Art/Environmental Activities

The Big Stone Lake Stories camp integrates art-making and environmental learning with each other to enhance both. The the environmental exploration provides subject matter and context for the art-making. And, the art-making provides a broader way of understanding the environmental exploration.

When complete, this page will highlight examples of the art/environmental activities of the camp. For now, here are a few images and stories to preview.

--Check back for updates!

Here's the campers and visiting teaching artist, Jonee Brigham on the first day.
The beautiful wooden stage of Bonanza Education Center was used in
the overarching art form of the camp: which follows the Earth Systems Journey model:
a participatory public art form that combines the classic narrative pattern of a
Hero's Journey, with participatory theater, ceremonial art activities, and art-making
as a way to reflect on the journey which follows water from the learning environment
through the surrounding landscape to learn about ground water and
surface water issues and use arts to appreciate and understand. (photo John White)

Here's a camper participating/co-creating the
"Words for Water" artwork by Jonee Brigham. Campers
and Leaders pour water from the sink into a special
vessel and share a word for water, which can
be a description (like aquifer, or plentiful)
or a a question (like how old is water?)
or an appreciation (like Thank you, or Water is
Life). The art activity creates a meditative mood
that heightens appreciation of water
and marks important milestones in the
water journey. (Photo: John White)

Collaborating Musical Artist, Lee Kanten, performs here with campers
at the meeting of the Citizens for Big Stone Lake with an original song
he composed for the camp that fosters learning and appeciation for the glacial
story of the Big Stone Lake region. This and other water songs were learned throughout
the week and campers co-created a spoken/sung dramatic presentation.
The songs and musical performance were worked on each day
and were one of the thematic threads throughout the camp. (Photo Jonee Brigham)

Directed by visiting teaching artist, Jonee Brigham, Campers stood along the
Continental Divide to make a dynamic human sculpture expressing the
hydrology they learned about from DNR hydrologist Ryan Bjerke (center.)
(Photo by John White)

Campers engaged with and helped stitch an artwork with
visiting artist, Jonee Brigham, called, "Landmarkings"
throughout the week, and then invited the public to participate at Corn Fest.
(Photo: Jonee Brigham)

Project Organizer and collaborating artist, Don Sherman (far left)
taught campers how to make paper from curly leaf pond weed, an aquatic
invasive species. At Corn Fest, the campers taught others how to make
paper. Making paper out of invasive species reinforced a
thematic thread of the camp: about how art can "make the ugly beautiful"
which helps people engage with challenging issues, and also
highlights the power of the arts to transform. Photographer, and
collaborating artist, John White, also addressed this theme in his work
with campers, teaching principles and possibilities in the art of
photography. (Photo: Jonee Brigham)