Workshop + Cabin Wildcat | Taking a Closer Look (June 25-30, 2025)

During this 5-night workshop led by artist/scientist Jerri Bartholomew, we’ll use the tools of art and science to explore how water, and lack of water, shape the unique ecosystems of Summer Lake. In the field, we’ll map and examine the plants and soil from two ecosystems that feed the lake, as well as from the dry lake itself. In the studio, we’ll examine locally collected material using lenses and microscopes to see complexities you can’t see with your naked eye. Using drawing and gel printing, and/or a medium of your choice, you will explore how perception changes with scale and how data can be incorporated into and inform art. In this workshop we will not only explore Summer Lake, but the waters that are associated with it: the streams that flow from the Fremont-Winema Forest (Harvey Creek), and the ODFW wildlife refuge through which the Ana River flows. This workshop teaches how to view the ecosystem at different scales – from a landscape scale map of the lake and waters that feed it, to fine structures viewed under a microscope. This information will then be incorporated into the artwork to provide context and visual richness. Participants will keep a notebook and will create a collection of annotated prints or booklets describing the different ecosystems.

Participants will leave this Workshop with: An appreciation of the diverse ecosystems that contribute to Summer Lake; the ability to integrate scientific data with artistic expression; an understanding of how art and science inform each other.

Details and Agenda

Instructor: Jerri Bartholomew

Teaching Assistant: TBD PRAx Art+Sci Fellow from Oregon State University 

Dates: Wednesday, June 25 – Monday, June 30, 2025

Arrival: Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Departure:  Monday, June 30, 2025 

Skill Level: All skill and knowledge levels welcome. All methods used will be taught and practiced as part of the workshop.

Mobility Level: Most levels of mobility can participate. We will carpool to sites of interest and take short walks. Although we will be collecting samples in the field, hiking will be limited and easy. This will include walking on dirt, gravel, and uneven terrain. While PLAYA is accessible, the sites off campus are not. 

Materials List to Bring: 

• A sketchbook or journal and writing implements 
• Materials and clothing for walking in the landscape
• Optional: Art supplies to work in the media of your choice, (e.g. photography, painting, writing, sketching)

Materials Provided by Instructor:

• Art material for printmaking project
• Microscopes
• Hand lenses
• Collection vials and bags
• Other instruments for collecting data in the field 

Instructor Bio

Jerri Bartholomew is an emeritus professor of microbiology at Oregon State University and director of the JL Fryer Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory. She is also a glass artist who uses ecological and scientific imagery in her own work. Having worked at this interface for over 25 years, she brings a background integrating art and science to the PLAYA science council. For the past 8 years she has initiated efforts at OSU that include a faculty art-sci collaborative group, a student club (Seminarium) and a fellowship (in its third year) that funds over 25 students on a year-long art-science pursuit (PRAx Interdisciplinary Fellowships).

No pets allowed. Thank you.