CARBONsink rises — how to get rid of your turf grass.

“Carbon by the Yard” was a temporary relief in the shape of the Carbon element symbol, “C”. This simple gesture brought attention to the fact that gas lawnmowers emit eleven times the emissions of a new car.

Carbon by The Yard

In 2022, I transformed “Carbon by the Yard” piece into “CARBONsink ” using solarization and regeneration instead of herbicides to transform the turfgrass into biology. I then seeded it with wildflowers. The new piece soaks up rainwater, stores carbon and supports pollinators.

It is important to note that the EPA estimated that non-native turfgrass monocrops use one-third of all public water. In the US, this translates to 9 billion gallons of water daily.

These two social sculptures highlight how our colonial landscape decisions impact our carbon footprints.

CARBONsink 6/8/2023

DIY- check out the steps to install your own CARBONsink.

Soak the ground.

Use the power of water in conducting heat into the plot. Proper hydration will pull heat from the surface deeper into the soil, enhancing the effectiveness of solarization.

Cover the soaked turf with two layers of cardboard. This will smother the turf grass and use the suns energy to solarize it.

Soak the cardboard layer

Layer 4”- 6” leaf mold compost. I use Nature’s Way Resources and Heirlooms.

Spread the compost evenly .

Soak the compost , and level it for sprinkling the seeds.

Sprinkle seeds generously.

The seeds come from Native American Seeds.

Make sure the seeds make good solid contact with the ground. Press them in.

April 2023

June 8,2023

July 29, 2023

Earth Moves - almost didn’t

Done! My gloves are proof. For weeks, my schedule was jam-packed with proposals and large-scale projects that needed my attention. Amidst all the chaos, I was also starting a brand new sculpture for the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs' Earth Day Celebration. I thrive when I can hyper-focus, but this time I almost let something slip through the cracks. "Earth Moves" was in danger of being incomplete by the deadline. With less than a week left to finish, I knew I had no choice but to push myself harder than ever before. I woke up at 5:00 am every day and worked tirelessly until 4:00 pm, without taking a lunch break. I felt every muscle in my arms and shoulders ache, but the feeling of being fully present and working towards something important was truly exhilarating. I couldn't disappoint Necole Irvin and let "Earth Moves" fall short of its potential. After countless hours of welding and crafting, today the sculpture was finally installed on the 3rd floor of the Julia Ideson Library. The end result is a, call for action work of art made from welded steel, lath, indigenous clay, grass, and glass beads. It was a true labor of love that I poured every ounce of myself into. #earthday @lanolalady #mayorsofficeofculturalaffairs #houstonmayor #cindeeklementart #work #gloves #drive

Symbiosis - Hairy water clover incorporates time and movement

Since the beginning of my artistic journey, I have consistently explored elements of time and movement within both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works. With "Hairy Clover," an element in Symbiosis this exploration takes on another layer of complexity - exploring how the water cycle creates motion that stores carbon, ultimately building the planet's energy.

Marsilea species are an extraordinary group of ferns, displaying a fascinating phenomenon known as nyctinasty - the daily movement of leaf orientation. During daylight hours they reach out to capture sunrays and then at night fold inwards into vertical positions due to pulvinus joints located towards the base of each stalk which adjust based on water flow into motor cells. This adaptation ensures that these plants remain attuned with their environment by regulating transpiration through stomata opening and closing cycles - remarkable!

I have read that this Texas native is endangered in many states. :(

Marsilea vestita, southern water fern

8” X 8”

Ink

Symbiosis: Why I am not anti-freeze

Humans naturally mourn the economic and surface loss of colorful flowers and green plants from a freeze. It is easy to become wrapped up in the superficial aspects. With systems thinking central to my eco-art practice, I wonder if there is an ecological purpose for a freeze. It has been a month since the freeze giving me time to watch and wonder. I have looked beyond the skin-deep perspective and discovered something beautiful about how a freeze gives life.

A week after the freeze, the same space is transformed into the earth tones of a 1980’s residential den.

This freeze occurred at the end of the second year since the Symbiosis installation. It was my first freeze with native plants and opened a floodgate of realizations and thoughts about freezes.

A freeze in the tropics looks and acts differently than in the northern US, but how are freezes in the tropics different than those in the Northern states? How does slimy organic matter from a freeze in the tropics impact its soil complexity? A freeze in a coastal prairie garden that has shade from a two-story building is not like a freeze in a sunny open field. Is there a relationship between the freeze and the drought, is there a relationship between seasons? For the past month, these are the questions I have taken with me when I visit Symbiosis and research on line.

