Susan Campbell
• foldable artist books with original poems •
When I began thinking about creating work for this project, Boreal Echoes, I realized I was still ruminating on ideas that were generated during our 2022 ITOC project, Boreal Forest Stories. As a writer and an artist in that project, the poetry and visual art I created were separate from each other. For Boreal Echoes, I wanted to continue my explorations and incorporate original poems into my visual art pieces.
I am drawn to trees. Shaped by ice, fire, water, snow, permafrost, human activity, and climate, the trees of the taiga (the boreal forest) are continually weaving a story of life, death, and regeneration. The poems in this collection were inspired by what I learned listening to various ITOC scientists talk about trees and their vital role in the health of the boreal ecosystem. Michelle Mack, Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at Northern Arizona University, shared an evocative presentation about climate change and forest fires that propelled me to seek more information. Conversations with Hélène Genet, Associate Professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology were inspiring. Her work on phenology and climate change, along with her enthusiasm for sharing it, sparked my curiosity and influenced my poetry.
When I am in the forest, I inhabit an attentive space. Likewise, as I created homes for these poems in foldable artist book structures, I felt engaged in an intimate conversation with the boreal forest. Each artist book is embellished using a stencil technique called pochoir. I designed images to accompany each poem, drew them on mylar, carefully cut them out, and then used gouache (opaque watercolors) to add color.
SUSAN CAMPBELL
Susan Campbell arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska thirty-five years ago and found home. An avid outdoor adventurer, she writes poetry and creates artist books inspired by her explorations of northern landscapes. Along with traditional and nontraditional bookmaking materials, her artist books incorporate original poetry and found objects that reflect her astonishment and connection to the natural world. The Alaska State Museum and the University of Alaska Rasmuson Library Rare Books Collection own some of her pieces. Her poetry has been published in various journals and anthologies.
