Beginning in spring, amid the dip nets and wader-clad researchers at Trout Lake Limnology Station in Boulder Junction, artists Mary Burns (Manitowish) and Debra Jircik (Eagle River) experimented with numerous natural dyes (e.g., goldenrod, cochineal, and indigo) using water from lakes of different chemistry. They then created display boards with strips of dyed wool and silk in hues ranging from a deep yellow to rusty magenta and rich brown. Most striking was the difference in colors rendered from northern lakes and from Lake Mendota. They analyzed the colors at the local Ace Hardware’s paint department.
When Mary Burns displayed the sample boards in her weaving studio last summer, visitors were fascinated and engaged in lengthy conversations on the science of lakes. Scientists at Trout Lake were intrigued—they pondered what chemical reactions were involved and how to chart the fabric “data.” They even took the display to “Science in the Northwoods,” a conference for 100 researchers working in northern Wisconsin and nearby Upper Peninsula
When Mary Burns displayed the sample boards in her weaving studio last summer, visitors were fascinated and engaged in lengthy conversations on the science of lakes. Scientists at Trout Lake were intrigued—they pondered what chemical reactions were involved and how to chart the fabric “data.” They even took the display to “Science in the Northwoods,” a conference for 100 researchers working in northern Wisconsin and nearby Upper Peninsula
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