Art and the Environment: Three MFA in Art First Years Respond

Renee Calway exhibited her environmentally-focused sculpture at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum "Art & The Ecosystem" event Dec 6, 2025. “Art and The Ecosystem” displayed Calway’s work inside the Frances Plecker Education Center in a program that featured art, talks, and music. The two sculptures by the artist showed the life and death of trees. A tree stump treated with white paint dealt with the death of trees for use as commodities; a sprig growing from a container emphasized the ability of nature to reclaim life.

Brandie Dziegiel, displaying prints and found art sculpture, reached into the charged atmosphere surrounding the spotted lanternfly, the invasive species wreaking havoc on trees and agricultural crops. Her lithograph and screen print “Spotted Lanternfly Nymph” showed in the exhibition “The Pull: Past, Present, and Future of Printmaking” at the Arts Council of Princeton November 15-December 10. SADAH printmaking professor Brett Taylor was also included in the show with his lithograph “Chair Leg.”

Alexandria Searls participated in Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Let There Be Light show on December 6. She and PVCC video students collaborated on an installation called “Water Light” for the outdoor arts festival. “Water Light” shows light being reflected off Dickinson Lake as the sun set. Meanwhile a pedestrian seems to walk upside down in the water, and ripples resemble video feedback and electrical charges. Over 2700 visitors attended the annual event.