June 2022 Arctic Circle Artist Residency Part III

Scheibukta : An Eventful Morning

The next morning I emerged from my cabin as we were still making our way toward our morning landing: Scheibukta, an icy terrain nestled up against the base of mountains. I grabbed a coffee from the ships salon and headed to the deck to watch as we sailed by glaciers and peaks. It was early and only a few of us were awake. A walrus poked his head up from the water and playfully smiled at us before diving again. It was marvelous.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crew and we heard the magic words: Polar Bear. Along the base of a mountain at the water’s edge there was a polar bear feeding. We were far enough away from shore that you needed binoculars to get a good look. It was our first sighting and a perfect start to the day!

After breakfast, we anchored at Scheibukta. It was a long stretch of ice with pools of clear and turquoise water and dark abyssal cracks. I packed up my camera, my papers to soak, and my sketchbook. When I got to shore my camera refused to function. I decided to do my best with my iphone and to walk for a while. The ice was magical and mysterious. Collaborations were in full swing all around me and they were incredible to watch come to life! My shipmates are brilliant and I am so excited to share their projects with you as they make them public.

Along the shoreline were washed up treasures: husks of urchins, sea weed, crab remnants, lichens and mosses - and an abundance of trash.

This was a ‘pristine’ wilderness. There was very little between us and the absolute North Pole. No one lived here, and yet as I walked the shore I was unable to carry all of the trash I was finding. We called the Antigua and they brought us tarp bags to use for trash collection. This became my project for the morning. I spent the entire rest of my landing walking and collecting trash. Even with the help of the others, we still did not rid the beach of all of it. We filled the enormous tarp bag and hauled it onto the Antigua. We would collect trash throughout the voyage and the collection would grow exponentially and be disposed of properly back in Longyearbyen.

We found bottles, wrappers, rope of plastic, containers, tarp, caps, ribbon, and plastic chips in every color. They were entwined with the seaweed that had washed ashore, embedded in blocks of ice, and under the rocks and sand. The more I looked the more I saw. the smallest plastics are the most dangerous. There was a specific kind of packaging material that was a woven plastic that would disintegrate into impossibly small slivers. The more you tried to clean it up the more it would break down.

I was shaken. I knew in theory there was trash everywhere, but this was visceral. I talked to our incredible guides, who were simultaneously watching for polar bears and picking up the trash around them. They educated me on the realities of trash in the Arctic. There is still much for me to learn, but here are the basics: this trash rode the currents from around the world and found it’s way to this shore. Some of this trash is from fishing vessels, but much of it came from anyone anywhere. This beach was not as bad as some that we would come across even further North. You could hear the heaviness in their voices. They see this regularly. They clean up regularly. Every time they return there is more.

This was not the way I anticipated spending my morning. I imagined it would be like the previous days: in awe and taking it in through my lens and drawing in my sketchbook. I thought I would be focused on the beauty all around me not looking into the weeds, head down and digging up rocks to pull out a sheet of plastic wrapping- but I am glad I did. I am glad my camera malfunctioned. It is the only time that it did, and it felt meant to be.

After our morning landing on Scheibukta we returned to the ship. I took the last Zodiac back with our guides and the giant bag we had filled. My mind was overwhelmed and my heart heavy. We raised anchor and I returned to my cabin to shed my many layers, fix my camera’s malfunction, and get ready for lunch. In the afternoon we would find ourselves at a new glacier with new things to discover.

June 2022 Arctic Circle Artist Residency Part II

Dahlbreen: A Calving Glacier

After Ymerbukta, we sailed North through the night. When we awoke, we were at a new glacier, Dahlbreen, which was filling gaps and shaping the peaks of new mountains.

We spent the morning in zodiacs cruising the waters in front of the glacier. It was incredible to get so close at the water’s edge. More active areas have a blue hue to them. As the ice melts it changes color - I don’t know how to fully describe this blue other than it is unique to ice and glaciers. The surface texture ranges dramatically throughout the glacier. The areas closest to the water looks similar to the fluffy texture of cotton candy. The top of the glacier is structured and appear like dominos resting on one another. As I scan to the right, it resemble an enormous marble wall stretching onto land.

I quickly realized that sketching a glacier is a complicated task. The amount of detail that exists in what I once assumed was a simple white mass, was overwhelming to me. I did my best.

From the zodiac, I scooped up the mixture of glacial melt and Arctic Ocean and added my papers to the liquid, infusing them with our current environment. A bearded seal watched us from a distance.

