Embracing the Flood: On the Confluence of Science, Art & Faith

“Meander”, hand dyed and stitched fabric

I’ve been reflecting on an invited sermon I gave to the Mt. Mansfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in my town yesterday where I shared the story of my transition from river ecologist to artist and thoughts on the intersection of science, art and faith. Beforehand, I was feeling apprehensive about sharing a personal story, wondering how, in the wake of everything going on in Minnesota, in our country, on our earth - how would anything from my sheltered existence be relevant to this moment in time? But afterwards, I was comforted by the openness of the congregation in sharing with me the ways in which my story resonated in their own lives, and also the new windows of thought it had opened in their minds. And I realized then that the importance in sharing anything personal is the fostering of connection and compassion, which is actually extremely relevant in this moment in history. I also reflected on my own tendency to separate my life into different parts and identities: “when I was a scientist”, “when I was an artist”... but those markers are like lines on a map - informative, but also artificial divisions in time and space, and it’s actually just one continuous life where I am all of those things and many more. Maybe it’s a splitters vs. lumpers thing, and of course individual identities are important, but I’m feeling like this is a moment for the lumpers. I am a human earthling and so are you - that’s some common ground - let’s just start from there. If you’re interested in hearing the sermon, a recording is available online here: https://youtu.be/bNgkt8CDbUo

Image: detail from a fluvial geomorphology series I did in fabric many years ago