Forrest—
Kristin Howe and Marissa Leitch
Forrest is an ongoing collaborative project between artists Marissa Leitch and Kristin Howe that explores the interconnectedness and causality in nature through call-and-response. Their work brings together poetry and prose, photography, printmaking, painting, and other mediums to express and reflect on defined planetary themes, celebrating Earth’s remaining wildness, and the fragility, beauty, and interdependence found there. Inspired by Kristin and Marissa’s own decade-long creative companionship, Forrest is dedicated to and for rest—the state of being creatures of the earth, and the wellspring of self and connection discovered in a quiet moment in nature, unattached to the time or tasks demanded of us by the modern world.
Ice Floe
a milky crystal fallen its meadows dipping into canyon constellations the rivers are idling diamond mirrors as sharp as smashed windshields smeared on these floating anchors these past and future clouds these polar foils luster heaps lunar impressions these lakes in the making where the sea is the soil the white also blue the lantern a breath the runoff its cliff the compass a gull the lion a seal the tourist a sparrow, the bear a bear
—Kristin Howe
Ice Floe, Marissa Leitch
Melt
Piles of memories topple down a mountain
While I sip my cocktail
Ingredients from the world
perfectly positioned for my drink
Sitting in a box with soft objects to rest
Meanwhile it’s still creeping in
No matter what I do to convince myself
Pinch me forever and I might not feel it
But then it’s too late
Drying up like sun on a white shirt
The ice is melting
The water within is withering
Eyes wet while a heart beats fast
Thirst is on its way
It’s only a matter of time in forever
Whatever that means
Past our prime
Not much has changed
We’re still taking her for granted
Glacial patterns etched in rock
Empty glasses dust filled molasses
It’s disappearing and it’s rapid
Continue on to pay the price
Dripping with dread
Convenience drowns sight to bed
—Marissa Leitch
Melt, Kristin Howe
“
Understanding our connection to earth is intrinsically tied to art. Earth provides us our canvas, resources for expression, and peace in silence. Art tells the story of our times. In the current era, the only responsible way to be an artist is through the lens of intersectional environmental activism.
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Forrest