What initially appears to be a destructive event can be the seed necessary for regrowth. Prairie plants are particularly delicate in these intense freezes as frozen water expands and rips apart cell walls, destroying their armature. When the thaw period eventually comes, and the water drains away, all that remains is a slimy puddle of cell slime.

A small corner of Symbiosis before the December 2022 freeze.

These slimy puddles and decaying plants quickly milt into the soil, building its complexity and enabling it to store carbon, cooling the planet and soaking up water. When it breaks down, it provides food for microorganisms in the soil. A freeze is a quick and intense way to quickly build a large amount of living soil in the subtropics. This is a refreshing reminder of how our actions have real-world impacts. I am leaving the dead organic material to break down naturally. I am mindful of the inherent beauty of all seasons, all colors of ground cover, and the event's natural power and energy potential. Understanding and honoring freezes can improve Earth’s health for future generations. It is the fastest, most economical way to build a large quantity of soil. When it comes to soil carbon as an asset, a freeze is an economic plus.

I am not anti-freeze - instead, I'm pro-freeze!

Almost two weeks after the freeze and the new growth is noticeable. . The dried plants are crumbling into soil.

I still have unanswered questions and I am hopeful they will reveal themselves through Symbiosis. Until them I walk the garden every day in complete amazement the new growth rise through the decaying material as it melts in the armature of the soil.

Golden-reined Digger Wasp - fascinating and gentle despite its sinister appearance.

This is one interesting creature, so interesting I pasted the article below.

Despite its vivid alarm coloration, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is not an aggressive species of wasp. They tend to mind their own business and can be found sipping on flower nectar during the summer, but in the early spring, females prepare to lay eggs.

Females will dig into loose soil and create many deep tunnels. When established, she then covers them to hide their existence. A female will track a small insect and sting them to paralyze them, but not to kill them. Once the prey is immobile, she will clutch it using her antennae and mandible (mouth parts) in order to fly it back to the tunnels. While in flight with her prey, it is not uncommon to see birds like robins or tanagers attempt to steal her meal from her by chasing her until she drops it. No other known species of Digger Wasp is known to be harassed by birds in this way. If the female is successful in returning to her tunnels with her catch, she will place the paralyzed prey aside to quickly inspect a tunnel. If it looks like it's still intact, she will pull the paralyzed insect, head first, down into it. She then lays an egg on the insect, exits the tunnel, and covers it over again. She repeats this process for each tunnel. Unlike other wasps, she does not actively defend her nest. Once hatched, the wasp larvae will feed on the living, yet immobile, insect until they are developed enough to leave the tunnel lair in the summer. Eventually, the parasitism of the paralyzed insect kills it.

Scientists are studying the behavior of this unique species. Great Golden Digger Wasps seem to display a type of internal programming. If their insect prey is moved away from the tunnel while the female inspects it, she will emerge, relocate it, bring it back to the tunnel entrance and start the inspection all over again. Every female exhibited the same repetitive 'start inspection again' behavior when tested in that way.

Females have also shown that they do not keep a tally of how many insects they catch versus how many tunnels they create. If some meals are stolen by birds, they do not realize that they are short on insects compared to tunnels.

With such gorgeous orange and black coloration, mild demeanor, and interesting behaviors, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is one to admire, not destroy. Perhaps a careful observer will discover even more fascinating things about this species.

Planet Popsicles — and spam

I received a spam email this summer with a bold photo of a popsicle asking, “How do you cool off in the heat of the summer?” I immediately thought about how the planet cools off. That spam email inspired these ephemeral sculptures, I used the materials mother nature uses to cool the planet.

PLANET POPSICLES

6” X 1” X 12” ephemeral

Sticks, H20, Passionflower, Fall obedient plant, and American Beautyberry

PLANET POPSICLES

6” X 6” X 24” ephemeral

Sticks, H20, Passionflower, Fall obedient plant, and American Beautyberry, Beatles, Pokeweed, Scarbs, Golden Rod, passed butterflies, and passed moths

Symbiosis Celebration: Eco—Systems

Symbiosis Celebration

social sculpture

—from Chemical Plants to Native Plants—

Native Wildflowers, Food, Art, Music and Migration

Fall color tourism contributes $1 billion per year to North Carolina. Houston has fall and spring color migration; we can cultivate them into tourism and build soil health.