We learned from the crew about the regional tradition of using glacial ice in drinks. Naturally, we plucked a block from the water and brought it aboard. The Arctic scale had fooled us again. Even at close range, I thought I was grabbing a small piece, but it ended up being as big as a large roasted chicken (and looked like one too)! I had bought a bottle of Svalbard Aquavit, and a few of us shared a small glass over the glacial ice, in front of the glacier it came from!

In the afternoon, we landed on a tall rocky island where we could create and take in Dahlbreen from an aerial perspective. I set up on a rock and began to sketch.

Things had changed since the morning.
I thought I would be lucky to witness a glacier calving in my lifetime. But as we sat for several hours on the tall rocky island, I witnessed so many that it turned from awe to a deep unsettled feeling. Every few minutes you would hear the thunder of a collapse. Sometimes it was internal, sometimes it was at the water’s edge. It was like lightning, by the time you heard it you had missed the visual element.

When a glacier calves, the giant ice that has separated appears like crumbs scattered through the water. When it gets closer I realize it’s as large as I am- or maybe even a few of me. This is another way in which Arctic scale seems to change and is impossible to fully comprehend. The waves last long beyond the event and rock the boat and zodiacs and crash into the island I am drawing from with force.

I remember feeling like I was in a time warp, where the ancient entity that moves at a speed invisible to me had swapped time with me. It was running and I was standing still.

That night I fell asleep to the eerie spiraling calls of bearded seals and the rocking ship as we made our way further North.

June 2022 Arctic Circle Artist Residency PT 1

‘Step outside and see where you are.’

Those were the first words we heard most mornings from Sarah Gerats, our program lead and top polar bear guide. Sarah is a phenomenal artist, top-notch sailer, inspiring adventurer, and has been leading the Arctic Circle Artist Residency for the last decade.

We set sail aboard the Antigua on June 8th from the harbor in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. We ate, slept, and worked on the ship. My cabin mate, Hillary, is a young German writer living in London. She is working on a fantasy novel set in the Arctic where the trash compiled through the ocean currents begin to have a life of their own. I loved being her roommate and hearing her process her observations of this unique space and experience. There were 28 total residents as well as a 12 person crew which included: a chef, kitchen/bar + cleaning crew, sailors, and 4 polar bear guides. Every single person was inspiring.

Our days, which were always subject to weather, ice, winds, and polar bears (or other exciting surprises), usually looked something like this:

• 7:00am Breakfast

• 7:45am Group Meeting + Day Plan

• 8:30/9am - 1PM Frist Landing

• 1pm Lunch

• 2:30-7pm Second Landing

• 7pm Dinner

• 8:30pm Third Landing/Presentations/Rest

The course for our two weeks of sailing on the Antigua was not set. It would be determined day by day based on our Captain’s best interpretation of the movement of the ice and direction of wind. Our first landing was in the evening and only a few hours into our first day. We set anchor at Ymerbukta (featured in most of the included photos), an enormous glacier, Esmarkbreen, that stretches over ocean and land. This meant that we could walk up to portions of the glacier and stand beneath it.

It was gray and snowing when we landed. Everyone was eager to begin their work and to document the incredible scenery. We split in two groups with half going into the mountainous region around the glacier, and the rest of us heading directly towards Esmarkbreen. The earth was rocky with black and tan speckles. I was in awe as we walked along the glacier’s receding edge. I had never been so close to one before and I had never seen one like this: swirling with sediment and a river of glacier melt running beneath it.

I set up my impromptu ‘studio’ on two medium sized rocks. I soaked a few sheets of my paper in the snow surrounding the glacier, and used my hands to melt the frozen liquid into the paper. In my sketchbook, I drew three perspectives of what lay before me and did some tests with my watercolors using the Arctic Ocean water.

I quickly learned that scale and distance is nearly impossible to comprehend in this part of the Arctic. Most everything you see is enormous. The mountains make the giant glacier seem small, until comprehension of what is before me catches up with me and I realize it is a third of a mountain. It’s hard to explain how things get closer, then further away and smaller, and then bigger again as you change your perspective. I suppose it is a part of the magic of this very special region.

The snow eventually forced a change of plans. My pens refused to work on my now wet sketchbook paper. For the remainder of our time on this first landing, I sat and soaked up where I was. I would do a lot of this during our landings. Either my fingers would begin to freeze to the point that drawing was no longer possible, or it would be snowing or raining and my pens would stop working, or we would be changing locations too often to set up and get a sketch down. I am really grateful for the moments where I stood, sat, or walked around, and took in where I was with no agenda other than to really be present in it.

