ecological art
exploring some of the oldest materials used by humans for expression and communication, such as charcoal, mineral pigments, and clay.
Why ecological art?
Our relationship with the natural world as humans is complicated, to say the least. We all yearn to feel connected to something greater than ourselves — something which explains why we’re here and what our purpose is. For this artist, nature is that answer.
Art is a powerful way to move its viewers in a deep and meaningful way. It can stir empathy, connection, and new perceptions of the world around us. And our perceptions inform our behaviors. If our perceptions of the natural world impact how we interact with it, and art changes our perceptions, then
art is a tool for ecological regeneration and human health.
where ecology and the arts intersect
Artist Biography
Juniper Vaughn is an interdisciplinary artist researching earth sciences and human-ecological wellness and is based in northern New Mexico. She refers to her work as “Ecological Arts” since both it and the field of Ecology explore patterns and relationships between systems of living and nonliving things. By working with site-specific materials, such as soils and rocks for pigments, her work offers perspectives which can deepen and expand our appreciation and interaction with the natural world. Her educational background allows her to be a bridge between environmental sciences and the arts, using the arts — with an emphasis on the materials — as an instrument to incite more awareness, understanding, and reverence for life.
Juniper was born and raised in rural Texas and received a scholarship award in Fine Arts from Midwestern State University in 2017 but went on to study environmental sciences. She is currently a online student working toward a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health & Wellness Management from Unity Environmental University and will graduate in the Fall of 2024. Using this training as well as her skills and experience in art, she is taking steps toward starting the “Ecological Arts Project”, which would eventually provide a research space where artists could connect their work to the natural world by regeneratively harvesting, mining, and crafting their own materials, and then processing and working with them on site. Her work has been exhibited at Midwestern State University, Austin Community College in Texas, the Harwood Museum of Art, and most recently, in the “Devotion” group exhibition at Omnihum Gallery in Taos, New Mexico, where she was an artist in residence from March-June 2024.
