"I have a really good feeling about this."

I remember having that thought in the fall of 2024 when I learned I'd been selected to participate as an artist in the inaugural PA Wilds Collaborative Series. I'd been a juried Professional Artisan since the days of the PA Wilds Artisan Trail, and enjoyed its growth as it evolved into the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania. The Wilds Cooperative continues to provide wonderful opportunities for me and hundreds of other juried artisans to market our work throughout the PA Wilds via the mission-driven PA Wilds Conservation Shop stores, vendor opportunities, and an online marketplace at Shop.PAWilds.com. But this new Collaborative Series promised an opportunity that involved working directly with a manufacturer chosen by the PA Wilds and located within the thirteen county region of Pennsylvania that makes up this beautiful, remote, creative, entrepreneurial, but oft forgotten part of the state.

I am a painter, very specifically and for the last fourteen years, of Renaissance style animal portraits. However, I have years of experience doing pen and ink illustrative work for posters, playbills, t-shirts, non-profits, and a slew of other unique projects. When I saw the list of four manufacturers that would be matched with four selected artists, I assumed that pen and ink would be the medium I would most likely be working in. I was picturing screen-printable artwork, where color wouldn't necessarily be at play.

There were some wonderful surprises ahead for me:
#1: I was matched with an innovative and deeply creative company called Organic Climbing, which produces functional, durable, and unique outdoor gear from its custom built solar-powered workshop in Philipsburg, PA.
#2: Organic Climbing has access to sublimation printing, a digital printing process that uses heat, pressure, and time to transfer dye onto fabric. This meant I could work in color, which utterly thrilled me! I could paint, rather than draw.

After an initial Zoom meeting with PA Wilds staff and Josh Helke, artist and owner of Organic Climbing, the ball began rolling, and I followed up in late October 2024 with a visit to Organic Climbing's beautiful, bright workshop. Josh and I brainstormed how my artwork could be incorporated into some of his products that would appeal to customers in the PA Wilds Conservation Shops, including a roomy and sturdy tote bag, and some smaller items.

A COLLABORATIVE BUZZ

In early November 2024, the selected artists, two of the four manufacturers, and PA Wilds staff met at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park to brainstorm and discuss what kind of products would meet the needs and desires of shop customers. The creative energy and ideas flying through the air were so exciting and inspiring. We were all buzzing that day.

What appealed to me so much about the Collaborative Series was the aspect that is embodied in its very name: "collaborative." Though most of my personal artistic activity is very solitary, I love working with others on creative projects. This has occurred over the years through many theatrical productions and also arts fusion programs for children. Team playing in creative endeavors is exciting, stimulating, and generally produces results that couldn't have been imagined when the group effort first kicks off. I enjoy and value the ideas that everyone involved in a collaborative effort can bring to the table, and the PA Wilds Collaborative Series did not disappoint. Now that the three artworks that were my responsibility to create are complete, I see in each one of them the input of everyone who I worked with on the project. Each artwork is better, more refined, and more fun than it would have been if sourced from my imagination alone.

IT STARTED WITH THE HELLBENDER

When I applied for the Collaborative Series, I wrote of my interest in creating artwork that would feature the "underdogs of the PA Wilds," starting with the hellbender. Designated as Pennsylvania's state amphibian less than ten years ago, the hellbender is an elusive and vulnerable creature that once thrived in the cold, rocky, swift flowing streams and rivers of Appalachia until persecution by humans and pollution of water ways pushed it to the brink of extinction. They are known as a fresh water indicator species because they breathe through their wrinkly chocolate brown skin. Hellbender repopulation programs have been underway for years, as are efforts to educate the public about how critical the health of our water ways is for hellbenders as well as entire ecosystems. I've been a hellbender fan and advocate for many years, going so far as to sew and sell hundreds of plushie hellbenders as part of my business. I was passionate about starting the project with an image of a hellbender.

The development of each artwork was approached in a particular way. I knew from talking with Josh that the artwork's final dimensions would need to be a certain ratio that would best suit the tote bag (where it would feature on a large patch pocket), so I started with that template. I made pencil sketches to capture my concept for the composition of the image and the inclusion of the PA Wilds logo. These were sent to PA Wilds staff for feedback and approval and then I proceeded on the final artworks, which consumed me for the first two months of 2025.

I painted on a surface I am very familiar with, which is an Ampersand brand artists' panel that is made of a Masonite-like composite coated with a very smooth and durable layer of white gesso. This provides a beautiful smooth surface to work on with the Golden fluid acrylic paints that are my favorite medium.

