D’Lacey Eichinger: Artist in Residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

December 1, 2023  |  Topics: featured artist

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The Natural Realm presents D’Lacey Eichinger, who is among 12 artists participating in a year-long residency program called ARTservancy, 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.

Artist Statement by D’Lacey Eichinger

When I applied for the ARTservancy residency, I knew it would begin as a bit of a directionless challenge both personally and artistically. Over the months I have spent walking the paths at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve (FBMP)—through whispering native grasses, under a cathedral of stained-glass leaves in the woods, or along a pebble- and driftwood-dotted shoreline—one word has repeatedly come to mind: renewal. 

I was first drawn to FBMP in Belgium, WI for its proximity to my home—it promised a study of nature practically in my own backyard—and for its history and former life as Squires Country Club. What a beautiful image of conservation efforts! The landscape, once a spread of golf greens dotted with sand traps, has been renewed with biological diversity. Its 116 acres are now a “patchwork quilt” of restored habitats, including a hardwood forest, wetlands, and native grasslands, all hosting wildlife along the Lake Michigan flyway. Fitting for the property’s new life as a preserve, the concept of “renewal” gave me the creative direction I needed! 

Perhaps most notable transformation at FBMP (and its namesake) is the bird population. Although I did not start my ARTservancy residency as much of a birder…I am concluding my study as one! The heavy fertilizers and herbicides of a golf green were traded in for curated native plant growth, encouraging this return of wildlife and a thriving ecosystem emphasizing migratory birds. The renewed population has attracted countless enthusiastic birders. The hobby quickly became part of my routine when visiting, becoming my own little “Big Year” localized to the preserve. A “Big Year” is a personal challenge or an informal competition among serious birders. It involves identifying as many species of birds as possible by sight or sound in one year and occasionally just within a specific geographic area (there is a great book and even a movie titled The Big Year!) 

My visits to FBMP are accompanied by a pair of binoculars and a bird ID app, which have helped me identify over 70 species so far this year. In my studio, these birds then take flight in thread stitched in Audubon-esque scenes mounted in vintage or repurposed wood containers. A mix of hand and free motion machine embroidery on recycled, hand dyed, or eco printed fabric, these birds also often include found elements like bark, twigs, and leaves that reflect their preferred habitat. My goal is to showcase a flock of FBMP’s “frequent flyers” using items that, like the preserve, have been repurposed into something beautiful. 

Renewal has also manifested itself through a new-found passion for natural dyeing: not only capturing the landscape in fiber, but creating my own textile colors from that same environment seemed to be the next logical step in a life-long fiber fascination. ARTservancy has given me the opportunity to explore this hidden world, prompting me to find ways of unlocking color for my work foraged from walks, my backyard garden, and even kitchen scraps! Avocado and onion waste, carrot tops, herbs, flowers, leaves, roots, bark, twigs, seeds, fungi and even lichen have all been experimented with and live on in my garden studio as dyed or eco-printed silk, cotton, and wool. They eventually become wearable art, stitched vessels, or landscapes of nature…made with nature. 

The ritual of visiting FBMP over the past year has led to an intimacy with land where seeing something like those same turkey tail mushrooms or that one particularly vibrant sumac now feels like I am visiting old friends. While I don’t pick materials for dyeing from the preserve itself (which is forbidden), to be able to create color from those same familiar plants harvested elsewhere has created a deeper connection with and better appreciation for the seemingly commonplace nature around me. I now look differently at the world, seeing potential color everywhere!

Gallery

BIO

I am a self-taught fiber artist and natural dyer specializing in creating color from foraged and homegrown plants to use in her work. My passion for textiles has developed over many years, evolving from custom hand embroidery to a mix of intricate free motion embroidered landscapes, needle felting, cyanotypes, natural dyeing, and eco printing inspired by nature and often made with natural materials. After scouring the understory of the forest floor seeking its hidden treasures, photographing or collecting fallen debris on walks, back in the studio I use the needle and thread of a sewing machine to “paint” fabric copies of the natural world. When not creating in my home studio, I am usually teaching fiber art techniques to adults and children as a youth librarian. As such, my creative process is always paired with a book; whether an audiobook in the background over the hum of my sewing machine, a non-fiction book about the nature or the rich history of textiles and dyeing in hand, or the pages of a vintage book repurposed for my art.

This residency is sponsored by Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. To learn more about Forest Beach Migratory Preserve go to our Find-a-Park page.

Related stories:

Hawk Watch at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Karen and Patrick Robison: Artists in Residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Kelly Alexander: Artist in Residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Vicki Reed: Artist in Residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Nicole Shaver: Artist in residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Monarch tagging event at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Ellen Anderson: Artist in Residence at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

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 featured image at the top of D’Lacey Eichinger at Forest Beach is by Eddee Daniel. Ozaukee Washington Land Trust is a project partner of A Wealth of Nature.

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