Woods because of its dual quality of having the feeling of plains as well as woods. The delicacy and variety of grasses and vegetation inspires me as does the wind and trees. I work in series which are generally nature based and inspired by my surroundings in the present moment. The media develops out of the experience. I have a sense, after visiting Fellenz Woods, that etching and possibly video will be a part of this residency. I am currently making large scale graphite and ink drawings based on my daily walk to the studio and the trees along the way. They are large because I want the viewer to feel immersed in the drawing. The amount of work produced during this residency will depend on the size and type. During this residency I will be working from life, sketches and photos and would like to explore different times of day and seasons.

Andrew Musil

Cedarburg Environmental Study Area

I am interested in producing work at the Cedarburg Environmental Study Area because of its major transformation. I make photographs using chemical photographic processes, which have an inherent implication as a preservation of history, especially within the canon of landscape photography. For example, the landscape photographs of famous photographers like Timothy O’Sullivan and Ansel Adams of the American West. Their photographs are seen as evidence of an untouched landscape, to warn against human impact on that nature landscape. For this project, I will photograph the Cedarburg Environmental Study Area in the manner of those preservative styles, but documenting a landscape that is not connected to its history as it underwent two significant transformations; first into farmland, and then back into a nature preserve. The photographs serve as a study of the site, which acknowledges its new purpose: a place that is designated for studying nature.

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The photograph will be created using the albumen silver process, the process of which Timothy O’Sullivan’s photographs were exhibited. The photographs that are made with this process are limited to the size of their negatives. My cameras limit this scale to 4" x 5" and 3.25" x 5.5" negatives, which can be cropped to produce even smaller photographs. My negatives will be created using albumen and gelatin dry glass plate processes, which were popular in the late 19th century. Multiple editions of albumen silver prints may be created from the negatives.

Dave Niec

Lake Twelve

Lake Twelve, located in the town of Farmington, is of interest to me predominantly because it has a lake. Access to the lakeshore and the water are very appealing to my interest in the night sky. This property provides views of the lake from several vantage points, and gives me the opportunity to make drawings and paintings from the observation of the lake and sky.     

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My work is developed on site and from memory. Most onsite work is in the form of drawings and small paintings that are developed from observation. I often make larger paintings from memory. I use the layering of marks or paint to build up an image, giving the image a soft edged, low contrast atmospheric view of the night.

Hal Rammel

Hames Nature Preserve

I am interested in the Hames Nature Preserve, in Fredonia, as its terrain includes the river and an expanse of prairie. Since pinhole photography and field recordings will be a significant part of my project, I am most interested in a variety of habitat with unique variety to its soundscape.

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My work will include black & white pinhole photography using paper negatives, 8x10 and 5x7 format, color photography using plastic cameras (Holga 120 and Smena 35mm), digital prints, and field recordings edited into the format of a soundwalk (as mp3) spanning the duration of the project.

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I’ll be visiting the site frequently throughout the year particularly in fall and spring when the changes to the soundscape are most dramatic. The photographic excursions will also concentrate within the fall and spring.

Nicole Shaver

Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

I am interested in the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve in Port Washington, because of the area’s proximity to Lake Michigan, and its connection to the Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory. 

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This property is inspirational because of the material onsite capabilities and the beach's geology. I would like to make a series of sculptures utilizing construction techniques similar to the Pebble House in Port Washington, which was built in 1848 by a married couple with stones that they gathered on the shores of Lake Michigan. 

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My resulting project will be a sculpture constructed with various stone patterns and grout harvested on the local beaches.