06 . 22

hillside slough : June ‘22

Contributor Teri Power writes: “I found HILLSIDE SLOUGH along the hillside by the St. Croix River Bluffs near Hudson, Wisconsin. It was sloughing off the hillside and washing away, due to a cut created when a parking lot was carved out for a business. The clay is a beautiful dark olive green that looks green or soft, rich brown depending on the light it’s in. Its green may be due to the presence of glauconite. The collected sample was very sandy and required some settling and cleansing before it became useful as a pigment. In my studio practice, after cleaning the clay to prepare it, I often mix it with different additives for different purposes, allowing me to work with it as a watercolor, a gouache, a fabric dye or an additive to fiber to make cast sculptural forms. Working with materials that are sustainable is important to me. Elements of earth, wind, and water form these clays and are grounding, connecting me not only with history but with earth’s processes as well.

contributor: Teri Power

Teri writes: “Did this all begin with the mud pies made by a five year old? Or with a love of the natural world and all things close to the earth? As a retired art teacher I look back with pride at my basic premise that it is important for children to realize where things come from, how they are made and that discovery and creating are important. As I now have time, I explore those things for myself, finding endless fascination with foraging and creating with materials around me.”

Teri is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has appeared in numerous group shows throughout the midwest.