Interdisciplinary Projects

Eastern Box Turtle

Heather Foster, limited term faculty of visual arts at University of North Georgia, and students Kati Hornick and Aida Alarcon, create artwork inspired by the box turtle research conducted by Dr. Jennifer Mook and Dr. Natalie Hyslop, associate professors of biology at UNG. The biology-influenced art of two students is one of 10 Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) projects. In its eighth year, FUSE pairs faculty and students together in full-time research projects for seven weeks. Teams then present to other FUSE faculty and peers and receive critical feedback on their findings. FUSE is sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.

UNG Newsroom

Turtle On the Move, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 5' x 4'

No. 2, 2018, oil on canvas, 60" x 90"

Eye of the Turtle, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60"

Kenyan Ants

Nigriceps Impaling Giraffes, Heather Foster artist, Rachel Damiani concept, 2014, acrylic ink on paper, 4' x 3'

Mimosae Attacking Elephants, Heather Foster artist, Rachel Damiani concept, 2014, acrylic ink on paper, 5' x 4'

Penzigi Hiding from Mimosae, Heather Foster artist, Rachel Damiani concept, 2014, acrylic ink on paper, 4' x 2'

Sjostedi in Dreps, Heather Foster artist, Rachel Damiani concept, 2014, acrylic ink on paper, 5' x 4'

Big Bird, Little Bird

In the Fall of 2013, MFA candidates Ry McCullough, Michael Ross and Heather Foster found two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Tennessee Warbler, a Northern Cardinal, an American Goldfinch and a Wood Thrush on the ground outside the large windows of the LDSOA. The actual number of birds killed during this period is presumed to be significantly higher, since the findings were happenstance and the reports of dead bird sightings anecdotal.

According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, up to 100 million birds are killed annually by window collisions. Birds mistake large sheets of clean glass for the sky and the landscapes they reflect, and fly into theses deadly illusions at full speed. One solution is to disrupt window reflectivity with screening, stickers or other materials. Another solution is to attach images of predatory birds to the windows, which scares smaller birds away from the actual danger of the glass.

Big Bird, Little Bird was project to memorialize dead birds, prevent future bird strikes, and produce an exhibit of artwork that considers birds, mortality, illusion, architecture and conservation.