{"id":4485,"date":"2026-02-11T13:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T20:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4485"},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T20:58:00","slug":"along-the-mississippi-river-water-craft-is-a-confluence-of-art-culture-and-ecology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4485","title":{"rendered":"Along the Mississippi River, \u2018Water | Craft\u2019 Is a Confluence of Art, Culture, and Ecology"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Along<\/p>\n

When we think of terms like \u201cflowing\u201d or \u201cfluid,\u201d we could be referring to the nature of water, but we can also just as easily apply these concepts to our understanding of art and craft. Fabrics \u201cpool\u201d and different mediums converge. The nature of creativity is often referred to in terms of an \u201cebb and flow.\u201d Ecologically speaking, bodies of water are metaphorically woven into the fabric of our planet. Rivers and lakes sustain an abundance of life, shape cultures, and course through history. Amid the ongoing climate crisis, how do artists express concerns about water and the environment?<\/p>\n

Water | Craft<\/em>, a group exhibition at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum<\/a>, dives into this question. The museum itself is situated on the banks of the Mississippi River and often directly engages with its expansive biological and cultural reach. Works by seven artists, whose practices incorporate weaving, pottery, basketry, glass, and textile arts, directly interface with contemporary issues of water access and cultural preservation amid climate change.<\/p>\n

\"A
Sarah Sense, \u201cLand, Lines, Blood, Memory 7\u201d (detail) (2026), archival inkjet prints on Hahnemuhle bamboo paper and Hahnemuhle rice paper, wax, Arches watercolour paper, cotton thread, and artist tape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colossal readers may be familiar with the mixed-media pieces of Tali Weinberg<\/a> and Nicole McLaughlin<\/a>, both of whom combine quantities of colorful thread with other materials in meditations on interconnectivity and multi-disciplinarity. Weinberg translates ecological data into tendril-like installations and abstract weavings, such as a series of three pieces from her Climate Datascapes <\/em>series that visualize information about silt in the Upper Mississippi River. McLaughlin\u2019s dramatically fringed ceramic platters reference Pre-Columbian cultures and the continuum of human history and time.<\/p>\n

Water | Craft <\/em>also includes works by Rowland Ricketts, Sarah Sense, Therman Statom, Kelly Church, and Tanya Agui\u00f1iga. The latter is known for her intricately knotted wall works containing terracotta forms, which cascade gently to the floor. And Ricketts\u2019 large-scale installation, \u201cBow,\u201d comprises strands of indigo-dyed linen that suspend within a large gallery space, creating the effect of a current or perhaps the silhouette of a boat.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as water flows through bodies, landscapes, and cultural histories, craft knowledge is passed between generations, carrying technical skills alongside cultural values,\u201d the museum says. \u201cThe artists in Water | Craft<\/em> employ traditional methods not as nostalgic gestures, but as living practices that continue to evolve in response to environmental change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Water | Craft <\/em>continues through December 27 in Winona.<\/p>\n

\"An
Tanya Agui\u00f1iga, \u201cInternal Body I\u201d (2023), fiber, terracotta, and mixed media. Images courtesy of Volume Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Tanya Agui\u00f1iga, \u201cInternal Body I\u201d (detail). Image courtesy of Volume Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Therman Statom, \u201cPesca de la Noche\u201d (2015), glass, mixed-media. Photo by Bailey Bolton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Tali Weinberg, \u201cSilt Studies: Upper Mississippi River Basin\u201d (2021), from the \u2018Climate Datascapes\u2019 series, woven fiber, plant-derived dyes, medical tubing, and fishing line. Photo by Bailey Bolton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An
Rowland Ricketts, \u201cBow\u201d (MMAM installation view) (2023), indigo-dyed linen. Photo by Bailey Bolton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Nicole McLaughlin, \u201cConfluencia (Confluence)\u201d (detail)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Along the Mississippi River, \u2018Water | Craft\u2019 Is a Confluence of Art, Culture, and Ecology<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we think of terms like \u201cflowing\u201d or \u201cfluid,\u201d we could be referring to the nature of water, but we can also just as easily apply these concepts to our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}