Balance of Disturbance

Some pieces take a while to leave your head. This one took up permanent residence.

I created Balance of Disturbance after spending five days as an Artist in Residence at Point Pelee National Park, surrounded by the marshes, savannahs, wildlife, and constantly changing landscape of one of Canada's most ecologically unique places.

That experience left me thinking about the idea of disturbance, and how complicated it can be. In nature, change isn't always destruction. Species adapt, compete, coexist, and sometimes become part of a landscape in ways we never expected.

This piece was created to explore that tension.

At the centre is a triangle inspired by the southernmost tip of mainland Canada, representing change and direction. Within it sits a painted turtle shell, symbolizing longevity and grounding in the marsh, surrounded by spatterdock and blue flag iris, both native species found at Point Pelee.

The left side represents the savannah, with prickly pear cactus, white mulberry, and white clover. The right represents the marsh, with phragmites and purple loosestrife. Bringing these species together allowed me to explore the complicated relationship between native and invasive plants, and to challenge the idea that every introduced species can simply be labelled as good or bad.

The lower half of the piece carries that idea of transformation further.

Red-winged blackbird wings stretch outward from the centre, but look closely and you'll see that they begin as chinquapin oak leaves, gradually transforming into feathers as they fan outward. The transition represents adaptation, identity, and the way species and landscapes continually shape one another.

Every element is a reflection of something I encountered, considered, or learned during my time at Point Pelee. What began as five days of observing a landscape became a piece about resilience, adaptation, coexistence, and the constant tension between change and preservation.

Handcrafted from hardwood through detailed scroll saw and woodworking techniques, Balance of Disturbance is my interpretation of a place that reminded me that nature rarely stays still.

Sometimes disturbance is destructive. Sometimes it creates opportunity. And sometimes, what doesn't seem to belong becomes part of the story.