companion planting - corn, beans & squash - 8" x 10" print

“Science asks us to learn about organisms. Traditional knowledge asks us to learn from them”. -Robin Wall Kimmerer

This artwork is from a 2022 wall calendar project and is exploring how change happens in the more-than-human world. What is the pace? What is the scale? The catalysts, the intelligence, the resources? The plants and animals are powerful teachers and offer abundant examples of how, specifically, to practice a cooperative, interconnected life. Here I explore examples of Pollination (sharing), Metamorphosis (forming), Germination (growing), and Decomposition (Dying). Each monthly page includes a few questions about how these examples might translate to human experiences.

Germination: GROWTH. COMPANION PLANTING. CORN, BEANS, & SQUASH. This interdependent growth relationship is grounded in Indigenous knowledge. Corn is a living support trellis and protective shady umbrella. It provides sugars to feed the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the bean roots. The bean bacteria captures atmospheric nitrogen and converts it to plant usable nitrogen. Squash functions as living mulch that shades soil, helps retain moisture, and inhibits weeds. What lives near you and offers you nourishment and protection? What care do you offer in return?