Meteobotany

This series pairs drawings of cloud systems with embroidered plant life, in particular, lichens. Iterations go from digital satellite images, to drawing done by hand on a digital surface, then commercially printed onto fabric, and finally embroidered by hand. I explore contrasts of technologies and materials, and points of view. Satellites give a “god’s eye” view, while I have been drawing lichen specimens through a microscope (thanks to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum). I want them to appear to grow between the cloud systems. Through combining macro and micro viewpoints, I hope to convey my sense of the northwest coast as an intricate and intertwined life form –a living, dynamic presence. Lichens represent a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae (and more organisms, as research is finding). By pairing imagery of lichens with grand weather systems, I hope to show a greater symbiosis.

Some of this work was exhibited Sept 2023 - Jan 2024 at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Click on image and hover mouse over images below for information.

Communities

Lichenologist S. Goyette pointed out to me that multiple lichens tend to co-habit, often with mosses, on various substrates. I have made two works featuring lichens on wood and on stone. The cloud systems are my digital drawings from satellite feeds summer of 2024 which include the hazy pink smoke of wildfires.