Environmental Work
Home, 2024, Oil on Canvas, 6ft by 4.5ft ‘Home’ represents my personal relationship with my childhood home and the environment. The background is a distorted memory: butterfly milkweed, a native species planted in our yard, blossoms in the foreground. The prominent white textured writing reads “Home” copied from a note from my mom. Our concept of home changes and shifts as we enter relationships and move onto different chapters of our lives, though, key themes linger.
Coral vs. Ocean Acidification Healthy Coral (Pre Acidification), 2022, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" by 48" Coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea, representing a diverse three-dimensional habitat, they support 25% of all marine life. Corals also shelter shorelines from rising sea levels, erosion and storms and are also critical life sources for indigenous coastal communities. Overfishing, climate change, and subsequent coral bleaching and ocean acidification events threaten coral reef survival.
Coral vs. Ocean Acidification Bleached Coral (Post Acidification), 2022, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" by 48" This series represents the negative impact climate change and carbon emissions are wreaking on our coral reefs. As ocean water warms, corals are expelling the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, causing coral bleaching. While corals can survive a bleaching event, they suffer stress from these events and have a higher risk of mortality. With coral bleaching, ocean acidification –or the subsequent drop in seawater pH as the ocean is absorbing carbon dioxide–is also occurring. This results in a reduction of the availability of calcium minerals for corals to build and repair their reefs.
Emerald Ash Borer, 2022, Natural Walnut Oil Paint on Canvas, 12" by 24" Emerald Ash Borers are a small greenish blue beetle native to North-East Asia. They were introduced to the United States via wood from a shipping crate in 2002. The invasive female Emerald Ash Borers lay eggs in the bark crevices of ash trees, and the larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees, damaging the integrity of the trees leaving a swirly pattern in the bark. The ash borers emerge as adults in one to two years, often killing the trees in the process. Emerald Ash borers are devastating the Black Ash populations across the United States. Not only does this invasive species cause environmental destruction but it is also threatening cultural heritage. Generations of indigenous weavers have utilized Black Ash, with its sturdy, flexible wood, as a material to weave into beautiful baskets. These Black Ash Baskets are socially significant and provide a vital source of income. This piece was created using hand mixed natural oil paint made from minerals and walnut oil.
Resilience, 2016, Oil Pastel, 16" by 24" Robust foliage overpowering the roundabout sign represents the resilience of the environment. Despite our cyclical anthropocentric actions exhausting the earth's resources, nature is resilient. Ultimately we will decide whether or not we heed the warning, reflect and transition to a more sustainable world. The planet will survive without us, but we cannot survive without the planet.
Solar Gain, 2015, Oil Pastel, 18" by 36" This piece reflects on our relationship with renewable energy sources. The Solar Panels themselves reflect a hopeful, clean, renewable future. The sky behind represents the ominous consequences of fossil fuels. Submitted as a part of a city wide Art Prize Smart Art Competition in 2015 ‘Solar Gain’ won 5th place.
Pictured Rocks, 2022, Acrylic, 24" by 12" Portrait of the pictured rocks in Lake Superior. These breathtakingly beautiful geologic structures that erupt out of the Great Lakes.
Pictured Rocks Sunset, 2022, Acrylic, 24" by 12"
Line 5 Protest, 2022, Acrylic, 12" by 24" The third painting is from a Line 5 protest. Line 5 is a pipeline that runs between the Mackinac straights. It is a pipeline decades past its expiration impending a leak that would devastate the beauty of Great Lakes. Thousands of gallons of oil run though the straights threatening the water, ecosystems and species that surround them.