Bubbler Room Artist-in-Residence: Mars
EcoRest Art & Reflection
May- July 2023
BUBBLER ROOM - CENTRAL LIBRARY
”I love learning about plants, walking in my purpose, and spreading peace.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Martina Patterson, known as Mars is an Artist, Master Naturalist, Herbalist, Environmental Educator, and Land Steward. Through the interdisciplinary art of fiber and eco-mixed media, she explores, highlights, and reflects the phenology of Nature and the human experience with the intent to grow, inspire, and educate.
Collaborative community art works co-facilitated by Mars can be viewed at PEAK Initiative-ceramic tile mural, Peace Posts located throughout the city of Milwaukee, and on The Great Sauk State Trail and Baraboo Middle School. Recent conservation and land stewardship projects include: trail building, land restoration in Urban green spaces on Milwaukee’s North side, planting Apple Trees from Sauk County - Maa Wakacak - Sacred Earth- near Baraboo, WI into Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee, WI.
To view more of Mars’ work, follow: @jupiter_allen for art and @herbsnflowers.stemsnroots for all things Nature.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY:
Utilizing an interdisciplinary art experience, Mars will explore and attempt to create a representation of the intersectionality of art, plants, soil, and community through reflective and reconnecting processes. Mars will invite community to explore ideas and stories through Nature by capturing images, using polaroids, that they feel are a reflection of themselves or a representation of their life story within their current space.
This residency is an extension of the Our Town Everywhere project, in which our artist-in-residence is encouraged to explore the idea of community portrait through a variety of mediums.
OPEN STUDIO SESSIONS: The exploration of photography and story as fiber.
Saturday, April 29 from 1-3p
Saturday, May 20 from 1-3p
Friday, June 2 from 3-6p (citywide Artists’ Night)
Saturday, June 3 from 11a-1p (citywide Artists’ Night)
Friday, June 30 from 1-3p
Saturday, July 8 from 1-3p
All ages are welcome to join in weaving together perspectives, processes, experiences; creating a blanket of memories to see and hear. As participants drop in they can work individually or in groups weaving together images, found objects and recyclable materials on our giant community tapestry;
Add onto the collaborative Weaving Wall — use plastics, yarn, or other found objects
Record Stories / Community Sketchbook — contribute written, oral or drawn responses to provided prompts or document the Open Studio process through snapshot photography
Reflect on: Having an intentional creative process that highlights the fragility of subjects in photographs that are no longer tangible; Somehow we can still hold onto them through an image, a story, a memory. We are still connected. We are still here.
WORKSHOPS
Each of Mars’ workshops feed into the broader project: EcoRest Art & Reflection.
Participants can register for multiple workshops or select just one.
We are all Artists: Sketchbook Saturday
May 6: 1-3p - register here
All ages welcome, youth must be accompanied by an adult
15 participants max; registration required
This workshop provides a supportive space to explore your artistry! Participants in the workshop will create one Giant Community Sketchbook as well as several small sketchbooks for all to contribute+add to through responses to daily prompts. This workshop is geared towards artists excited to dabble in a variety of mediums including written word, drawn images, and collage!
Record your Story
Saturday, May 27: 1-3p - register here
All ages welcome, youth must be accompanied by an adult
15 participants max; registration required
How do you travel without leaving your current space?
What is your first memory of water?
What is your first memory of sand, soil, or concrete?
Where is home? What is home?
What is Nature?
You are HERE! You matter! Let’s celebrate life! Share your voice! Share your Joy! Participants are encouraged to audio record their story/conversation in response to the prompts provided. Audio recordings will be used as part of a larger community art exhibition. (A time limit will be implemented in order to allow space for multiple stories.) Mars will welcome and explain the importance of stories connected to space and lead participants within
Healing Hikes and Photo Reflection Harvest
(these are not two-series workshops, but you’re welcome to register for both, content & activities will be repeated)
Saturday, July 1: 1-3p - register here
Saturday, July 29: 1-3p - register here (rescheduled; original date was schedules for 07/22)
All ages welcome, youth must be accompanied by an adult;
15 participants max; registration required
Being mindful in our creative process of the words “capture”, “reflection”, “representation” and how the herstory of the soil is connected, if not embedded, into the soles/souls of the community.
In this workshop Mars will facilitate healing hikes, mindfulness community walks through (urban) Nature. Participants are encouraged to harvest images that inspire reflection around self and environment throughout their exploration or environment. Participants will work in teams of 2 or more. Each team will be given a polaroid camera and each person will be loaned a sketchbook made by previous participants. Images will be collected to contribute to larger community art project. Suggested images: action, candid, Nature, (no selfies).
This unique residency is made possible with a gift from Madison Public Library Foundation.
Programming and internal support is provided by Madison Public Library and Bubbler staff.