One of the challenges particular to this project was creating work that could be scaled up or down, with total legibility required for the PA Wilds logo and any text that would be included. Working with these parameters led me to be more creative and flexible as the works evolved, and I also enjoyed the fluidity of the process.

When the final hellbender artwork received approval in mid-January, it was sent off to my friend and colleague Rick Blumquist of SurfaceArt who has scanned and printed my artwork for years. He created a digital file that was formatted exactly to what Josh needed to proceed with the sublimation printing.

MEGA MOTHS AND FIREFLIES

Artwork number #2 was "Mega Moths of the PA Wilds." Just as my advocacy of hellbenders is fueled by a desire to introduce them to people who may have never heard of them, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to create an image that includes some of the beautiful and startlingly large moths that are native to the PA Wilds. The inclusion of synchronous fireflies within this piece
was a wonderful addition that came out of a Zoom brainstorm with staff and two of the other artists.

I submitted two versions of a draft image to the staff for approval, one with the moths' names included and one without. I was really happy that the staff opted for the one that identified the moths individually. Art plus education is a win-win. This was also an opportunity to incorporate a starry night sky, since the PA Wilds is home to the world's second certified International Dark-Sky Park, in Cherry Springs State Park.

CRYPTIDS MAKE AN APPEARANCE

By the second week in February I was ready to jump into the final of three artworks, and this one was the most challenging. Again, when I floated the concept during a Zoom meeting with staff and other Collaborative artists, some key feedback proved to be essential in the development of the art. The final artwork would not look the way it does without the creativity, humor, and vision that was swirling through our Zoom call that day.

I've been a fan of cryptids since childhood, and as a native of the Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds portion of the PA Wilds, I'm no stranger to folks sharing stories of howling, tree knocking, and large, hairy, mysterious silhouettes in this vast forest on our doorsteps. Everyone loves Bigfoot. Only a few years ago, another regional cryptid was introduced to me: the squonk.
I don't know how I lived this long without learning about the squonk, but he's definitely "having a moment" and creeping into public knowledge in my corner of the PA Wilds. The first written account of the squonk was in a 1910 fantasy field guide by William Thomas Cox called Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts. The squonk is described as a perpetually sad, weepy, ugly, saggy-skinned and wart-covered creature that lives in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania.

I thought it would be fun if I could create a visual scenario in which Bigfoot and Squonk, two solitary and evasive creatures, could actually meet and enjoy each other's company. The idea evolved from the two roasting marshmallows over a campfire to having a tea party deep in a hemlock forest. This artwork required quite a bit of tweaking throughout the creation of the concept drawing, from deciding where and how the logo would be incorporated, to inserting just the right text that augmented the woodland tea party. I also did a lot of image gathering of native plant and fungi species to help fill out the woods surrounding the two friends raising a cup of hot
brew. I wanted a very specific pose for Bigfoot, so my 88-year-old dad, whose interesting and diverse book collection introduced me to cryptids and unexplained phenomena as a child, agreed to pose for a reference photo. The text needed a tidy but hand-written aesthetic to it, so I wrote it
out over twenty times before I got a version that I was satisfied with.

Once "Bigfoot and Squonk Having a Tea Party" was completed, approved, and sent off to be scanned and digitized, the process moved into Josh's court and I couldn't wait to see how the artwork would look once transferred to fabric.

IT’S BEEN A JOY

The day Josh sent me images of the printed fabric of the hellbender art, I was ecstatic. The vivid blue-greens of the swirling water surrounding the hellbender came through beautifully.

In April, a pre-launch event was held for the Collaborative Series in St. Marys, and that was my first opportunity to see a finished product from Josh's workshop. The hellbender tote was stunning and I felt so proud to have been part of an effort that was exciting and inspiring every single step of the way. Even more so, I felt gratitude that I had been selected for this pilot program and that I was able to work with such fantastic folks, from the PA Wilds staff, to the other artists, to Josh Helke at Organic Climbing. The nature of this project meant that I took my existing skill set, artistic style, and passion for the wildlife of the PA Wilds and expanded on them to create artwork that I never would have otherwise. It's been a joy.

 

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About the PA Wilds Collaborative Series

The PA Wilds Collaborative Series is a tribute to the creativity and craftsmanship of Pennsylvania’s rural communities. Each product in the collection began with the vision of a local artist, whose designs were then brought to life by skilled regional manufacturers, ensuring that every piece is both inspired by and made in the PA Wilds. Find more information about the program at www.PAWilds.com/collaborative.

Products will be available starting July 24, 2025! Be the first to know when the products are live by signing up for emails here.