La Mancha's Sequel: A Mindful, Climate-Smart Urban Landscape. Redseed Plantains

January 16, 2025
Yesterday, It was raining, and Sequel was quiet and soaking in delightly rainwater. It was a great time to look closely; I was struck by the vibrant community of Redseed plantains flourishing beneath the canopy of trees. Under trees is usually an area where plants struggle to find their footing. However, This Redseed, who I am more familiar with amidst neglected landscapes and cracked sidewalks, bursts with life around these trees. It's as though the earth itself has decided to paint a masterpiece of resilience and beauty with these tiny, tenacious greens. The sight is a comfort, a reminder of nature's ability to reclaim and regenerate.

Here it is in early January. We have had one cold spell and expect another next week. The plantain leaves measure four inches tall; their bright green broad leaves blanket the area like you might expect in the spring. They mimic a verdant duvet that, for now, remains unassuming but undeniably beautiful.

To an unsuspecting eye, these plants may seem inconsequential. Yet, with a bit of research, I've discovered their incredible significance. They are the unsung heroes, supporting a diverse array of wildlife. The Redseed plantain is more than just foliage; it offers sustenance to bobwhite quail, Rio Grande wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, cattle, and the Texas tortoise. The seeds serve as nourishment for game birds like scaled quail, bobwhite quail, and mourning doves. These plants are also invaluable to insects, providing habitat and sustenance to many, including the stunning Buckeye butterflies that graced this space on January 3rd.

This living tapestry serves another crucial purpose in the conservation of our environment. Redseed plantain is a remarkable ally in our efforts to combat erosion. Its fibrous roots delve deep into the earth, breaking through compacted soil, stabilizing it, and helping to restore its vitality. This is nature’s foundation: a grassroots effort exemplified by these short tap roots, acting as first responders in reviving hardened ground.

The site I am cultivating, La Mancha's Sequel: A Mindful, Climate-Smart Urban Landscape, is meant to be a testament to our potential for harmonious coexistence with nature. The project spans 7,500 square feet, a social sculpture intended to demonstrate how thoughtful decisionsn making interwoven with nature can create regenerative environments. As I chronicle the daily developments here, each entry becomes a dialogue between myself and the land, a continuous exchange that shapes both the space and my understanding of it.

Observing the Redseed plantains, thriving against the odds, I am filled with a deep sense of reverence and wonder. They remind me that even the most unassuming forces can make a profound impact. In this interplay of plant and purpose, I find inspiration for what La Mancha's Sequel can become—a living sculpture that speaks to the possibilities of urban landscapes, rich with life, responsive to climate, a mindful corner of the world where nature and humanity flourish side by side.

Pink spotted Hawkmoth cacoon overwintering in the roots.

Redseed roots with a sprig of horseherb and the cacoon.

Cuenod wedding gift day #7

I have not posted on this piece since January of 23. Since then I cast bronze feet. They are now welded to the rebar.

Today I protected the bronze and painted the rebar with a chemical to keep it from rusting.

I am excited to get back to this piece.

Potentia // Actualitas

Potentia // Actualitas is a collaborative, immersive installation that explores the potential and actualized complexities of natural and human-made intelligence through lens-based media, found objects and ready-mades, in a site-specific installation. The lens-based works record iterations of light, space and water surrounding a central structure created from organic matter, rusted artifacts, glass, and construction materials. Running throughout is a neon line that connects these varying attributes into a systematic relationship. Together, Roykovich and Klement build a world that investigates the balance of opposing dichotomies and subsequent freedom from dualistic constraints. They advocate for a wild and intuitive response to a possible future of unbound potential.

images by Jake Eshelman

POTENTIA

Potentia is an exploration into the possibilities that all entities possess. Using evolving personal systems, taking incremental steps, an environmental recollection merges with mystery through natural but intangible forces. As complexity develops into new hypotheses, imagination meets at the intersections of undefined futures, and a space is created that contains multitudes. We become scouts at the periphery of realization. –JR Roykovich

ACTUALITAS

Actualitas metaphorically represents a societal shift that fosters the coexistence of human-made structures and natural systems. The contention is not one of harmony in dispossession but rather a balanced composition where both are enriched. This new perspective invites us to harness the power of measured and natural intelligences rather than work against it in our pursuit of progress and innovation. – Cindee Klement

Echoes of Existence-how to engage the students

I am slowly working to find solutions to the problems that will arise when the students implement the installation.

First, how to get students that are not comfortable with nature to want tobe involved. What will draw them in?

Second, a big problem is how to control a group of college kids in a field and have them complete a detailed installation.

Bloomington is a walking city. Every day as I would walk about town and the campus I worried about how I was going to solve these two problem. And like on most college campuses everyone is in their own audio visual world contained between the ear pieces of a headset. And I was the same. The difference was I still wanted to connect to those passing by me with a “good morning” or hi. I found the IU students were very focused on the sounds in their headsets they did not need to make eye contact or say hello.

In a discussion with an English professor, Shannon Gayk, who also teaches a walking class, I learned that a novel idea for students is silent walking. The idea of walking without a headset without sound — silent.

Thinking of headsets and silent - my mind went straight to silent raves then to a silent installation.

Would the concept of a silent installation draw the students in. Could this commitment to headsets be a possible tool for crowd control during the installation?

I love the idea. But that leads to another hurdle. How do I design a silent installation? What technology makes this possible?

With a quick Google search, I found several companies that provide everything you need for a silent event.

Bombus melanopygus - Black tailed bumble bee.

How the bumble bee got its stripes https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/600078

Bombus melanopygu, a captivating bumblebee species that I recently began studying for my body of work, “Rumblings”. As an artist, my process begins with thorough research, delving into the intriguing world of each unique species. Despite the limited information available, I find myself captivated by Bombus melanopygus and its enchanting research qualities.

Incredible breakthroughs have been made by researchers in understanding the color differences within bumblebee species. A recent study, conducted by experts at Penn State, has revealed the presence of a specific gene that drives these variations in color patterns. This discovery not only sheds light on the astonishing diversity among bumblebees, but also provides insights into the evolution of mimicry, where individuals adopt similar color patterns within a given area. The gene resides in a highly conserved region of the genome, which serves as the blueprint for segmentation. This groundbreaking research was published in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 29, 2019. -

Heat Dome

“What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing.”

-Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

Heat Dome

Watercolor monotype

30" X44"

Bare ground, concrete, asphalt, and astroturf emit 4X radiant heat. Great masses of radiant heat create heat domes. Heat domes prohibit weather from moving across the land. In contrast, surfaces covered in thick layers of plants indigenous to the region store water in the soil. When the day warms, the plants transpire, releasing bacteria with the moisture to form clouds that provide shade and then rain. We each need to carry our ecological weight. We can start by considering new ways to surface our city scapes to cool the planet.

Heat Dome ghost