In the field with weeds: Artisanal strategies for art and ecology

Each passing season brings new technological opportunities to both ecology fieldwork and artistic practice. Drones, 3-D modeling, big data and GPS tracking have been adopted by both fields. As an artist collaborating with ecologists, I employ fieldwork tactics (like plant population surveys) and traditional artistic strategies (like hand-making watercolor paints from plants). I wonder what we gain and lose as we invite machines to mediate our processes of production. While telling the story of my journey from collecting flower petals to harvesting data on urban plant communities, I muse on the role of artisanal approaches in each field.