To illustrate the rich ecosystem of the South Carolina salt marsh, I created six loosely referential paintings of textures found at two separate marsh landscapes, three from downtown Charleston (Longborough), and three from James Island (Fort Johnson). In order to create these images, I collected wet pluff mud from both of the areas, dried it and ground it back into sand. I mixed that sand with various binders as well as gouache paint in order to use materials from the earth itself in my work, creating texture while bringing context and place to the art.The choice to use sand from the source of the paintings invites the viewer to consider each individual grain as part of a larger network that sustains life within the mud itself and in the waters surrounding it. Spartina grass, one of the few plants able to grow in the saltwater marsh, has deep, strong roots that allow it to be anchored in pluff mud. When the grass dies back in the fall, it is decomposed into detritus, which acts as the beginning of the food chain in the salt marsh as it nourishes zooplankton, shellfish, snails, and more. Therefore, pluff mud is extremely critical to all life in the marsh, and each piece of mud, or grain of sand from the mud, has a history of many living beings. By painting with these sands, I am able to contextualize my work and represent the history and importance behind the images we see.
The locations I visited to collect the sands have strong importance to me and were places I frequently explored as a child. By looking at the earth so low to the ground, the paintings are almost created from a child’s perspective. I channeled my childlike wonder into my creation of the work, by slowing down, changing my point of view, and looking back down at the landscape. I allowed myself to be captivated by the land and absorbed every aspect of life as I once did during my childhood marsh explorations. This might evoke the desire to look down in a viewer, to change their point of view and to make them curious about the small things again. Furthermore, I created these with sand, bringing to mind playing in the pluff mud and making art with one’s hands. In this sense, it is connected even further to my childhood. After I realized this connection, it made me more aware of the textures of the mud and what I was looking at, because I considered how I would have approached this project as a child. I was able to connect with the land through my art’s connection to my childhood self. The project became incredibly personal yet is a collection that I hope many could enjoy by connecting others to the marshland in a similar way as me.