Iris Begins
New EXHIBIT
Iris Begins
We are excited to start a brand new adventure creating art about irises. The next six months will include posts, activities, and a mixed media installation; all related to constructing knowledge about iris.
Why Irises?
Over the past decade we have made exhibits over a wide range of nature topics: ants, conifers, marine invertebrates, lichens, and many more. But iris never crossed our radar. Somehow even though we have a Pacific Coast iris (Iris tenax) growing wild in our field, and a few heirloom bearded iris hanging on for decades from the previous landowner, irises had never been our focus. Until now. In December, a local store had iris species bulbs on clearance, that quickly escalated to purchasing sale online iris bulbs, and by February, orders were being placed for bearded iris rhizomes from iris farms. This May we are already brimming with blooming irises and visiting iris locations around Oregon. This is the perfect scenario for our art: capturing the process of constructing knowledge about a new (to us) topic. We are starting with, and will be posting about, library research, reference photos, and journaling. Next will be editing photos, painting, stitching, and collaging. Finally we will be assembling representations of the complexity of knowing irises into an art installation, learning activities, and maybe even a book. We’ll see what happens, and post along the way.
From Bulbs to Blooms
The beardless iris bulbs planted in December and January were blooming by March, April and May. Just for fun, we also planted a few dozen bearded iris rhizomes in February, and somehow about half have managed to bloom in under four months. Amazing! Hopefully we can be that productive making art in the months to come.