Dara Larson: Artist in Residence in Turtle Park

October 16, 2024  |  Topics: featured artist

---

The Natural Realm presents Dara Larson, who is among 12 artists participating in a year-long residency program called ARTservancy, now in its fifth year. ARTservancy is a collaboration between Gallery 224 in Port Washington and the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, River Revitalization Foundation, Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy, Tall Pines Conservancy, and Lake Michigan Bird Observatory. The mission of ARTservancy is to promote the visionary work of both the artists and conservationists. Each artist has selected a preserve to spend time in and to engage with.

Reflections from the Artist

By Dara Larson

Rivers Beneath Rivers

“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.” – Mark Twain, from “Life on the Mississippi”.

I have lived on or near a river for most of my life. With the ARTservancy residency I am working at Turtle Park to explore prairie, walk the Milwaukee River shores and trails and spend time meditating upon the grasses, plants and water currents. My artwork to date follows two paths, digital photography of plants and water, and physical art using water.

The prairie in Turtle Park highlights many Wisconsin species and is a vibrant place for pollinators, snakes and songbirds. Goldenrod, Big Bluestem, Rough Blazing Star, Common and Butterfly Milkweed are among dozens of other plants that populate this lovely park. The lore and history of each plant is important. They have tales to tell that can fuel art stories. For instance, Narrow Lead Birdsfoot Trefoil is thought to symbolize revenge and is often called grannies toenails because of the claw-like seed pods. School children used to bring it to their teachers for protection against their potential wrath. Deer and geese love to eat it and the honeybee has a unique skill in getting to the nectar of the oddly shaped petals. Strong against erosion it can overwhelm other plants with invasive ground hugging growth.

Another example, Wild Bergamot (aka Bee Balm) is useful for prairie restoration and important for pollinators. It is used in Earl Grey, citrus or mint teas and luxury candle scents. It also has medicinal and culinary uses. It has been used as headache relief, beverage and seasoning for meat by the Ojibwe, Tewa and Iroquois peoples. Some tribes believed that if you carried it or placed it in your home you would bring good luck and success, sympathy, clarity, prosperity and protection.

I love learning about plant lore and am creating a series of digital artworks in homage to the beauty of urban prairie. I visually abstract from plants and find their structural and formal elements through manipulations of color and light. I also hope that learning about prairie plants may expand my experiments with making paper. I make paper from varied local and invasive plants and am always looking to expand recipes. Papermaking by its nature revolves around the fusion of the four elements (earth, air, water, fire), with a particular attention being given to the floating of fibers in water. The process encourages the papermaker to find an affinity with the nature of the plant and its color, texture and potential for high quality sheet of paper.

In addition to plant life, river water has become my second area of artistic focus. I use digital illustration to explore its movement, light, surface and depth. I imagine a slowing of the currents, in order to change and manipulate water flow with saturated colors and textures. I also use a hands-on experience with actual water through paper marbling. In both digital and physical marbling forms I am attempting to depict a moment in the life of the current, while studying the complex habits and character of currents.

A current is a steady movement of fluid within a larger amount of the same fluid. Currents are caused by water travelling downhill. Laminar flow (layers) is a straight line of the fastest water at river center. The top and the bottom of the river run slower and the middle depth is the fastest. Helical flow is next to shorelines and is spiral-like, sweeping toward the center. The topography, bends and curves of riverbanks effect the currents. A riffle or water carrying sediment will drop sand and stone and create speedier or choppy areas.

Hyporheic zones or gravel and sand beneath rivers are spaces into which river water percolates. The water moves underground and reemerges as surface water downstream. The exchange of surface and subsurface waters allow the river to cool and carry microbes. This river beneath river allows for water purification or filtration or zones for laying eggs or living space for small fish and insects. All of these intersecting forces are examined in my art through emotional and optical blending of transparency that depicts turbulence, flow, corkscrewing and particles of earth and pebbles that travel and deposit themselves in new places.