“For profit is the fuel that will change society's landscape practices to embrace the planet's ecological systems in Houston. Applying economics and industrial concepts to my work, I see ecotourism as an untapped resource that can strengthen our environmental and economic health. I propose nurturing and marketing Houston’s ecotourism, through a Symbiosis Celebration of migration, that ultimately encourages and celebrates new mutualistic relationships between Houstonians and the planet. Through fostering relationships that regenerate Houston's micro-ecosystems, we will move our reputation from Chemical Plants to Native Plants — we can prosper as the Green Energy City.” — cindee travis klement

“If you dig deep and keep peeling the onion, artists and freelance writers are the leaders in society - the people who start to get new ideas out.” — Allan Savory

In April 2021, I installed the first native plants in Symbiosis, in Lawndale's Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden. Within two months, Symbiosis exploded with bountiful native blooms. Plants expected by the Ladybird Wildflower website to be one to three feet tall in Symbiosis were instead two to four feet tall. In June, the endangered native bees started returning. In the first twelve months, I have witnessed seventy new species in the space: from bird nest fungus to Red Admirals, Monarchs and skippers, skimmers, one of the bumblebees listed as endangered, Bombus pensylvanicus, treefrogs, toads and birds.

Building Mutual Symbiotic Relationships to Power Ecological Recovery

In preparation for the celebration I envision cultivating relationships among the City of Houston, local property owners, Houston's indigenous landscape and its wildlife, soil and climate, food, restaurant, music, visual and performing arts, museums and professional sports team communities.

 The following steps will contribute to building these relationships:

·       The business and private property owners will need to redirect their existing landscape budgets to native plants that support our wildlife.

·       These new landscape practice guidelines will align with the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Resilience.

·       New native wildflower and grass landscapes will slow rainwater, allowing it to soak in and return to the aquifer to cool the planet while sequestering carbon and storing it in the ground where it is stable, providing food and safe habitats for our indigenous wildlife.

·       The approximately six hundred species of birds, four hundred and thirty species of butterflies, eight hundred species of Texas native bees, one thousand species of moths, eighteen species of dragonflies, thirty species of turtles, including two box turtles, and seventy-two species of amphibians native to Texas will expand their populations in our city.

·       Houston's creatives in the food, restaurant, music, visual and performing arts, museums and professional sports industries will respond to the new mutualistic/symbiotic relationships among Houston's landowners and our unique plant and wildlife in exciting creative ways and performances during the celebratory periods.

·       The City of Houston will promote, market, and support the above-described new relationships with its services infrastructure, completing the mutualistic relationship that will support Houston's economy and ecosystems.

Why Houston Can Support Ecotourism

Although Symbiosis taught me the speed with which an urban landscape can transform into a wildlife haven, it was not until I was in Fredericksburg that I realized Houston's ecology is an untapped tourist economy. When you combine Houston's rich soil, high humidity, heat and long growing seasons with the indigenous native plant landscapes supported by Houston's urban irrigated commercial and park landscapes, Houston's native plant wildflower and wildlife tourism can far exceed those of the small towns in Central Texas. Another tremendous asset is Houston's central geographic location in the bird and butterfly migration paths between the North and South American continents and our proximity to the Gulf Coast. Texas has the most butterfly species of any state in the United States. Houston's inner city is 600 square miles; our "sprawl" is an asset to urban ecotourism.

As additional support that Houston can be an ecotourism powerhouse, I have read that one of New York City's most popular tourist attractions is The High Line's native landscaping. In North Texas, Plano also uses wildflowers and music to attract tourism dollars.

Funding

I see businesses and organizations all over the city which are starting to take advantage of the ecological benefits of native landscapes. Unfortunately, many other property owners (business and home) are unaware of the economic and environmental benefits of native plant landscaping. They spend $50-$100 per hour for weekly maintenance and $4—$12 per square foot for seasonal plantings, while also incurring high water usage and bills. Suppose the City appeals to these businesses and individuals to convert their existing non-ecological landscape budgets to native wildflower and grass landscapes. In that case, the City can promote a native plant/wildflower and wildlife, food, arts and music festival that will symbiotically support native ecological systems. The supporting businesses can profit from the tourism they generate.

The Texas Can-Do Spirit

Systems thinking to mitigate climate through industry and the arts is a new territory — will Houstonians embrace this new field of thinking? In Texas, that depends on how you ask and present the need. In our recent history, from Katrina to hurricane Harvey, unsolicited Houstonians volunteered to help their neighbors. In 1901, wildcatters discovered Spindletop, drawing people worldwide to build a better life in unknown territory. “Wildcatter” is used to describe one that drills wells in areas not known to be producing fields. The spirit of the wildcatter is deep in our Texas Can-Do Spirit. It is in our nature to embrace a new field of wild.

Why Big Ideas Are Important.

