Join us in an artistic ode to the unique ecosystems of the Sierra! In this class, we will explore the breadth of species that reside in the wilderness areas surrounding Bishop through stamp-making.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to create mini stamps of species found in the surrounding wilderness areas from mountain yellow-legged frogs to California golden trout. What is wilderness? What role does biodiversity play in wilderness? Or what on earth is abronia alpina? We will dive into these questions and more while gaining technical printmaking skills.
Our collective prints will come together as a collaborative stamp collage, representative of the complex ecosystems within the Sierra. Participants can take their stamps home to print more of these wild species onto love letters, grocery lists, important paperwork, and more.
Ages 13+
About the Instructor:
Jessie Sheldon was the 2024 Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence in Alaska's Nellie Juan-College Fiord Wilderness Study Area, hosted by Chugach National Forest. In this residency, she got to ponder the relationship between wilderness and art for weeks on end while working alongside wilderness managers. This may have included picking up a lot of slugs.
Jessie is passionate about the confluence of art and the environment, and how each field has the ability to enhance the other.
Her biggest art piece to date can be found in Lone Pine in the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center, in a mural celebrating the unique landscapes and ecosystems surrounding the Owens Valley.
Jessie finds joy carving prints, ice skating on frozen lakes, bushwhacking, and swimming in cold water.
