Minnetrista is not only a cultural center in Muncie, but it also marks the meeting point for Ball State students and nature.
Landscape architecture students have constructed art projects at Minnetrista as a way to gain experience and become more in-tune with their natural surroundings.
"We're so lucky that Minnetrista has so many different environmental systems," Instructor Cindy McHone said. She began the project four years ago, and has continued the site design class as a way for students to appreciate nature.
"The first time we did this was right after September 11," McHone said. "It was good for students to work out in nature and get an intimate understanding of a place."
Assistant Professor Chris Marlow believes that this project is important to architecture students to learn first-hand what it is like working outside. "The project is for students of landscape architecture to fit their pieces into nature, and to only use natural materials," he said. "Each student is left in a place to gain inspiration."
The students were placed into pairs and dropped off at different "eco tones," or natural environments, to become inspired to create pieces of environmental art. As the projects neared completion, the students were forced to make last-minute changes in order to successfully build their designs.
"It's about trial and error," Sophomore Emily Burton said. She and her partner, sophomore Josh Keen, have been constructing three spheres representing man's evolution. The location of the art is in the very same spot where Keen and Burton gained their inspiration. They based their creation on the water and decided to make their spheres appear to be descending down the slope toward the wetlands.
"It represents man's evolution," Keen said. "The spheres have more life and more color as they get closer to the water," he said.
Although Keen and Burton have learned a lot through the making of their plans and designs, the best experience is what they learned while out on the site.
"You try something, and if it doesn't work, you try something else," Keen said. "We've learned how to really become inspired from a landscape, and to incorporate our own ideas with the plants and see what works."
The project allowed the students to build from their inspirations. After coming up with an idea, they had to research different eco tones to find which materials to use and decide what each of their individual locations would allow them to do.
In doing their research, most architecture students found architects Andy Goldsworthy and Patrick Doherty to be helpful in throughout the duration of their site designs. Doherty even came to give a presentation to the students.
Another pair of students, sophomore Karen Deutschman and second-year architecture student Jessica Seale constructed five different art pieces that represent the five stages of life.
"We were only [at our eco tone] for about 30 minutes, but it took a long time to come up with the final idea," Seale said. "The real credit goes to Patrick Doherty."
Tim Boswell and Tyler Faye constructed their design almost completely out of rocks. The pair researched the history of Minnetrista, and their art represents the rock quarry that used to be where the cultural center currently is.
"It represents how the rocks moved over time. It was a junk-yard rock quarry, and we want to show how it moved over time. We want to have life coming out of it," Tim said.
They really emphasized the importance of the rocks in their construction, and the light coming through the trees.
"We want to capture the sun interacting with the site," Tyler said.
Nicole Sawyer and Joel Tatum were inspired by the water at their location. Their project consists of four floating frames to sit on the surface of the water and show the viewers the fish they saw the day they were inspired.
"We want to pull your eyes down to the water," Sophomore Tatum said.
The frames were made out of pieces of pine, maple, tree seed pods and tall brush. The pair also made a lily pad out of cattails woven together. They used hemp to attach all of the different parts because only natural materials can be used to construct the environmental art.
Although students are permitted to collect their materials at Minnetrista, they must leave a plentiful supply. Joel drove an hour and a half back home in order to acquire the necessary supplies for the construction.
"You can take things from [Minnetrista], but you can't take all of something," Joel said. "So we didn't want to harvest the seed pods and cattails here."
Minnetrista provides Muncie with history and culture, but now it provides environmental art to be viewed by the public. The exhibit is open from September 19 through October 21. Through the on-site construction of environmental art, landscape architecture students have gained first-hand experience, and have become more in-touch with nature.
McHone emphasizes the importance of students taking their ideas and making them physical. "Some of these kids have never waded in a pond, played in the woods or built things," she said. "This project allows them to do that."
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