“The climate needs big, public, audacious goals that everyone can contribute to,” he argues. “Cathedrals were not completed in the lifetime of anyone starting them, but communities bought into these projects.” -The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/12/19/climate-change-cathedral-project/

Symbiosis — Gerhert Prairie Rescue plants

On October 7th, I was invited to participate in rescuing prairie plants from the Gerhart Prairie south of Houston. The Prairie, I believe, is part of the Texas Nature Conservancy. A manufacturer has a fenced-off area on the property. They will put in a road through the prairie to service the fenced-in operations. We were rescuing the plants in the designated place on the future road. Several Master Naturalists identified plants, as did Mark Morganstern of Morningstar Nursery. Mark kindly reaches out to me when free and needy plants are available.

That Saturday, I received an amazing list of the plants I rescued.

1.)  Helianthus angustifolia  (aka Swamp Sunflower)

            this is the tall 'sunflower' plant with the very narrow leaves that have the edges rolled under.

                (I think I may have inadvertently referred to this as Maximillian Sunflower, which is not what this is)     

 2.)  Baptisia sphaerocarpa  (aka Yellow Wild Indigo or Yellow False Indigo)

            this plant is a small subshrub in the Fabaceae (Pea Family);  it has trifoliate leaves without subending bractlets and it has bright yellow flowers borne on erect inflorescences.  Its fruits are round, hence the Latin name sphaerocarpa which literally means 'round fruit'.  It will bloom in the spring.

3.)   Euthamia leptocephala (aka Bushy Goldentop)

            This plant is in the Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) and is closely related to the goldenrods (Solidago spp.).  Euthamias have round-topped inflorescences rather that the 'open-spray'-shaped inflorescences of the goldenrods.   There are two species of Euthamia in our area -- the other is Euthamnia gymnospermoides (aka Texas Goldentop) -- it have longer and much narrower leaves than does E. leptocephala.

4.)  Croton lindheimeri  (aka Woolly Croton or Lindheimer's Hogwort)

        This plant is a member of the Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family).  It has very small unisexual flowers surrounding by a yellowish tomentose hairs;  the female flowers are borne near the base of the inflorescence while the male flowers are bunched near the apex of the inflorescence. This seeds of this species are an important food source for quail and dove and the plant is a larval host for several species of butterfly.

5.)  Neptunia pubescens (aka Tropical Puff)

        A member of the Fabaceae (Pea Family) in the Mimosoid clade (or subfamily) which means it does not have typical pea-shaped flowers.  The flowers are bunched onto a round receptacle or head, each with a small inconspicuous corolla, but the numerous long stamens are quite showy.  Neptunia pubescens sprawls along the ground.  It is larval host plant for the ceranus blue (Hemiargus ceranus) butterfly and its seeds are consumed by many wildlife species.

6.)  Lythrum alatum var. lanceolatum (aka Winged Loosestrife)

         This member of the Lythraceae (Loosestrife Family) grows to be about 3-4 ft tall and produces long racemose infloresceces with smallish lavendar (pink,purple) flowers.  It is a special value to native bees and is also used by hummingbirds and butterflies.

7.)  Eupatorium serotinum (aka Late-flowering Boneset)

        A member of the Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) which has rayless sporting only white disc florets.  It is a perennial that emerges early in the year, but does not bloom until August - November. While it's flowers are small there are many of them, so that the plant is a real show-stopper in the fall.  It is of special value to native bees and its nectar attracts butterflies and many other insect species and it seeds are eaten by many bird species.     The plants you dug up were fairly small (maybe due to the drought this year;  the species usually grows 4-5+ feet tall.

8.)  Agalinis heterophylla (aka Prairie Agalinis, Prairie Geradia, False Foxglove)

    This is a member of the Boraginaceae (Borage or Broomrape Family).  There are several species found locally, but the most common is Agalinis heterophylla, easily distinguished by its deeply lobed calyx.   It is a larval host for the Buckeye butterfly and attracts numerous insect species, including bees and bumblebees.

9.)  Ludwigia octovalvis  (aka Mexican Primrose Willow)

        A member of the Onograceae (Evening Primrose Family), this plant likes its feet wet, so a low spot that collects water is a great place to plant it.  It is fast growing and reseeds readily. It is a nectar source for butterflies and other insects and is a larval host for the water primrose hornworm moth (now there's a mouthful!).   

10.)  Conoclinium coelestinum  (aka Blue Mist Flower)

        Another member of the Asteraceae whose flowerhead do not have ray florets, but the long stigmas of the disc florets make for a showy flowerhead nonetheless.  This species is NOT an annual (as I misinformed you yesterday, sometimes things stick erroneously in your mind), but rather a perennial that dies back to the ground each year and also spreads readily by seed.   It attracts many late-season butterflies.  It can be a bit 'bossy' as Mary Spolyar put it, but as I have found with vigorous natives a bit of pruning/thinning doesn't hurt them in the least. 

I look forward to watching them thrive in Symbiosis.

