Mapping

In the movies we watched during class this week, Julie Mehretu talked about how the elements of your surroundings influence your work. Architecture and urban areas seem to influence her work, along with the people she surrounds herself with. I can relate to this in my own work and process. I too, am highly influenced by my surroundings, which are rural. I have a concern for nature and its resources. Nature and humanity are both resourceful to one another, but there can also be harm caused in this distribution. Through domestication, both sides of the fence can benefit (sometimes). I am interested in paying attention to the give and take between man and nature.

These common themes in my work led me to think about lakes, which are a huge part of my surroundings. There is a constant give and take between the resources in which the lake offers man and what man offers the lake. Humans fish. The Department of Natural Resources makes sure that there is a limit on fishing and that permits are distributed. Fish populations are recorded and monitored, so that when specific species dwindle, the DNR may replenish the population. I am interested in the conversation between humans and the natural world. This leads me to mapping...

I found some old lake maps that belong to the DNR, and I am interested in how these lakes have changed over time. I also found information about specie populations in each lake and data on the upkeep of the resources. Through researching these lakes, I plan to involve the lake maps in my project. There are four lakes that are personally important to me. I either need to choose one, or make more than one piece, eventually. As of now, I plan to print out a black and white map and draw on it with charcoal, while incorporating an ink wash.

I am unsure of the subject matter in which I will draw into the map and how I will incorporate the two images. I have some photography of bait minnows in bags, which would be significant to the lakes as well as humans. I am also considering the possibility of drawing invasive species over the maps. Invasive species are carried and transported by humans when they are stuck on boats and lifts, which later are exposed to other lakes. This is a big problem for surface water and the ecosystem of these habitats.