Wisconsin Landscapes

In April 2023, Anna and Praveen led a program called “Wisconsin Landscapes: Art and Science Fusion Workshops” at the Arboretum. Hosted on three consecutive Saturdays from 1-3 PM, each workshop covered the same curriculum.

Each workshop began with an hour-long nature hike in the Curtis Prairie (April 8 & 22) or WI Native Plant Garden (April 15) designed and led by Anna. During the hike, participants learned about the role of water, flora, and insects in the prairie ecosystem and how these three aspects are interconnected. It was also demonstrated how artists are inspired by these aspects in nature through sharing the work of Mary Burns’s “Women + Water”, Diana Scherer’s “Root System Domestication”, and Dr. Walter Tschinkle’s “Ant Architecture.”

In the second half of the program, Praveen led the participants through a visual art practice to depict Wisconsin landscapes. Praveen began the practice by explaining the use of line, space, color, scale, and texture to render 3D aspects of nature into a 2D space. Praveen actively engaged participants through dialogue to tell stories about the ecosystem while they were doing single-link quick drawings of water, plants, insects, and animals and then used art supplies to materialize the information conveyed on the hike through a creative practice.

Throughout the entire program, participants were engaging in conversation about Wisconsin landscapes, prairie ecosystems, and native flora and fauna through both the lens of science and art to show the interconnectedness of art and science in nature.