Lassen Volcanic National Park 2024
I was awarded an Artist Residency position at Lassen Volcanic National Park for April and May 2024. It was different world at a mountainous high elevation where winter hangs on until late May. Road access was limited and snow shoeing or slogging through the soft spring snow in boots were the only options for me. It was amazing to watching spring arrive to Lassen with the melting ice on Manzanita Lake and the arrival of the ducks, coots, grebes and geese. Songbirds also arrived during my time there along with the hatching of insects and blooming of wildflowers at lower elevations.
The major geologic features of the park are volcanic--volcanoes, mud pots, hot springs, a cinder cone, lava flows and other remnants of volcanic eruptions. Mt. Lassen is still considered an active volcano having last erupted in 1914. Since many of these features were not accessible in early spring, I know I will have to go back to experience the rest of the park.
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Hand painted silk with the help of park visitors and staff. Machine quilted.
Hand painted silk and machine quilted.
Hand painted on silk and machine quilted.
Hand painted silk with the help of park visitors and staff. Machine quilted.
Capitol Reef National Park 2022
I was honored to be selected to be an Artist in Residence at Capitol Reef National Park for 3 weeks in May to June 2022. It is beautiful red rock country on the Colorado Plateau of Southern Utah full of canyons, spires, and arches. The park has a rich cultural history of a prehistoric Native American culture who left inscriptions on canyon walls, as well as white settlers who planted orchards of peaches, plums, apples and apricots in the 1800's. The National Park keeps the orchards producing fruit for park visitors to enjoy. I was housed near an apricot orchard and enjoyed watching the resident birds and the daily changes of sunlight and shadows on the canyon walls. I explored the park on foot nearly everyday and recorded scenery, plants and animal life with photos. There is so much more to explore in this park.
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Great Basin National Park 2022
I was awarded The Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence at Great Basin National Park in September 2022. This national park is part of the Basin and Range geological region of Nevada. It is less visited than other national parks because of its isolated location. I spent 3 weeks exploring the mountains and valleys of this park and interpreted the scenery into art quilts. The treasures of this park include a limestone cave system called Lehman Cave. Wheeler Peak, a 13,065 ft. giant, towers over the park. Forests of Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, juniper and sagebrush cover its flanks. Above 10,000 ft. stands of ancient bristlecone pine live. These trees are known be the oldest trees in the world and are sculpted by wind, snow and rain. On hikes, I visited mountain peaks, the cave, areas that are recovering wildfire, elk habitat, streams and alpine lakes. I witnessed the change of seasons with the aspen leaves turning from green to golden. It is truly a unique gem in the National Park System.
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Painted with the help of the folks at the Baker Community Center. This piece was donated to the Baker Community Center.
Produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park. Copyright to reproduce this image is granted to the National Park Service.
Allagash Wilderness Waterway 2021
I was the 2021 Visiting Artist at the Allagash Wilderness Waterway sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. For 2 weeks, I immersed myself in the north woods surrounded by the sweet aroma of balsam fir and the yodeling of distant loons on the water. This is a 92 mile corridor of lakes and river that many canoe campers and other outdoor enthusiasts use year round. During my stay, I explored the area, collected many images with photos and painted silk interpretations of the scenery that became art quilts.
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Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park
2019
I was selected as an Artist in Residence (AIR) at Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for 2 weeks. It is an expansive 60,000 acre park of Lake Superior Lakeshore, rugged terrain, lakes, swift rivers and old growth forests. During my visit I explored the many hiking trails, along streams and mountain ridges taking in the scenic views and photographing them for future art projects. Back at the artist cabin I transformed some of these images into silk paintings that were later finished into art quilts. It was a wonderful experience!
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Donated to the Friends of the Porkies Folk School