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SEROTINY PT 2 Serotiny is a body of work that collapses the distance between land worker and artist - I participate in a prescribed burn one day and return to the same site the next, bringing canvas and using ash to make paintings directly on the land. Serotiny takes its name from the ecological phenomenon in which certain seed cones only open in response to extreme heat: destruction as the condition for regeneration, fire not as the end of the story but the mechanism by which the next one begins.

SEROTINY PT 1 Over the past several years I have intermittently worked as a prescribed fire fighter in Michigan. While the region doesn’t experience the scale of wildfires common in Colorado and the American West, its oak savannas, prairies, and pine barrens evolved with periodic low-intensity burns. Serotiny is a body of work that collapses the distance between land worker and artist - I participate in a prescribed burn one day and return to the same site the next, bringing canvas and using ash to make paintings directly on the land. Serotiny takes its name from the ecological phenomenon in which certain seed cones only open in response to extreme heat: destruction as the condition for regeneration, fire not as the end of the story but the mechanism by which the next one begins. Intentional burning has been practiced by Indigenous peoples across the Americas for millennia. Through colonization, land dispossession, and the rise of 20th-century fire-suppression policy, these practices were widely banned as industrial forestry, agricultural expansion and private property reshaped the continent. Still, there are people working steadily on behalf of the land, tribal practitioners, burn teams, ecologists, and conservation crews, continuing this work with care and discipline, and are starting to see the practice reincorporated.

The Slender Margin 23 x 15 Inches Oil on canvas and hand made frame Available as part of the collection curated by @playdetroit for Women-Led Galleries Now on Artsy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🔗 in bio to purchase artwork. The painting’s namesake is a book by Eve Joseph who was a hospice nurse for years and wrote an incredible account of her time witnessing the moments between life and death and how it all relates to art and poetry.  (Eve Joseph originally heard the term in a quote from Japanese dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon, “Art is something that lies in the slender margin between the real and the unreal.”) I read the book “In The Slender Margin” after my dad died and so many parts really stuck with me, swipe to see some of the quotes. It was also around this time that I started painting portraits of people who refused to look at the audience. It felt like they were turned toward something we, the living, can’t see. And here the works themselves all exist somewhere between life and death - made with active hands but now suspended in time.

Hope Is A Thief
18 x 28 Inches Ink on Paper This piece and a few other paintings are part of collection curated by @playdetroit for Women-Led Galleries Now on Artsy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On view through March 31. 🔗 in bio to browse artwork.

Some BTS from the textile for @medusa_detroit

Everything In Its Own Time/ Ogni cosa c’a so’ tempu is a pojagi-style textile commission for @medusa_detroit , a new restaurant described as a love letter to Sicily by head chef @lombardoa82 🍅🦪 🦐 I made this piece using hand-dyed linen and hemp, used tablecloths and napkins sourced from Italy by gorgeous @studio_panna , weathered wheat sacks from Sicily, burlap bags from Michigan farms, silk shirts, and reclaimed canvas remnants. Each material carries traces of prior use-stains, frays, repairs —embedding the work with the rhythms of labor, nourishment, and gathering. Thanks to @jenbueso @patrickthompsondesign and @lombardoa82 for such thoughtful art direction and for caring so much about making things by hand 🤲 Custom hardware fabricated by @bill.berger and hung by @chejka who makes every project possible ✨

a brief summary of 2025

the last three months in 30 seconds thank you to everyone who came to the open house yesterday :) it was so nice to pause for a moment and recognize all of the people who have contributed to this project. a straw panel cabin and studio space fabricated by @bale.craft and installed at @another_place_mi with help from: sophie ellis thomas lauren vonni andi matt aster kelly charlie patrick norm phil stewart michael paul madison jack kevin emilie ryan paula harvey izzy mike leo ben leah anne siah enzo grace caroline jacinta greg kathleen diana every single person who donated to the gofundme