The rescues

Symbiosis Relationship 9/2022

Skipper and Pokeweed

Endangered bumble bee and Salvia

Coral honeysuckle and a native bee.

Mocking bird using an American Westeria vine as a lookout for insects to eatt.

Passiflora incarnate and carpenter bee.

Turkey tail mushrooms breakdown rotting trees recycling the nutrients.

Jumping spider

Pachodynerus erynnis, known generally as the red-marked pachodynerus or red and black mason wasp and Lantana camera. Lantanas are complex, I am not certain if this is a native to tropical US or an import. I think it is camara since I see beetles and wasps on it.

Clouded skipper on Lantana camara.

Common green June beetle and lantana camara.

Genus Pyrisitia minisa Yellow butterfly

Golden-reined Digger Wasp

Despite its vivid alarm coloration, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is not an aggressive species of wasp. They tend to mind their own business and can be found sipping on flower nectar during the summer, but in the early spring, females prepare to lay eggs.

Females will dig into loose soil and create many deep tunnels. When established, she then covers them to hide their existence. A female will track a small insect and sting them to paralyze them, but not to kill them. Once the prey is immobile, she will clutch it using her antennae and mandible (mouth parts) in order to fly it back to the tunnels. While in flight with her prey, it is not uncommon to see birds like robins or tanagers attempt to steal her meal from her by chasing her until she drops it. No other known species of Digger Wasp is known to be harassed by birds in this way. If the female is successful in returning to her tunnels with her catch, she will place the paralyzed prey aside to quickly inspect a tunnel. If it looks like it's still intact, she will pull the paralyzed insect, head first, down into it. She then lays an egg on the insect, exits the tunnel, and covers it over again. She repeats this process for each tunnel. Unlike other wasps, she does not actively defend her nest. Once hatched, the wasp larvae will feed on the living, yet immobile, insect until they are developed enough to leave the tunnel lair in the summer. Eventually, the parasitism of the paralyzed insect kills it.

Scientists are studying the behavior of this unique species. Great Golden Digger Wasps seem to display a type of internal programming. If their insect prey is moved away from the tunnel while the female inspects it, she will emerge, relocate it, bring it back to the tunnel entrance and start the inspection all over again. Every female exhibited the same repetitive 'start inspection again' behavior when tested in that way.

Females have also shown that they do not keep a tally of how many insects they catch versus how many tunnels they create. If some meals are stolen by birds, they do not realize that they are short on insects compared to tunnels.

With such gorgeous orange and black coloration, mild demeanor, and interesting behaviors, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is one to admire, not destroy. Perhaps a careful observer will discover even more fascinating things about this species.

Symbiosis - the ripples

For many artists, satisfaction comes from selling their work. For me, happiness comes when others mimic my work.

A little over a year ago, I met a young couple with a commercial landscape business dept. I invited them to be part of my social sculpture water + air + citizen that took place this past winter. I shared with them the next phase of Carbon By The Yard. This spring I among many volunteers, briefly helped Maggie and Isaac install their inspiring monumental version this spring. Luckily it survived the drought and made the Chronicle.

This Novrmber 5th carbon By The Yardwhich will take place this November 5th. During the community family celebration on November 5th, the relief Carbon By The Yard will be transformed into Carbon Sink. Stay tuned to learn more.

Monotype- leafcutter (petalcutter)

Leafcutter (petal cutter) Megachile and the Blanket flower

Watercolor and pastel monotype

30” X 44”

Leafcutter bee flying to its nest just after cutting a petal from the Texas native Gaillardia pulchella aka blanket flowers. They use the petals to protect walls and to seal their nests. In exchange for the petals, the leaf cutter pollinates the blanket flowers bloom. It is one of my favorite relationships in “Symbiosis.”

The white pedestal?

When I started in the MFAH Glassell School block program, I needed pedestals for my smaller sculptures. I made stark white cubes as I saw in museums and galleries.

Over the years, my work has transitioned to tell a specific story. I make work to reveal the beauty in diversity, the messiness in the natural world and the connections between all living things on the planet. And most importantly, I work to inspire society to step into a rhythm that will flow with the natural world and celebrate the beauty in its messiness. My work conflicts with borders that separate, clean lines that divide and sterile objects.

The white cube pedestals are a symptom of sameness, monocultures and sterile environments, a symptom of me wanting to ” look “ like I belong and fit in. A change is an imminent.

I am leting my eyes and mind play with how objects that physically support my work should look. Work that reimagines urban landscapes to balance humanity and natural systems should not be sterile cubes. What should, - what could they be?

The images below are some thoughts I am considering. .

Rocks

Bricks

Stones or concrete.

