In February of this year, I received a letter from my friend Ann Payne, asking me to participate in a project of her design, entitled
Reflections: Homage to Dunkard Creek. (And I have recently made the discovery that fellow DPP member Ron Donoughe is also participating in this project.) Ann's introduction to the project reads:
"It is said that the living can feely move on only when they have helped the newly dead rest in peace.
Reflections is a collaborative installation by more than 100 artists to commemorate the lives of the 116 species who perished in Dunkard Creek during the warm days of late summer 2009. The creek literally died when a fatal combination of chemical mine wastes and low water, exacerbated by "frac" drilling water withdrawals, set off the bloom of an alien toxic algae, suffocating an estimated 18,000-22,000 animals...The artists participating in
Reflections are united by a common body of water, the Monongahela Watershed (in western PA). To honor the tragedy that befell this watershed, each artist will 'adopt' and memorialize one of the 116 species of animals who perished, to celebrate the life of that species with an original work of art."
My personal connection to the Monongahela Watershed, and to this project, is through my teaching for the Botanical Art Certificate program at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, where Ann also teaches.
Each artist was supplied with a 7" x 10.25" sheet of 140lb. Arches hot press paper mounted with archival gel to a hardboard panel, and assigned a species. I was assigned the Ghost Shiner -- a minnow which is typically 1 - 2 inches in length. The participating artists were told we could use any medium and could depict the species in any manner we chose. My composition, above, is rendered in watercolor pencil and colored pencil.
Reflections will be a travelling exhibit, opening on August 25 at
Arts Monongahela: Jackson Kelly Gallery, in
Morgantown, WV ~ not far from Dunkard Creek.
The Dunkard Creek Watershed Association is generously hosting an
Artists Reception, September 9 from 5-8 p.m. (an appropriate date coinciding with the
two-year anniversary of the kill). So far the exhibit is booked in six venues, on the road through late 2012 -- and possibly beyond, as more requests are coming in -- and will feature a show catalogue.
If you would like to read more about the project, Ann has developed and will continue to build a website:
http://web.me.com/paynestake/Homage_to_Dunkard_Creek/Welcome.html
I am delighted to have been asked to participate, and want to give kudos to Ann for conceiving and following through this ambitious and extremely worthy project!
