Dana Henry Martin

Poetry

  • An Imagined Craft Workshop with Mary Ruefle

    This may or may not be anything she would say: Poems are everywhere. Find them. On social media, in thrift… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Heartbreaking Wombat Poem

    I will describe the heartbreaking wombat poem I wanted to write last night when I was too tired to write… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • This Canyon

    The problem with this canyon is that it doesn’t know it’s a canyon, so it will go on being a… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • On Writing, Poetry, Health, Trauma, Surviving, and Lucid Dreams

    This essay was written on Twitter throughout the day on January 1, 2023. — I’m drafting a new essay here… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    10–15 minutes

  • My Dog, My Hands, My Buttery Butter-Stick Fingers

    I know when my dog, Lexi, is happy. I know when she’s sad. I know when she wants to be… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    7–11 minutes

  • Sacred and Desecrated

    One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.  ― Aldo… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–5 minutes

  • Midfield

    I want to tell you about the birds, the ones I’ve been watching for months now, as closely as I’ve… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    5–8 minutes

  • The Poem and the Body, the Body and the Poem

    I intended to write a piece on poetry yesterday, but instead I experienced a tear in my retina. Right eye.… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–5 minutes

  • Origami

    I grew up eating okra, which my mother breaded and fried. I never knew until I moved to Kansas City… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • The Chosen Life

    I knew before moving to Eastern Washington that the land—by which I mean the soil, the air, the water, the… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 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.