Beating Invasives
Beating Invasives is an ongoing project that began in 2015…
Beating Invasives is an ongoing public participatory project originally designed for the Riverside Art Museum’s, “Art Make.” Invasive plants were removed, and then pulped with the help of the public in a bicycle powered portable hollander beater designed and fabricated specifically for the event. The pulp was then used to make paper. After drying it was cut into tags and letterpress printed with plantright.org to help spread the word about planting natives. The tags were then covertly placed on invasive plants sold at local big box home improvement stores. The equipment used in the work, and the ephemera created was later exhibited in, “Happenings” at the Riverside Art Museum in 2015.
The latest iteration of this project was held in 2022 in partnership with the Redlands Conservancy and sponsored by grants from the Puffin Foundation and Arts Connection, the Arts Council of San Bernardino County. The project continues to bring awareness to invasive grasses and promote the use of native grasses in home gardens while educating people about California’s endangered grasslands through the creative process of papermaking. This latest iteration began with the creation of an educational zine, which was distributed through various local venues and organizations. The zine focused on two highly invasive grasses, Fountain Grass and Mexican Feather Grass, and offered homeowners the opportunity to exchange their invasive grasses for a free native grass, Muhlenbergia Rigens, The zine also included an email address for those interested in learning more about invasive plant removal and to sign up for the papermaking with invasive plants.
