Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes
July 13 – August 31, 2025
Brushwood Center presents a new exhibition, Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. It is presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum to explore perspectives on art and nature in association with their summer exhibition featuring acclaimed botanical artist Rory McEwen, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature.
Rooted in the Shadow of Coal embraces the tradition of botanical art while expanding to include a wider range of artists and media, all focused on the resilient plants of the Waukegan Dunes. Each artwork in the show includes a reference to at least one, and sometimes several, of these botanical wonders. What has proximity to pollution done to the site? What does it mean to have this surviving and thriving natural environment next to coal ash ponds? In this exhibition, botanical art becomes a lens to consider health, equity, and nature.
Exhibition Events
Opening Reception
July 13, 2025
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Black Moon Trio at Driehaus Museum
The Great Lakes: Our Freshwater Treasure
July 16, 2025
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Botanical Art Workshops with Heeyoung Kim
Three Workshops: Drawing, Color, and Pollinators
July 25, 26, 27, 2025
The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Artists
Beverly Behrens · Sharon Bladholm · Alexandra Blom · Jonathan Boyer · Curtis Anthony Bozif · Melissa Brummerstedt
Sinead Carus · Louise Daley · Megan Donahue · Royce Galindo · Kathleen Marie Garness · Polly Greathouse
Allison Hausladen · Catherine Hu · Ruth Hutter · Gillian Jackson · Josie Levin · Phyllis Levun-Agostino · Christina Lovering
Carol Luc · Erin McNamara · Carol Niec · Lindsay Olson · Katelyn Patton · Melissa Pierson · Amy Rosenwasser
Betty Schulte · Jane L. Sturgeon · Liliane Tran · Ellie Wasilewski · Maryann Wattelle · Amy F. Williamson
Persistence and Fragility, the Importance of Place, Christina Lovering
Wild Iris 1, Jonathan Boyer
Monarda fistulosa, Gillian Jackson
The Milkweeds — Winter Sentinels, Beverly Behrens
Additional Resources
Health, Nature, and Equity: A Changing Climate in Lake County, Illinois
