Birds of a Feather

Lakeside Laboratory is located in Okaboji, Iowa and is where my father has taught ecology since before I was born. I remember running through the wild green brush and the long grasses of the prairie fondly. It made sense to come to Lakeside when contemplating places for a project on places which make me feel strong. 

​In recent years, Lakeside has started an artist in residence program and in my time here I  was able to speak to the artists currently working in the studio space, Joseph Mougel and Cynthia Brinich-Langlois. Both teach at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and remind me of Scott Murphy, my thesis adviser. Joseph loves a good problem to solve and spent the morning with me drawing up concepts on how to expose the bones with pinhole cameras.  Cynthia is a printmaker by nature and also works with cyanotype process. It felt a little like fate that a master film photographer and a wonderful printer were the artists at Lakeside in the time I visited and were able to help me troubleshoot some of the problems I had been having with my pinhole camera. 

It also is interesting how artists approach similar themes such as human impact on the land or vice versa. By the time I left their studio, I had a long list of artists who also work with similar themes as we do. It was a joy to meet inspired and down to earth artists who spend their life clearing their mind with old fashioned techniques.

Peace and Blue,
Lexi
​