It’s nearly impossible to miss the natural beauty of Illinois State University’s campus, whether you’re surrounded by thousands of trees in the Fell Arboretum or walking through towering native prairie grass at the Horticulture Center.
For this year’s annual Autumnal Festival, held September 14-15 at the Horticulture Center in north Normal, event organizers are leaning into the University’s intrinsic beauty with the theme “Awestruck: The Wonder of Nature,” designed to inspire visitors with marvels of the natural world through captivating botanical, artistic, and natural exhibits.
To bring this theme to life, the center partnered with two student artists-in-residence who created outdoor art installations and sculptures for the Autumnal Festival. Jessica Chambers, director of the Horticulture Center, spearheaded the new Grant Walsh Student Artist-in-Residence program, which pays tribute to the late alum’s passion for art and nature.
“Awe is both a science and an emotion,” Chambers said. “Why do we go to national parks? We’re together. There’s a sense of awe. It’s about well-being, about being together and being in nature.”
“I realized that being awestruck by nature doesn’t have to be about the most exotic place in the world. It’s more about the everyday moments you experience, whether it’s watching trees or plants move with the wind or change over the seasons, flipping over a rock in your yard, or simply encountering flourishing plants on a walk—that’s all it takes.”
Shaylee Adkins, Grant Walsh artist-in-residence
Senior Bachelor of Fine Arts student Shaylee Adkins and Master of Fine Arts student Ilse Miller were selected as the first Grant Walsh artists-in-residence. They were tasked with capturing the sense of awe that people experience when immersed in nature.
“This was the first residency I’ve ever applied to, so I thought there’s no way I was going to get it,” said Adkins, selected as the primary artist in residence. “I worked really hard the previous year putting my portfolio together and wanted to do something to honor Grant.”
Being awestruck by nature can have different meanings for different people. That’s why Adkins interviewed a range of people about their personal moments of awe in nature, aiming to include all these perspectives in her final print piece.
“I realized that being awestruck by nature doesn’t have to be about the most exotic place in the world. It’s more about the everyday moments you experience, whether it’s watching trees or plants move with the wind or change over the seasons, flipping over a rock in your yard, or simply encountering flourishing plants on a walk—that’s all it takes,” Adkins said.
For the residency, Adkins created art using a reductive woodcut technique. This involves carving into wood, then pressing it onto a surface to create an image. It’s a labor-intensive process.
“Printmaking is not a very common art form,” Adkins said. “My finished print may look a little strange when you first see it, but that’s because it represents a collection of experiences all in one piece.”
Miller chose to create sculptures with clay, drawing significant inspiration from the Bloomington-Normal community.
“The idea of being awestruck by nature is something I experience all the time in Bloomington-Normal,” said Miller, a native of Oak Park. “It is not until living here that I have felt regular access to natural settings.”
During her residency, Miller created a nearly 3-foot-wide clay oak leaf, which will be placed beneath an oak tree at the Horticulture Center.
“The sculpture I have been working on for this project is of fallen leaves. It’s in honor of Grant Walsh, and I consider it a symbol of the life cycle,” Miller said. “I did not get the honor of knowing Grant personally, but my impression from what I hear about him is that he was quick to feel awe as well.”
Chambers said, through additional fundraising, she hopes to make the residency program an annual tradition.
“Working with (the Wonsook Kim College of) Fine Arts is always amazing. You can just see the excitement of (the artists-in-residence). The fact that the Horticulture Center can help in any way is priceless,” Chambers said.
Ultimately, the residency is intended to honor Walsh’s memory. Walsh, who earned a degree in studio arts from Illinois State in 2013, worked at the Horticulture Center as a student and, in 2009, created a series of garden sculptures for an independent study project with Chambers.
“I think if Grant knew what was happening, he would be proud. That’s probably what means the most,” Chambers said.
You can see finished pieces created by Adkins and Miller unveiled at the 19th Annual Autumnal Festival at the Horticulture Center from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Activities will include roasting s’mores, prairie rides, kite flying, hayrack rides, a “wonder lab,” and a silent auction.
Tickets for the Autumnal Festival, the Horticulture Center’s primary annual fundraiser, can be purchased online and are $10 for ages 13 and up, $5 for ages 3-12, and free for ages 2 and under.
