Changing Leaves

Faith Ronquest, Kayak Scene in Fall

Acrylic paint on wood block, 2022

This scene was inspired by a kayaking trip on Lake Matoaka that the artist took with her girlfriend. Painted on a piece of wood, the landscape shows the leaves changing colors on a warm day near the end of October and showcases the artist's admiration for nature. The artist hopes to invoke fond memories of nature in the viewers, as her relationship with and appreciation for nature have sculpted her art. In addition to reminding the viewers of meaningful memories, the artist hopes that viewers will appreciate the details of nature present in those memories. Noticing the smaller details in nature, the light shining through the trees, the glow of the moon, and various critters on and along the path, have informed how she approaches art. In this work, specifically, she intentionally incorporated the grand sweep of the clouds in the sky and the fallen leaves floating on the lake's surface. - Lila Powell

Lila Powell, Metallic Growth

Colored paper and metal, 2021

This sculpture illustrates the intertwining of the natural world and the built world. As the world is increasingly industrialized, we are losing more and more of the natural environment to urbanization. Plants are being overtaken by metal and concrete. In this sculpture, the plant merges with metal, creating a new form that resembles a traditional plant structure. The plant is growing out of a metallic structure, building developments have altered the plant's availability to grow freely, and it is now constrained. Even when it can grow, the metal has melded itself to the plant, and the impacts of industrialization are affecting the plant's ability to produce new growth. The excessive effects of the built environment on the natural environment beg the question, could we ever return the environment to its unaltered state? - Lila Powell