Artist: Shea Hembrey
About the Artist
Shea Hembrey's work questions reality. He seriously explores our best current understanding of the structure of reality while also often playing trickster. Recently, that exploration questions our contemporary view of the universe as revealed through physics. He approaches art by concentrating on a singular, defined conceptual project where the ideas direct what methods and media he uses. Research is key to all of his creative endeavors while he remains a prolific maker of things. Though always focused on developing new technical skills on his own, he has a varied formal art education.
His nine years of studying art at university include a year spent studying Māori art in New Zealand and an M.F.A. from Cornell University. Further explore his work online through coverage on NPR, PBS, in a New York Times Magazine profile, and a popular TED talk. He is the 2023-24 Grant Wood Fellow in Painting & Drawing at the University of Iowa.
About the Project
Two thirds of North American songbirds are currently at risk largely due to habitat loss. In this series, Hembrey improves plant growth using soil amendments to create patterns representative of specific bird plumage. This project is a new take on the tradition of landscape painting in that it tangibly alters the landscape rather than just depict imagery of the land. Physically, painting has traditionally been made from pigments pulled from the earth and in this instance, pigments are given back into the soil to improve the landscape. These powdered pigments absorb into the soil before the artist plants trees, bushes, and grasses vital to the corresponding bird species.
Contact
Maura Pilcher, Director of the Grant Wood Art Colony, University of Iowa
Process
- Kick-Off Meeting: Site representatives meet with Hembrey to discuss location and appropriate native vegetation—trees, shrubs, grasses.
- Soil Testing: Hembrey tests the soil in the identified location to determine deficiencies for the intended vegetation.
- Plumage Plan: Hembrey reviews list of native songbirds and their habitats to identify a bird for the landscape painting. Hembrey generates a palette of colors based off the nutrients needed for the soil and creates a stylized plumage design.
- Installation: Hembrey coordinates with the site representatives to determine an appropriate time to install the landscape painting and to collaborate with volunteers. Hembrey installs the landscape painting utilizing a stencil and powdered nutrients (think lime, charcoal, etc.)
- Saturation: Over the following days and weeks, the landscape painting changes as animals leave tracks and rains dissolve the nutrients into the soil. The artist photographs the painting throughout these stages.
- Vegetation Planting: The artist plants the selected native plant. Minimal maintenance is expected beyond this point.
Species Selection
The site representatives may choose from the many native Iowan flora species that provide songbird habitat. Popular selections include: white oak, swamp white oak, bur oak, red bud, silky dogwood, ninebark, and red cedar.
Cost
There is no cost to the partner site unless a specific size/species cannot be obtained for a low cost.
Current Confirmed Sites/Partners
Indian Creek Nature Center, Cedar Rapids Public Art Commission—Bever, Ellis, and Manhattan Parks, University of Iowa, Swisher, Hills, and several private locations.