Sarah’s daily morning words, ‘Step outside and see where you are’, were especially relevant given that the weather and location may have changed dramatically overnight. Logistically, these changes could dramatically affect each resident’s project for the day.

For me however, these words took root in a much deeper way. By going outside every morning, I found myself slipping into a profound sense of presence and gratitude. I would go as soon as I woke up. I would walk up the stairs from below deck and find my way to the ship’s deck doors. I was usually too sleepy to put on all of my layers, so I emerged from below in my slippers and base layers. I walked the deck and embraced the cold, the wet, the movement of the ship, the sun or the clouds, the melting of glaciers and ice, and the squawking songs of the Gulls and Guillemots.

It is easy to be reverent in a majestic wilderness. Yet, even as I am back in Los Angeles, where the squawking of Arctic Terns and the howls of the Bearded Seals seem to have been replaced by honks and revving motors, there is much to be reverent of. So I am taking her words with me and doing my best to practice seeing where I am, wherever I am.

Check out these super cool companies that partnered with me for this residency!!

I knew that partnerships like this would not only help me fill the gaps in some of my missing gear (winter coat etc) but would also help to amplify the work and the Arctic. The more people that understand the Arctic and our connection to it, the more opportunities there are to create change! Let me introduce you to Askov Finlayson, byHumankind, and Mystery Ranch!

Huge thanks to all three companies for equipping me and for believing in this work! I am so incredibly grateful!

THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ARTIST RESIDENCY || June 2020 - Rescheduled to June 2022 due to COVID

UPDATE: Due to COVID 19, the expedition has been POSTPONED to June 2022

A few years ago I was offered a solo exhibition (INOPIA) by Jessica Turtle with the Natural Heritage Project.
It was a show that was meant to shine a light on the endangered species that exist in
Minnesota and Wisconsin. That show changed my life.
The research I did in preparation opened my eyes and shifted the focus of my art dramatically. Ever since then, my work has focused on the natural world,
ecosystems, climate vulnerability, and the beauty of the planet we inhabit.

In my work, I try to highlight the precious and beautiful qualities of the natural world and encourage curiosity.
I create art because I believe it has the ability to bridge gaps and start conversations that lead to growth and change.

My dream is that I will be able to travel to fragile environments, so that I can capture and communicate the realities of these (sacred/precious) places.
This work- this dream- it is what I feel deep down in my core...
This is the work I am meant to do.

Now, this dream is starting to come true.

On March 25th I found out that I had been accepted into an international artist residency in the Arctic Circle, in June of 2020!
I will be part of a team of 28 scientists and artists, doing collaborative research and personal work on a Barquentine vessel in the Arctic Ocean for three weeks.
Everyone on board has a passion for the environment, and is deeply concerned with the way our planet is changing.
The vision for this residency is that, by working together, artists and scientists can help translate the conditions of this vulnerable environment to the rest of the world.

It will be a truly transformative expedition.

The Arctic is one of the most fragile environments on our planet.
It is rapidly changing and the effects are visible.
During my expedition, animals will be migrating to the region and vegetation will start to bloom.
There will be 24 hours of daylight, and we will have the opportunity to go on guided expeditions to various research stations, glaciers, and islands to study and work.

Being chosen for this expedition is an enormous honor.
Hundreds of applicants from all around the world seek to win a spot on this voyage, and each year only 28 make it.

This trip is heavily subsidized, but not free.
So, in order to make it possible, I am humbly asking for your help.
I am inviting you to consider making this trip possible through the gift of financial support.

To learn more about the cost break-downs please visit my GOFUNDME Page.

By supporting this trip, you are making a dream possible, and empowering me to do the work that I believe I am meant to do.
Thank you for your support, and thank you for allowing me to live out my hope of seeing, documenting, and protecting the beautiful, fragile world we live in.

To learn more about the Arctic Circle Residency organization click the button below.

HAPPY EARTH DAY | Train Launch

photo by Dane Pedersen

Monday, April 22nd, the Green Line starts to sport a single car covered in the life cycle of a monarch.

Should you step into this train car, you will immediately find yourself in Minnesota landscapes and seasons, and all times of day. As you look closely, you will find personified animals enjoying the outdoors and landmarks.

This work was fully illustrated by Sarah Nelson, and will be up through May of 2019. It is in celebration of this beautiful planet we call home and in collaboration with Metro Transit and the University of St. Thomas’s SCP Arts, Department of Justice and Peace Studies, and the CAS SOLV Initiative.

