Dana Henry Martin

Trauma

  • Wonder

    I guess what I want to say about land is that it continues even after we’ve left it, even after… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • Post Oaks of Oklahoma

    I met Scott LaMascus last night in Oklahoma City at McBride Center Writers, the generative workshop he and Aaron Pogue… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • By Dirt, by Blood, by Oil

    I could have called my family by its dirt. I could have called it by its blood. But it’s oil… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Breaker

    Somehow knowing there are sandhill cranes in Ardmore, Oklahoma, right now brings me comfort. The area around Ardmore has high… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Spared

    To be spared is to be pared, part of you left but part removed. To be spared means to pare,… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • December 25, 2025

    The laccolith shoulders this inelegant sky, nothing to write home about, as if this weren’t home now but that other… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • The Architecture of Mental Illness

    Mental illness has an architecture. That’s part of the story of asylums and treatment in this country. Central State Griffin… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Apathy

    Last year, I was talking to someone who told me one of their co-workers sexually assaulted their friend. I asked… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Whole in Your Wholeness

    Sometimes, you travel somewhere and leave something behind: the body of your pain, which is taken into so many mouths… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Loosening Our Ties

    My father had a tiger’s eye bolo that I loved. I wore it in grade school when we reenacted the… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 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.