Dani Davis

Wren in the Cattails

I am a student of ecology. I always have been and believe that I always will be. My obsession with the natural world, its creatures, connections, and dynamism, has kept me rapt with fascination since my early days. This obsession has carried me to wander deserts, ascend mountains, climb through underwater caverns, and wade through flooded forests, gathering inspiration and growing my passion. It has also drawn me to pursue science as a graduate student, where I study the linkages between the ocean, our beaches, and coastline restoration. But the data are not the end. Through printmaking, painting, photography, and videography, creativity has accompanied, informed, and inspired my science. And my science has inspired my creative process; neither exist apart from one another.

I am a printmaker who believes that art and science are not disjunct disciplines but exist on the same continuum. Together, they create a feedback loop of inspiration and motivation to spur discoveries and motivate change. I focus my printmaking on highlighting the threatened and endangered species that live alongside us in Florida. I see the process of printmaking as an analog to the conservation process, whereby both consist of a process of steps that yield specific challenges. Composing and drawing the image represents the creativity and challenge of crafting a restoration plan. The carving depicts the often very physically demanding act of carrying out the restoration initiatives. The final act of printing and peeling back the image from the block represents the monitoring and observations of the species after the restoration plan. Both mirror the previous step, highlighting the successes and failures of the action, and will either produce something beautiful or inform the next try. I hope to raise awareness of the threatened and endangered species that live alongside us. “Wren in the Cattails” is a hand-carved and hand-printed linoleum print of a Marian’s Marsh Wren in a cattail marsh. Below swim two saltmarsh topminnows navigating the cattail leaves. Both are threatened Florida species.