How beautiful droplets of dew or rainwater puddle on the waxy leaf surfaces? They provide the watering holes for natureβs tiniest creatures.πππΈοΈπ¦ππΈππ¦π
What do you see when you see a leaf? βοΈπΏπ±π
I see a unique natural system. Leaves multi-functioning as micro reservoirs, coats of armor protecting the soil, and micro floodgates slowing rainwater. π¦ππ§
On the Coastal prairie, leaves function to protect the soil from being compacted by the pelting raindrops. If the heavy raindrops fall is not broken by layers of leaves and organic matter, the tiny cavities in living soil collapse, and rainwater moves horizontally across our landscape instead of into the tiny reservoirs in the soil. We need these small cavities to allow water to penetrate deep into the soil. Leaves also slow rain droplets giving the soil time to transport the rain to its deepest roots. Once the rain is in the ground cooling our planet leaves protect the soil from the heat of the day. This multilayered ground cover gives rain more time to trickle into the aquifer. Purifying our water and cooling our planet. How amazing are leaves? As an artist my how we see urban landscapes
My work records endangered knowledge to the collective memory and reimagines urban landscapes to holistically balance the needs of humanity and wildlife.
In Symbiosis I am stretching my practice and creating a living piece of site-specific art activism that will reimagine a 53.5β X 48β traditional urban landscape/sculpture garden and answer the question: how do we holistically restore an ecological balance in Houston? Symbiosis is a collaboration with Lawndale Art Centerβs community, neighbors, urban wildlife, and the coastal prairies carbon cycle. #symbiosis #lawndaleartcenter #urbanlandscapes #artadia #coastalprairie #water #leaves #conservation art #bioart #nature #contemporaryart #modernart #artactivism #cindeeklementart #texasart #houstonart