I had the luxury of spending many hours observing two places dear to my heart. The first was First Encounter Beach in Eastham, MA, for much of 2014. The second a beaver swamp near my home. from January 1, 2015- December 14, 2015, as part of my MFA-IA thesis. It was here that I learned much about what has turned into my notion that seeing with my hands as naturalist artist becomes a way to give agency to a landscape in a way that makes learning about what it’s “tales” are accessible. Thich Nhat Hanh says that the exploration of the scientist and exploration of the meditator are one in the same as they are searches for the truth. For me this form of art has always been a meditation and search for a visual truth. The questions raised as silence replaces a monkey mind become trail markers for research.