MNartists.org is an amazing hub for connecting artists in Minnesota and beyond. I had the pleasure of writing a piece for a series of essays entitled “Seeing Plants: Visions and Botany in Contemporary Art,” curated by artists Regan Golden. It’s an honor to have my point of view included with the voices of others looking at how art can help us see nature and consider our vital relationship to it. Here’s an excerpt from the full article…..

When you look closely at the edge of a leaf or touch a patch of squishy moss after it rains, you are activating an ancient set of circuits in the brain that connects to feelings of happiness and creativity. Human beings co-evolved with the plant world. As a result, our five senses are attuned to the shapes and patterns, sounds, textures, smells and tastes of plants. Our senses are just like muscles: They can atrophy through disuse. Likewise, the more we use them, the stronger they get. When botanists spend a lot of time in the field, we say you develop “botany eyes,” an (almost) superpower to notice plants. …