To Rest Without Sinking 

Nelumbonaceae, commonly named the American Lotus is one of thirteen plants identified by the Missouri Department of Conservation as a Nuisance Aquatic Plant. During the Summer and Fall of 2016 I observed, collected, and experimented with Nuisance plants collected from Lake 34 in Busch Wildlife Conservation Area. To Rest Without Sinking interprets the plants and landscape of Lake 34 through sculpture and photography, utilizing the lotus plant as inspiration for form and material for papermaking. The kinetic sculptures depict the color pallet of the lotus plants as they begin to desiccate in fall as the ponds water recedes. They gently sway on the steel bases. The wall installation captures the gesture of the heart of the American lotus plant, where the petiole meets the leaf petal. I used paper pulp, wax, and the process of electroforming to highlight three perspectives of the form. The series of nine photographs documents the collection sites where I harvested the American Lotus plants to transform them into paper.  The paper surrounding the photographs is made of giant Bur reed, which I collected from the edges of Lake 34.