This work addresses Maine ecology from a defensive and edifying position. It highlights species and stories in the conversation on how to best manage Maine’s precious and rich natural resources. Exploring the contrast between our Western romantic viewpoint and the Eastern approach of oneness with nature, it questions inherent ideologies and the propriety of our assumed role and responsibility. We have a detachment from nature that manifests as a desire for control. This obsessive categorization and domestication are points from which to work backwards, toward a more nuanced understanding of interdependence.

These expressive portraits elevate the menagerie to mythological status. The heroic white pine is shown as stalwart for Maine’s past and future. The iconic Maine lobster is reimagined as an ocean spirit, prospering through protection. Reinforcing the connections that create an ecosystem, the materials of making have significance to their subjects. A brush made from allergenic ragweed is used to illustrate the equally annoying mosquito. A culled lobster claw redraws the animal. Using intuitive gestures, and materials that can’t be fully controlled creates spontaneous results — accidents and coincidences that reveal an essential nature.