All partners believe in the importance of caring for our planet, and believe that art has the capacity to help educate, engage, and celebrate the sustainable efforts in our communities. We hope this train car not only brightens your day, but encourages curiosity, joy, and a deeper love for this beautiful world we call home.

Happy Earth Day.

THE TEAM:

Artist: Sarah Nelson

Layout: Elissa Erickson (Graphic Design Supervisor at Metro Transit)

Directors of Partnerships and Logistics: Maria Dahmus (Director of SCP Arts at the University of St Thomas) & Kelly Morrell (Commuter Programs Specialist at Metro Transit)

Exterior Illustration Idea Collaborators: Department of Justice and Peace Studies, specifically Mike Klein and the Leadership for Social Justice students.

Investors: CAS SOLV Initiative & Metro Transit

Photo Documentation: Dane Pedersen

GOOD FOR YOU || THE GARAGE

GOOD FOR YOU 

A solo exhibition about symbiotic relationships in the natural world.

Pen and Marker on Paper

by Sarah Nelson 

2019

symbiotic adjective

sym·​bi·​ot·​ic | \ ˌsim-bē-ˈä-tik

: relating to or marked by symbiosis:

a : characterized by, living in, or being a close physical association (as in mutualism or commensalism) between two or more dissimilar organisms

b : characterized by or being a close, cooperative, or interdependent relationship

• Miriam Webster

Good For You is a body of work highlighting the unexpected symbiotic relationships found in nature.

As an artist, I am continually drawn to the mysterious aspects of our natural world. 

I seek to understand our natural environments better, and to share these beautiful realities with others. 

It seems that there are infinite lessons to be learned from the way that chemicals, bacteria, species, and ecosystems, interact. 

In an era that feels tumultuous and fractured, I have found comfort in the natural and beneficial relationships between species in all types of environments. It seems that if these species can empower one another, we as humans should learn to peacefully engage with one another as well.  

All three types of symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism) can be found in human relationships, and in our relationship with nature. 

This show focuses on mutualism, where both entities are benefiting equally. 

I have fused two personal artistic styles, allowing familiar creatures to be seen in a new way. 

I seek to demonstrate the seen and unseen efforts and benefits that come from working interdependently with the planet and one another.  

My hope is that humanity will learn to be in a symbiotic relationship with our planet. Learning more about our natural world allows us to know and love the incredible earth we have more deeply, and care for it more fully.

There are three different types of symbiotic relationships: 

Mutualism: both species benefit equally

Commensalism: one benefits more than the other but no harm is done

Parasitism: one gains while the other suffers. 

Earth Week 2019 // The Great Collaboration

For Earth Week 2019, I had the honor of teaming up with Metro Transit, and the University of St Thomas’ SCP Arts, Department of Justice and Peace Studies, and the College of Arts and Science’s SOLV Initiative!

Together we have made an interior and exterior train wrap possible.

It will be installed and on display running on the Green Line from April 21st-27th.

Illustrator and Art Director: Sarah Nelson (Artist, and SCP Art’s Artist-In-Residence)

Layout: Elissa Erickson (Metro Transit)

Coordinators of Partnerships and Logistics: Kelly Morrell (Metro Transit) and Maria Dahmus (Director of SCP Arts at the University of St. Thomas)

Investors: Metro Transit, SOLV Initiative, and SCP Arts

EXTERIOR:

In partnership with SCP Arts and the Department of Justice and Peace Studies’ Leadership for Social Justice course at the University of St Thomas, Metro Transit collaborated with students to collect the rich stories of transit riders. These stories have been published in their book, Transit Transformations.

Students worked on the book cover art with SCP Artist- In- Residence Sarah Nelson. They felt the life cycle of the monarch butterfly was the best metaphor for the transformative effect public transport can have on communities.

INTERIOR:

In partnership with Metro Transit, SCP Arts, and the College of Arts and Sciences SOLV Initiative, at the University of St Thomas, local artist Sarah Nelson created an Earth Day Celebration Illustration.

The interior depicts Minnesota animals enjoying the outdoors and our wonderful cities. It is meant to remind us of our relationship to our natural environment and to inspire joy. It is detailed. It is fun.

The interior illustrations transition between the four seasons and through a full day cycle.

Golden || Ephratha Gallery

GOLDEN

2019

A solo exhibition celebrating pollinators and their fauna.

This series is focused primarily on native pollinators, created with colored pencil, pen and

marker on navy blue paper.

The color blue is widely considered to symbolize wisdom, intelligence, faith, and truth. Some

even say heaven.

