Women weave art and history in Blue Heron Nature Preserve’s ‘Placemaking’

Credit: Photo courtesy of Nancy Jones

Credit: Photo courtesy of Nancy Jones

“I have really enjoyed the challenge of working outdoors,” said Jones, who is displaying her own artwork alongside that of the artists she invited to this year’s exhibit. Working in mixed media, photography, sculpture, textile art and installations, Jones showcases women’s histories that are often overlooked.

“‘Art of Nature’ has given me an opportunity to expand my work three-dimensionally and include the equation of nature. Nature’s palette — of color with the added elements of sunlight, wind, earth and trees — became an automatic component, and working with that flow was so much fun,” said Jones, who now creates from her home in the Florida Panhandle.

The annual site-specific exhibition invites artists to produce works that communicate and engage with nature on the land. Considerations such as exposure to the elements, sustainability of materials and the ecological impact of the works all come into play. Some pieces are meant to stand out, while others blend into the natural environment.

“Creating site-specific projects that will live outdoors among the natural world always feels like a celebration of nearly everything I love,” said Dorothy O’Connor, whose large-scale installation works incorporate nature in inspired ways. Many of O’Connor’s works feature kinetic sculptures that hang from the ceiling or are suspended from posts, composed of natural elements such as sticks, leaves and moss, which she then captures in photographs.

For “Blanket of Pinecones,” O’Connor layered vintage Victorian undergarments topped with a quilt of pinecones. In the final image, her model stands perched atop a tree stump, a look of defiance and fortitude on her face, while a fire burns in the foreground. This is a tribute to the traditions of the Muscogee women, who relied upon fire for cooking and the protection it offered to their community.

This year’s theme re-centers the conversation of place, and placemaking, as an act of communal love for the natural world. The exhibit intentionally features works by and about women as a means of challenging the notion of land ownership as male oriented.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Rose M. Barron

Credit: Photo courtesy of Rose M. Barron

Art on display includes an indoor showing of works by the Atlanta Collage Society, pottery and photography by Rose M. Barron, outdoor installations in the woods and a new mural along the creek’s edge.

Barron expressed her excitement over the opportunity to tell stories of females who once lived on the grounds of the nature preserve. “The Water Bearer,” for example, portrays a young woman standing in a creek with a vessel delicately balanced on her head. This image is homage to the sacredness of the water itself and portrays an act of service to one’s community.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Blue Heron Nature Preserve

Credit: Photo courtesy of Blue Heron Nature Preserve

For Shannon Willow, who created the mural “Animal Spirits,” it was essential that her works were a conversation not just with the animals who call Blue Heron home but also a dedication to the Indigenous ancestors of the Muscogee land and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Turtle Island. (Turtle Island is a way that Indigenous refer to North and South America.)

“This mural speaks to our connection to all that is sacred — water is our life force energy and connects us to all land, forests, rivers, oceans, mountains and all the animals,” said Willow. “May we make more space for all wildlife and their habitats, and embody the ancestors’ wisdom to live in reverence, harmony and balance with all life.”

Blue Heron’s gallery space also hosts an exhibition of works by 22 members of the Atlanta Collage Society. Featuring a mixture of figurative and abstract pieces in diverse styles and techniques, the collages explore place as defined by nature, water, flora and the people who care for it.

While “Placemaking” focuses on common themes of womanhood, community and connection to the land, the exhibit also reminds us of all those who have walked through these woods before us as well as those will do so long after we are gone.

If you go

“Placemaking: Through the Lens of Women, Water & History”

Through June 14 at Blue Heron Nature Preserve. Open from dawn to dusk. Free. 4055 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. 404-946 6394, bhnp.org

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Isadora Pennington is ArtsATL’s senior editor of art + design and dance. An experienced writer and photographer with a deep love for the arts, she founded the Sketchbook newsletter with Rough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She is also president of the Avondale Arts Alliance and director of the Avondale Arts Center.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

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