25.5″x19.5″ Pencil and pen In Collaboration with Dr. Ashley Lemke, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Growing up in North-East Wisconsin has always meant Door County was only a short drive away on any given weekend. My childhood memories are peppered with the chilly breeze of Lake Michigan and scenic bluffs eroded by eons of crashing waves. The peninsula carries a history, the water it borders even more so. The frigid temperatures of Lake Michigan hold fossilized clues to a time before records, fragments key to understanding the lives of prehistoric humans. In creating this piece, I wanted to display the innate beauty of how human connection can surpass time itself through the lens of nature and our harmony in it. The idea that we as humans can find comfort in the knowledge that many lives have lived before us and many will persist after us is captivatingly beautiful in such a tender and very human way.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Marna Andre is a student at UW-Stevens Point.
ABOUT THE WATER PARTNER
Ashley Lemke is an archaeologist and an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan. An expert on submerged ancient sites, she has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Her books include Anthropological Archaeology Underwater and The Architecture of Hunting. She has directed research projects in North America and below its waters, including in the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean. She has conducted archaeological research in Europe in Germany, Spain, Romania, and Serbia. Lemke collaborates with Computer Scientists to explore applications of virtual worlds, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality for archaeological research and discovery. She previously taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Outstanding Teaching Award for Tenure Track Faculty, and was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Lemke is a past chair of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology and Fellow of The Explorers Club.