All around us, the beauty of the natural landscape is shaped and reshaped by the living creatures, natural and unnatural forces who call this place home. In Smelly Aesthetics, we will explore the odorous dimensions of plants, the way they harness scent to communicate amongst themselves, and influence the world of creatures around them.
A walking tour of Mawignack Preserve will mix storytelling and sensory exercises to attune our awareness to different plant communities within the landscape. We’ll consider scent from the perspective of humans, plants, and insects.
The tour will be followed by a hands-on workshop, where we will responsibly harvest Mugwort onsite, to weave into aromatic smudges, wall hangings, or crowns. Participants will be able to take home their creations.
This workshop is geared towards an adult audience. It is part of a larger body of research and creative inquiry conducted by the artist. Participants will be asked to offer feedback and reflections about their experience to inform future workshops. Photos from the event may be used in publications and presentations of the artist’s work.
Advanced registration is required.
About the Inhabiting Landscape Workshop Series
Inhabiting Landscape is a series of workshops and walking tours created by Leslie Ruckman in partnership with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, the Greene Land Trust, and Scenic Hudson. Located at the Mawignack Preserve in the town of Catskill, NY, the series explores the many ways in which landscapes are dynamic reflections of their inhabitants. Landscapes are made and remade by relationships between living creatures, natural, and unnatural forces.
While we most often appreciate landscapes for their visual beauty on the whole, there are a host of other dimensions we might consider. To inhabit a landscape is to be amongst it, experiencing with your full being. Each workshop will focus on an often overlooked dimension of landscape – soggy, smelly, or airborne. The goal is to provide participants with tools to attune to their surroundings and deepen their relation to place.
The Inhabiting Landscape Workshop Series is supported by David Bury and The Bay and Paul Foundations.
About Leslie Ruckman
Leslie Ruckman (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary designer and researcher. Her work merges art and science to foster unexpected connections with the natural world. Living in New York’s Hudson Valley, she nurtures birds, bees, and pollinator habitats, integrating these experiences into her artistic projects. Leslie is pursuing a doctorate at RMIT and teaches at NYU’s Tisch School. Her work has been featured at Pioneer Works, Governor’s Island, Science Gallery Detroit, and NYCxDesign Festival among others.
