"Illinois Prairie Screen"

This is a folding screen that I was hired to design and co-ordinate with students from high schools in Lake Forest and Waukegan, Illinois.  My employer was Openlands Nature Center in Lake Forest.  It was begun the weekend following 9-11.  I remember feeling the comfort of the tall prairie grasses as I was walking through with students to do sketches in preparation for this project and at the same time feeling like a soon-to-be-endangered species. Collaborating with students on this screen at the Center provided a healing atmosphere for all of us.  After completion it was taken to several banks, schools, and libraries in the Lake Forest area in order to educate the public as to what plants, animals and birds can be found in the Illinois woodlands and prairies.