Cracks

Dried plant material

Electrical wire

Upcycled lawn furniture.

Palm tree trunk skin

Salvaged construction site rotting root with interesting chain link necklace imbedded across her shoulders.

Symbiosis - relationship 8/2022

Orange blister beetle and Ratibida columnifera

prairie cone flower. The beetle eats problem insects.

Gulf fritillary butterfly's mating and green anole ruins the mood.

Xylocopa virginica, the Eastern carpenter bee has evolved to the exact height to Maximize pollinating Passiflora incarnation. This relationship is one of my favorites in Symbiosis.

Soaking wet American bumble bee (endangered bee) using a Missouri ironweed leaf as an umbrella.

black mud daubersa, is a solitary wasp. This female his hunting for caterpillars to provision her mud nest. Plants recognize the vibrations of caterpillars chewing. This causes the plant to send out pheromones to attract wasp to keep the caterpillars down. She seems frantic.

Ascra bifida, exploring crabgrass and Marsh Fleabane (both volunteer plants) hunting for moths, caterpillars, harmful beetles, aphids and other pests. They are valued citizens in “Symbiosis”. Oddly there is very little online about this sweetheart of a stink bug.

American Mockingbird and American beauty berry.

On the left side of the image perched atop the dead olive tree a Mockingbird searches for insects. Camaflouged by the orange trick background a juicy dragonfly flies into to the upper right corner of the frame and catches the alert Mockibgbirds attention.

Cyathus stercoreus

Dung-loving birds nest fungus also known as splash cups.

Cyathus stercoreus

Dung-loving birds nest fungus also known as splash cups.

When a raindrop hits the cup's interior, the peridioles are ejected into the air tearing open the purse. In the lower part of the purse, the coiled funicular cord expands. The peridioles, followed by the sticky funicular cord and basal hapteron, land on a nearby plant stem or stick. Flying through the air, the line wraps around the plant's stem. The peridiole remains attached to the vegetation. In a natural setting, a grazing animal may eat it and later deposit it in that animal's dung to continue the life cycle. This amazing amazing creature breaks down dung, and captures raindrops.

Brown Anole

The ESTERN CARPENTER BEE AND PASSIFLORA INCARNATA

A dragonfly lays eggs in the still water of a trough pond. Her nymphs keep the mosquito larvae in check and are protein for the Texas mosquitofish.

Symbiosis - Pipevine Swallowtail eggs.

I saw a blue swallowtail flitting across the garden, looking for a suitable host plant for her eggs. Below are images of Eggs under the same leaves the following days. This post will be ongoing. As I see Pipevine Swallowtails, I will document them here.

Swallowtail laying eggs under a white vein Morning glory leaf. 8/13 2:29

Full view of blue swallow tail 8/13

Swallowtail caterpillars eggs . 8/13 3:57

8/14 5:04

8/14

8/14

8/17 10:19

Symbiosis - The first anniversary and a feisty or rebellious future.

What would the next twelve months look like?

A two-year-old can be feisty, or would it be more like a rebellious teenager coming into its sexuality?

April of 2021, I started installing the plant material in “Symbiosis.” Seeing, hearing and smelling the transformation has been a gift. This past spring marked the first anniversary. This post celebrates the relationships and natural systems I have documented from the first anniversary through mid-August.

Keep in mind that in the summer of 2020, when I agreed to install a site specific living sculpture, I went every day to observe the space. Sitting and looking — observational research is a big part of my work.

How did it function in the ecosystem? The mowed nonnative zoysia turf grass was neat within its “borders.” The nonnative shrubs and plants were in aligned rows amongst compressed dirt and it was static. As the summer days warmed the bare spaces, the rising heat never created any movement in the garden. It was designed in rows and easy to maintain with gas-powered mowers and edgers. The first soil test revealed that the garden was void of life. The lower food chain of earthworms and grubs was absent. That explained why the birds flew by without landing. There was nothing for them to forage or seek shelter from predators.  It did not soak up much water and sequestered little carbon. Lawndale’s Sculpture Garden was a dysfunctional plot of earth. It was green but not part of the coastal prairie ecosystem.

In a sea of Midtown asphalt and groomed properties in April of 2021, I questioned; would any wildlife find the small space? Failure was possible.

Nature was undeniably resilient in year one. Symbiosis was a living sculpture, a functioning part of the coastal prairie and the New World. The installation was not land art; it was a living ecosystem. It regenerated life.

On Mother’s day after the first big rain, the pond was full of white green treefrog eggs. The relationship between amphibians and clean water and important in building the lower food chain and keeping it in balance. for more details see the post Symbiosis — Green Treefrog Eggs.

