“Maine Farmlands Harvest” is a series of wall-mounted sound sculptures that are viewer activated and emit site specific sounds. In building these sculptures I use fruits and vegetables grown on Maine Farmland Trust Forever Farms to make papyrus that I then craft into audio speakers. A pattern of concentric circles of conductive thread is mounted onto the papyrus and connected to a micro-controller. A small earth magnet is seated on the coil of conductive thread. When a viewer presses the colorful button, an audio signal is sent from the micro-controller via the conductive thread. In response, the magnet vibrates, causing a sympathetic vibration of the membrane of the papyrus, sounding prerecorded audio that has been stored on the micro-controller. The plant fiber then acts as an audio speaker. The prerecorded audio comes from field recordings gathered on farms in southern and midcoast Maine during my residency at the Fiore Art Center in Jefferson, Maine.

Sound Study #3 (Radish Red Thrasher)

2020

Sound Sculpture

Vegetable papyrus, ebony, compact electronic components, audio (hops thrasher)

11″ x 10.5″ x 3″

The audio in this piece is an excerpt from field recordings at Alna Hopyard and Farm, where I spent a day with hops farmer, Mike Barker. Together, we recorded the sounds of his hops thrasher, a restored mechanical wonder that strums and charmingly sings.

2020

Sound Sculpture

Vegetable papyrus, ebony, compact electronic components, audio (ambient sounds from Sheepscot General Store and Farm)

11″ x 10.5″ x 3″

2020

Sound Sculpture

Vegetable papyrus, ebony, compact electronic components, audio (ambient sounds from Rolling Acres Farm on Damariscotta Lake)

11″ x 10.5″ x 3″