Skip to content

landscape connection

smith college project

  • welcome
  • contribute
  • bio & artist statement
  • gallery
  • land acknowledgement
  • Search Icon

welcome

welcome to the smithie landscape connection!

As many past, current, and future Smithies have and likely are experiencing an increased disconnection from nature, I want to invite all of you who are interested to join in this creative connection to the landscape to join in. This project is called the “smith landscape connection” as its goal is to spur a collective connection to nature by encouraging individuals to contribute their own doodles to a community-wide collage.

https://sites.smith.edu/landscapeconnection/wp-content/uploads/sites/658/2021/04/smith-landscape-connections.mp4

 

 

contribute

how do I add to the smithie collage?

1) go outside or look at a map!

2) sketch, doodle, draw, color, paint, or create your own interpretation or inspiration of what you see (whether inspired by a tree, a weed, fungi, moss, lichen, the color or texture of bark, the pattern land elevation or waterways in your region, or another aspect of your landscape)

3) please scan (or take a picture of) your doodle

4) upload below!

    what kind of doodle should you contribute?

    as you can see from those in the images in the gallery…i took a variety of paths! in some cases, i painted to replicate lichen or moss, other times i drew topographic maps, and other times i drew creative and colorful interpretations of fungi and lichen. you are not limited to the design methods i chose. i encourage use of color, lines, and texture and to be as creative or realistic as you please.

    who is meant to contribute to this piece?

    this piece is meant to be a virtual source of community for smithies past, present, and future. for this reason, smithies specifically are invited to contribute.

    when is the deadline? when and how will i see the collaborative smithies piece?

    may 8! this gives us time to reach out and encourage as many smithies as we can to make and submit doodles! the physical piece will be displayed in physically displayed in the Church Gallery of the Lyman Plant House from the week of may 11 and until mid-June. we do not yet know who will be able to view the pieces in person during that time but will be sure to post pictures and videos on this website for all to view!

    can i submit more than one doodle?

    you are by all means welcome to submit multiple doodles! please invite your fellow smithies to join you!

     

    if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to email me!

    artist statement & bio

    bluish green lichen, perhaps aside a small bed of dark green moss, miniature mushroom caps, or squiggling dots of bright orange fungi on decaying log, stump, or sprightly tree catch my eye. when i look closer, the textures and varying hues surrounded by lines of layering bark seem to mimic a map to another, much more expansive, land. the miniature suggestion of grand mountain ranges, the colorful explosion of fungi on a single tree — the cohabitation of these patterns and ways of being on a single surface seems to me like a beautiful chaos. it’s messy and it’s gorgeous, it’s still and it’s dynamic, and in that, to me, it reflects hope.

    in the fall semester of 2020 i took horticulture with Gabby Immerman and studio art foundations with Justin Kim. each week, the two courses seamlessly intertwined as i studied plant-life, my relationship to the land i inhabit, and explore where i find beauty. my final project for the art studio, a compilation of hand-drawn doodles and painted creations into a collage, inspired this piece. the collage is an expression of celebration and connection to both the larger landscape and small organisms i’ve encountered in Western Massachusetts. during a fully remote semester, this project served to counter balance and challenge disconnection from nature by appreciating small living things. the collage is inspired by the movement, color, and design of fungi, lichen, and moss on bark i’ve come across intermingled with maps of the area.

    i am filled with gratitude to display these pieces in the Church Gallery in the Lyman Plant House as it is perhaps my favorite place on campus. quiet, overlooking the Systematics Garden and Paradise Pond, i would stop here to do homework and stroll around the greenhouses on my morning commute from the Quad to Seelye. i hope that the collaborative Smithie piece serves to welcome more Smithies to this space. if you are interested in getting involved with this space, please reach out to Sarah Loomis, the Smith College Botanic Garden Manager of Education at sloomis@smith.edu.

    welcome, i’m julia (she/her). i’m a senior at smith and organized this project to playfully and creatively bring smithies closer to their landscapes and to each other. my areas of interest are public health, environmental justice, and urban planning and led me to major in government and minor in economics. i spent time in these departments in an effort to better understand how power is structured and institutionalized and to study how transition to just and equitable alternatives. outside of academia, i have explored the the landscape through a student running group and learned a lot from my involvement in the smith college fossil fuel divestment campaign. despite not majoring in biology, art, or environmental science and policy, this piece has now been a significant part of my experience at smith to express my love and gratitude for the community and landscape.  if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jmettlergrove@smith.edu.

    Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Ananya