NATIVE GRASSES OF THE APACHE HIGHLANDS
THE FOLIO SUITE
A portfolio of 12 prints of native grasses, half size (22 x 30 inches), accompanied by a title page, a frontispiece overview, a map, and an interpretive key, enclosed in a custom clamshell case. Prints are limited to editions of 30 each, printed with archival inks by Epson onto Arches watercolor paper, 365 gsm. cold press.
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INTRODUCTION
Of all the plant systems that nature has given us, none are so common to our lives, yet underappreciated, as the grasses. Whether it is a manicured lawn in suburbia or a tall-grass prairie in the midwest, we tend to overlook the diversity and homogenize the many branches of this plant family into one simplified category: grass. While modern agriculture has done its best to impose the mentality of monoculture on our knowledge of the natural world, the lesson that keeps re-emerging, both from the failures of science and from the successes of wild nature, is that stability lies in diversity. And diversity, in all of its mystery, is what the grasses can teach us to see.
These portraits of native grasses are direct impressions from nature, made using a high resolution flatbed scanner, and a digital inkjet printer. They are printed onto full sheets of Arches watercolor paper. All materials are fully archival. The inspiration for each image begins with collecting the specimen – a process of exploration into the grasslands landscape during different moments of the growing season. Through observation over time, the language of these intricate characters begins to reveal itself, illuminating the dynamics of growth and healing. Each individual has a story to tell about adaptation and resilience. This folio represents work spanning a four year period. All imagery was collected and prepared for printing by Matilda Essig at her Arizona studio.