Cricotopus rests on the Lawndale Art Centers building. This image is symbolic of a nonprofit art institution’s commitment to it's relationship with the natural world. Hopefully it will inspire others.

Large carpenter bee on a trumpet vine bloom.

Mutation of a rudbeckia hirta. A reminder that being different is beautiful.

the chemical free trough pond provides a habitat for toads to mate and leave their eggs. The tadpoles in return eat algae keeping the water clear and mosquito larvae. #social sculpture.

White-striped longtail enjoying a Rudebeckia hirta bloom.

Anole asserts his dominance on the trunk of a dead olive tree.

Ischnura hastata Citrine forktail on a frogfrut leaf.

Blue dock beetle enjoying the nutrition of a volunteer plant.

Spilosoma Virginia on a Rosinweed sunflower leaf.

Cricotopus Non biting midge on Rosinweed leaf.

Hippodamia convergens convergent lady beetle, on a volunteer plant.

unknown - But interesting

Celithemis fasciata and frogfruit.

Native bee _________ and Rosinseed sunflower.

Repipta taurus , Red bull assassin bug and painted blanket leaf.

Dolba hyloeus pawpaw sphinx and fall bedient plant

the perfect match a native carpenter bee’s body has evolved over the ages to fit the Passiflora incarnata perfectly.

Libellulidae- skimmer and docks. I often find skimmers perched on this past dried docks. They have a strong bond.

Mockingbirds and toads.

Mother Mockingbird feeding juvenile a tiny toad.

Juvenile Mockingbird perched on the manmade fence.

great blue skimmer (is a dragonfly) and the spent thimble flower.

2 Leafcutter bees mating.

2 Leafcutter bees mating and a spent painted blanket bloom.

Atalopedes campestris (called sachem in the United States and Canada) is a small grass skipper butterfly and frog fruit.

Another view

Hemiargus_ceraunus and frogdruit.

Umbrella paper wasp and spent sunflower.

Paper wasp and passion flower. PLANTS CALL WASPS TO THE RESCUE WITH AN AROMA THE INSECTS LOVE. This is a special relationship.

More (green eyed) leaf cutter bees mating again on spent painted blanket bloom.

Male Eastern Carpenter bee- check out those big green eyes and fall obedient plant.

Sphex Digger wasp. On passiflora incarnata

Obscure Bird Grasshopper shaded by the leaves of Turks cap.

Palpada vinetorum is a species of syrphid fly in the family Syrphidae.[1][2][3][4] It is a native flower fly species to North America, mainly found in Texas and parts of the east coast and fall obedient plant.

A pipevine swallowtail or Blue swallowtail laying eggs on a dried leaf of a red salvia. .

Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail and a morning glory vine.

Gulf fritillery butterfly and a passiflora incarnate

Dolba hyloeus (pawpaw sphinx) is a moth of the family Sphingidae and a fall obedient bloom.

Follow up post coming soon

Female common Whitetail skipper and a dried stem of a Rosin weed sunflower.

Leafcutter native bee and frogfruit.

Spiderweb that and dew . Does the quenching dew lure prey into the spiders web. I see a relationship between the spider and Earth’s closed water system.

Eastern carpenter bee and a rotting tree.

Eastern carpenter bee building a nest in a rotting wood.

Leafcutter bee and blanket flower.

Leafcutter bee with a petal of a blanket flower Gaillardia pulchella. They use the petals to build their nests.

American toad And Earth’s closed water system.

American toad out for a stroll during the rain.

Plushback fly and Salvia azure.

Another species of leadcutter bee cutting a bllanket flowr petal.

Swallowtail butterfly and white veined morning glory.

Swallowtail butterfly depositing an egg on white veined morning glory. Follow up post coming soin.

Jumping spider and fall obedient plant.

Plushback fly and blue salvia

The relationship between rainwater or dew and plants is a crucial part of any ecosystem. In this case the few is is on a stem of crabgrass. If you run your fingers down the stem you will notice the texture that slows water from running off it's surface too fast.

Dew and stems

Carpenter bee and Salvia azure

I have noticed that plant material on the edges of symbiosis stops garbage from blowing from the convenience store. I see this as another way plants are in partnership with our various ocean.

Anole safely camouflaged in the chaotic lines of the vines mixed with a diversity of plant stems.

Juvenile mocking bird on a dead olive tree branch. I saw about six of them hiding in the American beautyberry after the rain. Now that the installation is a year old, it is getting height and layers. This added heights provides the birds with more protection, berries and perches for hunting small prey.

Stink bug on American beauty very.

Carpenter bee getting a back rub wile collecting nectar and pollen on a purple passion flower.

four-banded stink bug hunter wasp

Sphex habenus, Golden-reined Digger Wasp and Rosin weed sunflower.