The river is a timekeeper with sands flowing from each season with its rains and snow melts. The photographs of water have made me slow down and try to investigate these forces as visual effects symbolic of the river seeking its destination. This slowing and examination of water is a continuation of my collaborative teaching of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) principles and relationships of creativity and problem solving in an art/science learning environment.

Working with science educators and students has opened up the palette and my perceptions of color. Like the surprising range of colors that occur in plants in chromatography, the unexpected ray of sun that caused the water to look orange or pink changed my color thinking. Digitally, I began to pull small bits of colors that existed and increased their saturation or value. I played with intensity and brightness in a very intuitive way that reflected the layers and currents of water. In building upon the digital representations of water flow I also wanted to experience a physical understanding of currents. Marbling ink on water uses the smallest breaking of surface tension to create large ripple impacts.

Marbling is an engagement with the essence of water and the endless desire of ripples. Meditation upon the stillness of water requires one to hold their breath and gently break the surface of the water. A small breath directed at the surface will change the direction, flow and speed of ink. The marbling practice explores a sense of oneness with water and the need to listen to and react with the media. I marble and then draw upon the paper to follow and track the complex routes of the ripples. It is a marvelous mode of relaxing and sensing the water.

As a resident artist at Turtle Park I have also been reintroduced to my old neighborhood in Milwaukee. I used to look out at the river from my house high atop the hill. I now see a whole new community invested in the river as a source of vitality for walking, boating, fishing and social activities. The Milwaukee, Menomonee and the Kinnikinic Rivers are among America’s waterways that need revitalization. Rivers serve millions of people through their recreational, ground water and industrial applications but remain in large part ignored. Threats to rivers and reclamation efforts can be led through educational efforts stimulated by cultural residencies such as ARTservancy and the vital work of the River Revitalization Foundation.

I hope to share some of my learning with the people who use the park daily. I am also thankful to learn from the amazing artists who are part of ARTservancy. Their stories and ideas remind us of the essential need for humans to be in the environment to receive its healing and creative benefits.

Gallery

Bio

I am a practicing artist living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have worked in arts higher education and community arts teaching to provide workshops and mentoring for under-served youth populations. My interests in collaboration in the community include steamroller printmaking events, STEAM projects with scientists and sustainable art practices in papermaking.

I create handmade paper from recycling and harvesting of local and invasive plants to produce works of art that celebrates the natural environment. I also work in digital art, artist books, scratchboard, drawing and printmaking. My works in these media engage with topics of social and political importance. Many of my recent works investigate the issues of censorship, voting and civil rights.

My works have been exhibited widely in the local region as well as internationally. Some recent exhibitions include, Democracy at the Overture Center, Madison, Contemporary Art at the Trout Museum, Appleton, Paper on the River at the Paper Art Discovery Center, Appleton, Go Wild at Scout Gallery, Milwaukee and Midwest Seasons at the Visual Art Center, Wausau.

Instagram: @daralarson

This residency is sponsored by River Revitalization Foundation.  Turtle Park, part of the Milwaukee River Greenway, is located on the west side of the river between North Avenue and Humboldt Boulevard. To learn more about the Greenway go to our Find-a-Park page.

Related stories:

Benjamin Pollock: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

Brian Hibbard: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

Meghan Burke McGrath: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

There are numerous other stories related to the Milwaukee River Greenway in The Natural Realm; a complete list is available on our Find-a-Park page.

This is the latest in our series of featured artists, which is intended to showcase the work of photographers, artists, writers and other creative individuals in our community whose subjects or themes relate in some broad sense to nature, urban nature, people in nature, etc. To see a list of previously featured artists, click here. The work of the 2022-2023 ARTservancy artists in residence is currently being exhibited monthly at Gallery 224. To meet the other ARTservancy artists in residence, click here.

All images courtesy of the artist, except as noted. The digital image at the top is by Dara Larson. River Revitalization Foundation is a project partner of A Wealth of Nature.

---