Childhood
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I guess what I want to say about land is that it continues even after we’ve left it, even after… Read more.
2–4 minutes -
Speaking of loneliness, I once played with light as a friend. When my brother-in-law, who was much older than me and a physicist,… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
Somehow knowing there are sandhill cranes in Ardmore, Oklahoma, right now brings me comfort. The area around Ardmore has high… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
My father had a tiger’s eye bolo that I loved. I wore it in grade school when we reenacted the… Read more.
2–3 minutes -
Awake is my least favorite word when I don’t want to be. Our water purifier started making a high-pitched noise… Read more.
2–3 minutes -
Wildness is one of those words that looks like it’s missing a letter. I want another d or n. Something.… Read more.
2–3 minutes -
Trees don’t move in the wind. They’re moved by the wind, the way we all react to unseen forces, unseen… Read more.
3–5 minutes -
I grew up eating okra, which my mother breaded and fried. I never knew until I moved to Kansas City… Read more.
2–3 minutes -
I want to talk about touch, how it’s the only sense I fully trust. When I doubt my ears, my… Read more.
5–7 minutes
PROCESS
- Map and Research: Investigate the historical, geological, and ecological context of each collection site or reverse the direction, mapping sites based on ancestral and historical narratives.
- Forage: Gather natural materials ethically, respectfully, and with permission.
- Transform: Process foraged materials into custom mediums and physical resources for art-making.
- Weave: Track the stories held within the land, braiding personal, ancestral, and ecological histories.
- Create: Generate studies and finished artwork informed by the sites and physically composed of the materials collected.
- Limits: Not all sites will be safe or accessible, which means some spaces cannot be entered, and some stories will remain incomplete. An empty container can signify these omissions.
purpose
ethics
Responsible Exploration: Committing to mindful presence, permission-based foraging, and minimal-impact exploration on every site.
Meaning
Embodied Storytelling: Engaging in sensory, place-based creation that connects the maker and viewer to the specific location and to the physical earth.
Reclamation: Unearthing and honoring lost, fractured, or overlooked histories embedded in the landscape.
Material Transformation: Celebrating the alchemy of turning raw, gathered earth into tangible, expressive art.
community
Public Education: Sharing the ecological and historical narratives of the sites to foster a deeper collective awareness.
Active Participation: Creating opportunities for community participation, engagement, and shared connection through the work.
Dana Henry Martin 