MARIA RENéE JOHNSON

To put it simply: I am fascinated by connection and most of what I do circles around that point. What I create emerges from practices of deep listening, intuition, dreaming, walking, grieving  and cultivating relationship with places and their inhabitants. Though I am informed by my background in conservation and environmental + social sciences, the way I experience the world is through an animist understanding. From this perspective, much of my work is reflective of ecological relationships and the teachings they offer to human beings about how we can better exist in reciprocity and respect with the living world. The ecosystems who nurture and teach us, the human and more-than-human beings in my life, and the great patterns, processes, and liminal spaces are gifts, reflecting that we belong here, but have forgotten -- or been separated from -- our place.

What I do is for them and it is for you.

Much of my visual art takes the form of black and white ink drawing using a stippling technique resulting in thousands of tiny dots. It is a meditative reflection on connectivity: a multitude of entities, all equal in importance, collaborating together to create one whole. Other creative pursuits include intuitive writing, mural painting, and watercolor. My art has been shown at a number of venues including the University of Arizona Museum of Art, Saguaro National Park, the Natural History Institute, and the Corvallis Arts Center as well as published in scientific journals, magazines such as Edible Baja Arizona, and online spaces including Terrain.org.