WORK IN PROGRESS OPEN HOUSE Saturday, Oct. 4 12-5pm At @another_place_mi Benzie County, MI RSVP at link in bio for address This event is part of @tcdesignweek @dogelbows and I have been working on this straw panel cabin all summer and are so excited to invite you over! At the open house you’ll have a chance to walk through the straw panel cabin/art studio during construction and see how straw panels work as a complete system both as structure and insulation.  The @bale.craft team will lead the tours and answer design, material, and technical questions about their carbon sequestering wall system. This project demonstrates how locally-grown, non-toxic materials can be easily integrated into contemporary construction practices. In Michigan’s challenging housing and labor market, Straw Structurally Insulated Panel (S-SIP) structures offer promising alternatives for those seeking deep-green, cost-effective, healthy homes and community spaces. The cabin/studio isn’t finished. We are entirely out of money and more exhausted than I have ever been. SO IT GOES. I am also really really proud and stunned by the generosity and support from Thomas Hirsch (Bungalow Builders of Northern Michigan), Ellis Wills-Begley and Sophie Pacelko (Bale Craft), Andi Wilkins and Matt Nedwicki (Plastering), Emilie Anderson (Carpenter), Norm, Charlie, Kelly, Lauren and numerous friends, neighbors, and volunteers. Can’t wait to see you there <3 Also, I need to come clean with you guys. I am the toxic drone bro who takes the extremely average aerial footage. I’m the problem, it’s me. It’s not something I like to admit to most people. But it’s time for me to come out and live openly as my true self. A mediocre drone bro.

THIS SATURDAY Water Salon An Ephemeral Cafe  Saturday, August 2, 2025  11am-4pm EST On the shores of Wahnabezee / Belle Isle, Detroit Follow the Driker Trail  (Park near the light house, and follow the Driker trail along the water. Trust your gut, but map link in bio just in case) A laid back affair meant to encourage conversations with the water and each other. We recommend putting your feet in the water, so wear clothes that you don’t mind getting wet. Or better yet, a bathing suit. Let the rocks be your table, let the river be your cooler. Bring a chair or blanket if you like. Menu created with farm-fresh ingredients by @winona_det . Beverages served in hand-made ceramic mugs by @grmllrd . Site responsive art installation by @studio_for_now . Food starting at 11 until it’s gone and if you get there early you can buy a drink and the mug it’s served in, together. A portion of the funds from this event will be donated to humanitarian aid in Gaza. #Freepalestine

ITS MY PARTNER ELLE’S (@dogelbows ) BIRTHDAY and we are asking for money to help us complete Phase 1 of our straw cabin by November. The first time we met, we talked about our shared dreams of building spaces - Elle, who works in affordable housing, was interested in exploring cost-effective solutions that are highly localized and low carbon. I expressed wanting to provide artists, writers and makers of all kinds with time and space to learn new skills and explore ideas that support ecological wellbeing. In 2022 Elle “bought vacant land” (we both know the land isn’t ours to “own” and it certainly isn’t vacant) in rural Benzie County, MI about 15 mins inland from Lake Michigan and named it Another Place @another_place_mi . Together we’ve spent the last several years camping on the land, paying attention, researching, planning, learning about natural building, and saving money. Now we’re aiming to raise $15,000 to complete Michigan’s first permitted straw panel cabin at Another Place—a vital first step in showcasing how straw panelized construction can help address the intersecting climate and housing crises. This cabin will eventually serve as a site for artist residencies and hands-on workshops, growing a network of artist-designer-builder-repairers and expanding the reach of regenerative building practices in both rural and urban settings. Despite sourcing most of our tools from garage sales and purchasing materials from local suppliers, everything is getting more expensive. Funding for anything categorized as “environmental”, arts, or g@y is getting slashed which raises the prices everywhere else. We’ve done a lot of work so far in close collaboration with @bale.craft a local company that specializes in straw panelized architecture and we’re raising necessary funds to complete the first phase of this project by this winter. We know very well that money is tight, resources are needed everywhere especially in Gaza, and fundraisers are always voluntary. There are multiple ways to support outside of donating money: tool donation, time donation, or sharing this with people you think will want to know about. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ♥️ Link in bio.

•an ephemeral cafe/art installation on Wahnabezee (belle isle), hosted by @studio_for_now and @winona_det . With beautiful ceramics and poster art by @grmllrd A laid back affair meant to encourage conversations with the water and each other. Drink, eat, look, listen, swim. For pleasure and knowledge.