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This map was exhibited at the Maryland Art Place for Spark IV: A New World?
Identifying and cataloging wildflowers is a lifelong passion of mine. Almost as soon as I could write, I kept a nature journal in which I recorded and illustrated my sightings. When I encountered an unfamiliar wildflower, I diagrammed it in a marble composition book so I could look it up later in a field guide. This hobby has carried over into my adult life, strengthening my relationship with the outdoors and informing my artistic practice.
During the spring of 2020, when the impending threat of COVID loomed over the country, I coped by spending more time outdoors, walking on my favorite local trail several times a week. To give my hikes purpose, I transformed my lifelong hobby of identifying wildflowers into an immersive, interdisciplinary art project. Using Adobe Illustrator, mapping apps, and reference photos taken during hikes, I created an animated map of 19 native wildflower species illustrating their phenology – or seasonal development – over the course of the spring.
From March to June, I hiked on my favorite trail twice a week, collecting data on the location of wildflower species using All Trails. I created a map template and added flower graphics – also created in Illustrator – to the map after each hiking session. To show growth over time, multiple graphics were created for each flower, depicting their progression from sprout, to bud, to bloom, and eventually to seed.
After three months of intensive data collection, graphics creation, and construction of the map, spring was winding down and the early wildflowers were going to seed. To finish the map, I added playful animations bookending the map and a collaged soundtrack of recorded instruments, bird calls, and amphibian trills.
I continue to deepen my understanding of the local ecosystem due to the careful observation this project requires. Observing and illustrating the flowers has enriched my understanding of each species’ morphology – their external structures - as well as how these structures change over time. While I have always appreciated the ephemeral nature of blooming spring wildflowers, I now recognize the beauty in each stage of their development.
As I continue to work on this project, I am increasingly committed to promote conservation and stewardship through the arts, and I have used this project as a basis to engage the artistic community through workshops, guided hikes, and presentations.
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