Sunlight nesting in Rattlesnake master.

?

Subtribe Hesperiina And milkweed.

Subtribe Hesperiina And frogfruit

? Bee on Rattlesnake master

roseate skimmer and fall obedient plant.

Skipper on bloom less salvia stem.

New World Checkered skipper and everybody’s buddy frog fruit.

Sor ies of fly sleeping in butterfly faea Bush.

Rumblings - diversifying and implementing systems thinking.

All living and nonliving matter are connected in form or system. Through my work on “Symbiosis,”  I have witnessed the power of holistic management, also called systems thinking. I can see that Changing our decision making process to consider whole systems and connectedness is the solution to our environmental and social issues. Changing how society thinks is the driving force in my art.

With this new awareness I am inspired to consistently reflect it in my work. I have decided to rethink  “Rumblings,” which began as a collection of monotypes of 50 of the 10,000 bee species. It wasa mono crop of bees. However, you can’t separate the interconnection between bees, humans, or other living organisms and the earth's natural systems. We are all part of the living planet Earth. I will start applying systems thinking to all my installations. “Rumblings ” will celebrate the relationships among a diversity of species up and down the food chain.  I will weave into these pieces the relationships that whisper of Earths biological processes and Physical  and chemical Elements. The connections can be obvious or  subtle, they can be  unmeasurable or invisible. This will be fun.

Rosinweed sunflower bloom and spider.

Tiny spent sunflower bloom/seed head-the colors - suttle and faded, still rich and deep. The shapes of the seeds as they dried ❤️ The beauty of the natural world when you stop and look. I studied this dried object probably 4 minutes turning it in my fingers watching the white blooms from the crepe myrtle attached by the thread of a spider and then turning it over hiding underneath- a creature. As we enter the Anthropocene, saving insects is a priority in “Symbiosis.” When I edit out any materials such as this elegant, delicate, dried Rosinweed sunflower head from the garden, I do not bag them and put them in a trash can. I chop and drop. This tiny spider is evidence that chopping and dropping not only builds soil and saves money it also saves insects.

Symbiosis- Food chain - Mockingbirds and Toads

On an early July morning, with a new camera in my hands, I was hopeful the zoom lens would document unseen details in Symbiosis. I focused the lens on the “feed me” gesture of the juvenile bird. Later zooming in on the image on my computer revealed the middle of the food chain — A Mockingbird feeding a juvenile, not a caterpillar, wasp, or an insect but a slight blurry silhouette of a toad. On my laptop, I witnessed the middle of the food chain, a moment in a living sculpture, evidence of a healthy ecosystem and hope in a sea of asphalt on the Gulf Coast.

In Symbiosis building, a food chain that has not been exposed to chemicals or pesticides is crucial to building a base and armature that supports the more visible kinetic elements — wildlife and humans, the upper food chain. Its strength is critical to the success of the whole.

I use systems thinking to plan and organize my sculptural additions and extractions to the piece. In this case, not using pesticides to control insect pests or unruly vegetation is a priority. The water feature in the garden invites mosquitos, dragonflies, frogs, toads, and aquatic insects to lay their eggs in the still water. The tadpoles, nymphs, and Texas mosquito fish eat the mosquito larvae.

In the work, all of the individual species are linked by the health and abundance of the lower species. “Symbiosis” is an element of the “living” Earth, a community of organisms existing within the Art center's sculpture garden and social sculpture.

That Was Then This is Now.

July 2020 - the sculpture garden as it was when Stephanie and I first discussed the project.

February 2021. After the Texas freeze

May 2022 - 12 months from installation.

I ❤️Aphids and what insects tell us.

I Leave aphids be. It may look alarming but It is a necessary step in regaining a balance of good bugs and bad in "Symbiosis". I am looking forward to see which beneficial insects show up to help the planet manage the aphids. Aphids feed through a needle-like mouthpart. After they insert their mouthpart into a plant's tissue, they then use it like a straw to suck out plant juices. The do not kill the host plant. Aphids aid benefical bugs they are food for thousands of different species of predatory insects. As protein Aphids help build a broad diversity of beneficial bugs in nature.

After writing this post I came across one of the most interesting insect control articles.

“Failing Plant Health

The research conducted by Dr. Callahan and Dr. Reams has immense implications. If insects attack unhealthy plants and ignore healthy plants, they are telling a sad story about the fertility approaches as currently practiced. By attacking unhealthy plants, insects are actually benefiting humanity by pointing out which plants are unhealthy, low in mineral content, and not fit for human or animal use. The astute farmer views insects, as he views weeds, as messengers of soil or crop conditions, not the cause of them.”

We have so much to unlearn.