Selections of my work (a poem, and a watercolor painting) will be included in an exhibition opening shortly at the St. Croix Rver Visitor Center, at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

My painting depicts a small bog lake. In 2008, I visited the Marcell Experimental Forest with researchers from the St. Croix Watershed Research Station who were studying long-term mercury cycling in peat-upland forest watersheds. The painting was later donated to the St. Croix Watershed Research Station, located in Marine-on-St. Croix, Minnesota. During my residency at Pine Needles, I described the field research trip as follows: “Their project concerned the relationship between sulfates (food for bog bacteria) and the production of methyl mercury, which is the bad sort of Hg that bio-accumulates in the food chain. A complicated, intriguing relationship exists between the various chemical and biological components of the bog environment! Hard to explain but as usual,it seems there are a myriad hidden connections between everything — the world is stitched together in the most complex pattern!”

Here’s the exhibition announcement:

“Inspired by the River”
St. Croix River Visitor Center, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway
September 8 through October 7, 2012
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

The St. Croix Watershed Research Station is pleased to announce, with the National Park Service, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, that artwork created by the Artists at Pine Needles will be on display in St. Croix Falls in September and October. “Inspired by the River,” an exhibition featuring over 25 pieces of art that resulted from artists residencies since 2002, will be shown in the Riverway’s Visitor Center.

Since 2002, 27 artists and writers have taken part in the residency program, which explores connections between science and art. The display will include paintings, drawings, photographs, fiber art, collages and sculpture which were created during or after the artists’ stay along the St. Croix River. The pieces on display are those donated by the artists to the research station after their residencies. Many pieces present different views of the river, while others reflect the artists’ interaction with the environmental scientists at the Research Station.

The St. Croix River Visitor Center is located at 401 North Hamilton Street in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. It is open 9:00 to 5:00 daily with free admission. For additional information, call (715) 483-2274. The exhibit will be on display through October 7, 2012.

The poem I donated to the St. Croix Watershed Research Station, following my residency, was also inspired by scientific method, after I observed a researcher working with a group of students, studying macro invertebrates in a small tributary of the St. Croix River: