Seen and Noted

We tend to overlook many things found in nature, especially when they are small and abundant. Upon closer observation, however, we not only see their beauty, we are inspired to learn more about their importance and where they came from.

Seen and Noted is my collection of organic found objects from roadsides, parks and wilderness areas. Each is preserved, mounted on its own concrete plinth, and accompanied by a geolocation that identifies where it was found. By recontextualizing these objects and giving them individual identities, what was once invisible becomes noticed and interesting.

ALAMO VINE

Plant pod preserved with enamel and acrylics, set in concrete plinth

This single pod is from a vine that grows persistently in a ditch on a road near an old rental house in East Austin. Tenants may come and go, but these prolific blooms grow on an endless vine that scrambles along the neighborhood power lines. Eventually, the blooms turn into strong wooden flowers that rewrite themselves year after year by dispersing their seeds.

Alamo Vine. East Austin, Texas. Geolocation: 30°16'42.6"N 97°42'56.6"W

MAGNOLIA LEAF

Leaf preserved with enamel and acrylics, set in concrete plinth

This torn leaf from a tree famed for its strength reads not as failure but as a record of a life. Creased with memories, perforated with holes, tested by heat, wind and rain, this leaf holds together. No wounds are hidden, instead the fractures speak about the will to live.

Magnolia Leaf. Dallas, Texas. Geolocation: 32°52'08.9"N 96°50'25.8"W

PONDEROSA PINE CONE

Pine cone preserved varnish, set in concrete plinth

A relic of stubborn care and hands that believed something could take root where almost nothing stayed. Just like the bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America. This Ponderosa pine cone comes from a tree planted in the 19th Century by Mary Ann Goodnight, who carried the sapling to a place where it still grows – like the bison she brought back from extinction.

Ponderosa Pine. Goodnight, Texas. Geolocation: 35°01'49.7"N 101°10'59.6"W