Throughout art history, artists find themselves inexplicably drawn to this color, like Yves Klein,

who held it akin to a higher power.

Blue is proven to provide a calming effect, and also represents strength and power in corporate

and political spheres.

I am fascinated by pollinators because they are not what you expect. They are not only bees,

but beetles, moths, butterflies, hummingbirds, and bats. They may be small, but our reliance

on them is foundational.

They are intricate, intelligent, organized, and beautiful.

In recent years however they have begun to decline in population. They are vanishing.

These works are meant to present the beautiful and complex world of pollination in a new light.

They are placed on a color that is considered sacred and true. They do not fill the page. They

are off center, natural. Most of these illustrations are uncomfortably empty, leaving the subject

featured yet isolated.

These small creatures are vital. Throughout ancient religion and mythology they are symbolic of

life and death. They are golden. They are a source of life for all species. It is time to celebrate

them.

It is time to value them.

It is time to actively protect them.

We will be better for it. The world will be better for it.

Other Facts:

Pollinators are vital to both corporate America and to every living individual. Over 30% of the

world’s food is dependent on pollinators. It is often said that every 3rd and 4th bite you eat, is

made possible by a pollinator. Yet, they are disappearing. They are threatened by pests,

fertilizer toxins, pesticides, urban and suburban sprawl, and extreme monocropping.

They are vital to our food source. They create and sustain employment in the agricultural

sector. They also create the food that feeds livestock and other domestic animals.

What can you do that makes a difference?

- Set out insect-accessible sugar water around your yard and home for pollinators to ‘refuel’

as they travel from plant to plant.

- As much as possible, buy from local, organic farmers.

- Plant diverse native flowers in your gardens and yards, and do not use chemical fertilizers.

- Speak to your local government officials, and ask them to actively work to protect

pollinators.

- Spread the word.

Good for You // Symbiotic Relationships

Good For You

Upcoming Solo Exhibition 2019

Good For You // Symbiotic Relationships

Symbiotic: adjective having an interdependent relationship

Symbiotic relationships exist in every major ecosystem in nature. Predators and pray, crustaceans and fish, birds and mammals, find a way to live in peace and interdependency. In a time where there is so much conflict, where reasons to not get along abound, these symbiotic relationships fascinate me. They could be violent but choose to be mutually beneficial. Ones that look dangerous but are in reality an incredible display of peace and life.

These relationships - to me are banners of peace and complexity made simpler in coexistence.

This is a part of a body of work for an exhibition in March 2019. More info to come.

SOLO EXHIBITION || 2019

pen and marker.

Artist in Residence with the Sustainable Communities Partnership

In the Fall of 2018 I began an artist residency with the University of St Thomas’s Sustainable Communities Partnership, headed by the incredible Dr. Maria Dahmus.

As the SCP Artist in Residency, my role allows me to work along side university students, Government, and Non Profit partners who are researching impacts of sustainability in a whole host of contexts.

This fall, I had the joy of partnering with three different collaborations:

• Peace and Justice in Leadership with Professor Mike Klein and Metro Transit.

  • Creating a book cover and interior illustrations from a book written by students based on interviews and research on Metro Transit’s story and presence in the Twin Cities from a multitude of perspectives. This will also lead to a finalized art work that will become public art for Metro Transit this spring.

• Climate Vulnerability, English Course with Dr Olga Herrera and the Metropolitan Council.

  • Students of Dr. Herrera interviewed people in three different vulnerable neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities. The interviews collected stories that tell of the personal impact climate change has begun to have on their lives. Many spoke of flooding and issues with extreme heat. In response I illustrated the neighborhoods adding the flood and heat impact to the illustrations.

• Environmental Problem Solving with Dr Gaston Small (Chip)

  • Dr. Small has received a generous grant from the National Science Foundation, that is furthering his research into Urban Gardening and Nutrient Cycling. His students analyzed collected data from former years to help study the flow and use of nitrogen and phosphorous in Urban ecosystems. I worked with students through storyboarding workshops, to generate the beginnings of a children’s book that communicates their research. This project is not completed, but well underway.

Work from these collaborations thus far:

The Story of El Yunque

I was sitting on a plane flying home from a short visit to LA. The woman next to me was not fond of flying and was becoming anxious as the plane began to move toward take off. I sparked a conversation to try and calm her, and then began drawing on my little tray to try a small and whimsical beach scene.

She turned to me asking if I ever did commissioned works. I assured her I did and asked what she had in mind. From there this large scale illustration of her favorite forest came to be.

El Yunque 56x48 Pen and Marker on Paper 2017