Article by Lindsay Olson, about her experience as an artist in residence for The Wetlands Initiative. (TWI).
As their first artist in residence, I balance my training as a fine artist with what I learn in the field from the TWI staff to create textile art that helps explain these hardworking wetland habitats. From “smart wetlands” designed for farm fields, to reclaiming degraded industrial lands to conserved lands formerly used for a century of intensive agriculture, my textile work highlights the innovative restoration work of TWI.
My studio practice has three phases. The first involves conducting research: both my own visual research and working in the field to understand how wetland restoration works. Then, I translate what I have learned into accessible art and use the project help the others appreciate TWI’s restoration work.
On my first day working as The Wetland Initiatives artist in residence, I found myself standing in the bright June sunlight in Little Calumet River corridor in the heart of the Midwest rust belt. This is an area of the US that’s been heavily degraded by industry.
Wetland restoration work begins with controlling the hydrology: That means installing water control structures that mimic the natural hydrology of this region. I was helping the crew install water gages that measure the ebb and flow of water in the site.
That day, I listened to the discussions between Dr. Gary Sullivan and other TWI staffers. They were discussing last season’s eradication of phragmites (an invasive plant species) and the coming season’s plans for planting seedlings. In the background, the drone of the expressway blended with bird calls and buzzing pollinators.
This place was alive with energy.
And at my feet were rattlesnake master, hybrid cattail, hard stem bulrush, and sweet flag to name a few, all thriving in the space created by the removal of invasives the previous fall. Having nearly fallen in the muck that morning, I also realized I was falling hard for wetland field work in general and this region in particular. TWI’s expansive restoration was already taking root here, in the heart of the rust belt.
I learned about the importance of hemi-marsh habitat and how the parcels of land in the region are no longer connected by the original hydrology. TWI works to re-sculpt the land and control hydrology in these isolated parcels of wetlands to mimic natural processes.
When these processes are returned, nature takes over and the wetlands begin to function as they were intended.
The central theme in this piece is the creation of hemi-marsh conditions. The different depths found in Gary’s map are the foundation of the piece. I’ve stitched flora found in a restored hemi marsh: American lotus, sneezeweed and marsh marigold. The small squares are a stand in for the idea that the remnant wetlands are scattered and disconnected. Untangling ownership of these parcels is complex, requiring patience and persistence.
Even though TWI restoration efforts are in their very early stages in the region, secretive marsh birds, pollinators and other insects, amphibians and fish are beginning to establish themselves in the region again.
With the experiences of field work, book learning and interviews, it was time to return to my studio and begin the process of collecting ideas from the art side of things. Sci art exists on a continuum. I want my art to be grounded in accurate science but use all of the tools in my artist design kit to draw the viewer in: color, value, line quality, texture, symmetry, and craftsmanship. I want the work to be as beautiful as I can make it. Even if someone is not interested in the science, I want them to enjoy the art on its own. The art can function as a safe introduction to science.
Early in my visual research, I found this 3,000-year-old floral collar buried with King Tut in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. I was familiar with ancient Egyptian bejeweled collars on images of kings and queens. What I did not know is that royalty was buried with elaborately fashioned fresh flower collars. We are not the only people in history to use fresh flowers to honor our dead.
I’ve been exploring the design possibilities of a circular format in my work for a long time. These collars seemed a perfect expression of a broken circle: a metaphor for the broken cycles of nature we humans have wrought upon the land and the ways in which we use our understanding of ecology to restore these pieces of remnant wetlands.
The other intriguing connection to the project is that the funeral collars are, in intent at least, a garment intended to be worn by royalty in the afterlife. I used this symbolism to suggest a cycles of birth, death and rebirth or restoration.
I create art primarily in textiles. All of us use textiles in our everyday lives and can easily relate to them. It’s unexpected to see elegant art about an industrial landscape and that’s another way to invite viewers to take a closer look. I’ve chosen a sliver framed shadow box to hold the pieces. The presentation has a royal feel …. I am honoring the work we are engaged in by making the container look like a treasure chest.
The colors, techniques and elements reflect the challenges faced today and a vision of the future of these wetland jewels- in- the making: a quiet revolution in restoration and land conservation.
In the lower part of the collar, I have embroidered the names of American Indian tribes to acknowledge that these are the homelands of the Potawatomi and dozens of other Native tribes. Nearly half a million tribe members make their home here in the Upper Midwest region.
TWI’s crowning achievement is the work they have accomplished over decades in the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. After more than a century of industrial agriculture the refuge has been transformed and is bursting with migrating and resident waterfowl, ever increasing diversity of plants, insects, and the occasional fisherman.
Some might wonder why a wetland restoration group is working at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The short answer is that water always seeks its level whether its running down a mountain or flowing towards a gentle depression in the prairie. In partnership with the US Forest Service, TWI is working on a massive scale. Habitats within the Tallgrass Prairie, like a Marsh, are part of a mosaic of interdependent habitats: Sedge Meadows, Oak Savanna, Mesic Prairie and Wet Prairie. This project highlights the idea that wetlands belong everywhere.
In this piece I’ve included just a few of these restored habitats that knit together the wider ecosystem at this site. In the center, I’ve featured the Dolomite Prairie. It is a rare habitat and favors a unique blend of plants.
Across Illinois, TWI and their partners are demonstrating how small on-farm wetlands provide a solution to nutrient runoff while reducing costs over time for farmers. Each project is specially designed and engineered to work with each farmers land and needs.
When I visited several of these hardworking wetlands, I noticed that the plant diversity was very different at the beginning of the system than on the back end. Water flowing into the system carried excess nitrogen and phosphorus running off the field that few plants can tolerate. As the water flows through the system and excess nutrients are taken up by wetland plants, the back end of the system is rich in a huge diversity of plants. Meant to mimic the cleansing power of natural wetlands, Smart Wetlands offer an elegant and useful solution for the use of marginal ground on a field. Farmers appreciate the soil conservation and water quality improvements on their land too.
After completing the artwork, it’s time to put the project to work, helping others see the elegant and beautiful results of restored wetlands. With the help of many talented event planners, curators and publications, I’ve been able to extend the reach of the project with exhibitions, speaking engagements and articles. The work will be showing at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago from May to 7 September 2025.
At a time when we are challenged by the harsh realities of climate change, the work of TWI offers us a way forward using engineering prowess, a deep understanding of ecology and a willingness to partner with like-minded communities and conservation groups. What we are witnessing is the creation of functional wetlands clawed back from formerly degraded landscapes. This work has personal significance and deep meaning to every member of the TWI team. I can’t wait to see how these skillful and hopeful projects develop in the coming years. For now we celebrate their success and the artwork that helps to tell the story of wetland restoration.