A Wilderness Science and Art Collaboration

Aldo & Leonardo, a partnership between Colorado Art Ranch and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, is a project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The project is inspired by the scientific wisdom of Aldo Leopold and the artistic genius of Leonardo da Vinci. Our endeavor is an interdisciplinary collaboration of artists and scientists designed to celebrate the lands, resources and opportunities protected by the Wilderness Act. In 2013, we are hosting one-month residencies in six diverse wilderness areas. Artists will work alongside wildland research scientists and gain firsthand knowledge of the wonders, complexities and challenges of our nation's wildest places. The result will be a body of work that creatively illustrates the value of wild areas and honors the scientific efforts to preserve wilderness for the next fifty years.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Wind, Water, Sand, and Sun









By Megan Singleton

Yesterday was our first voyage out to the Island.  We were guided by Dave Brownlie, manager of the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge.  Anticipation, excitement, and curiosity overcame me as we waded through the chilly waters to board the boat.  It was a short misty ride to the North Island. Blue waters dotted with the occasional seal led us to our destination where we were met by a cool breeze.  We witnessed horseshoe crabs mating and plants thriving in and out of the water.  I was immediately drawn to the variety of seaweeds and how they had been changed and desiccated from the wind and sun.  Drying, shrinking, and bleaching out into a paper like form cast upon the sand.  Angry birds met us as we passed through the edge of the tern colony.  Witnessing this kind of RAW WILD NATURE behavior of a mother/father protecting their young felt like a distinct characteristic of wilderness.  I was also stimulated by the amount of pattern and texture I observed in the landscape.  Patterns of flight, patterns on the sand, patterns on the backs of crabs, patterns of billowing grasses.  Then thinking about how all of these patterns have been created or effected by wind, water, sand, sun, and time. The makers of change.

No comments:

Post a Comment