ADRIAN — The intersection of art and nature can be explored in “Rooting Around at Lindisfarne,” an exhibit on display through Feb. 22 at the Adrian Center for the Arts gallery.
The gallery is at 1375 N. Adrian Hwy., and gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 1-4 p.m.
For the exhibit, artists foraged for materials last fall at Lindisfarne Woods, an 80-acre property near Tipton.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Jill Shaffer, one of the ACA’s studio directors, said about the land. The property includes woods, a meadow, and a pond.
Artists could work in any medium, and there was only one requirement: “Some part of that property has to be in the art,” Shaffer said.
For example, an oil painter could mix a handful of seeds in with their paint to create texture, or a piece could be embellished with things like moss, feathers, teasels and milkweed pods. Tree bark is an integral part of some of the pieces.
“There’s all kinds of ways to make art from anything,” Shaffer said.
One sculpture, by Cheryl Westbrook, literally takes part of the earth and turns it into art. That piece demonstrates the Japanese art of dorodango, in which mud is compressed by hand into a sphere and then polished.
Artists made foraging trips in August, October and November, and then worked on their pieces. The exhibit features 33 works by 18 artists.
The property is owned by the Rev. Catherine King, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tecumseh.
She will be at the ACA to share some thoughts about the land during a closing reception on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 2-4 p.m.
“Rooting Around at Lindisfarne” isn’t the first time the ACA has put together an exhibit that incorporates found materials into art. Previously, an exhibit put together in partnership with a Rotary Club river cleanup featured things found in the River Raisin.
“Most people like nature — they like things from nature,” Shaffer said. “Seeing them put together in different ways from what they usually are is astounding.”
She said participating in an exercise like this is an enjoyable challenge for artists.
“It gets your juices flowing, and it’s sort of a happy feeling to think of something new that you haven’t done before,” she said.
“Rooting Around at Lindisfarne” opened on Jan. 12 and is on display through Feb. 22. For more information about the Adrian Center for the Arts, call 517-759-3005 or go to adriancenterforthearts.org.
