I was very grateful to have received a MN State Arts Board grant to work on this project. I visited over 35 Minnesota State Parks, and created work from 26 of them. These pieces were shown at the AZ Gallery in Lowertown, Saint Paul, at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, and in other locations.

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Selecting 26 of Minnesota’s 68 state parks to include in her alphabet of explorations, Priestley highlights parks throughout the state, including the oldest park (Itasca, founded in 1891) and the newest park (Lake Vermilion, established in 2013). “I wasn’t after the typical park scene,” she explains. “I searched for the essence of each park—how it makes me feel and what strikes me—as well as what is iconic and inspiring about each park. I hope the viewer will come away with a sense of each park and be inspired to visit and experience the uniqueness of all of these parks.”

She goes on to say, “I came up with the project, and applied for the Artists Initiative Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board. I’ve been inspired artistically and professionally by the wealth of natural areas we are so lucky to have in this state, and I wanted to do a project that highlighted the natural world in some way. Most people have visited a state park at some point, and I thought that this would be a great way to remind people of what state parks have to offer, and to enliven our sense of responsibility for the natural world.”

The mixed media works blend painting and block printing, a technique Priestley developed through years of experimentation. They reflect her love of Japanese and Arts and Crafts woodblock prints, but have a completely modern feel. After visiting, sketching, and researching the parks, she created linoleum block prints, mounted them on birch wood gallery panels, and painted them with acrylic paints.

Each park has its own unique setting and ecosystem, and is home to a variety of wildlife, some of which are depicted in each artwork.

Priestley explains, “I wasn’t after the ‘typical’ park scene in each of my artworks, I was trying to capture the essence of each park, how it makes me feel, what struck me, what was inspiring, as well as what is iconic about each park. I hope the viewer comes away with a sense of the park, and will want to visit and experience it for themselves.”

She goes on to say, “I came up with the project, and applied for the Artists Initiative Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board, and I was fortunate to receive funding that helped immensely. I have been inspired both artistically and professionally by the wonderful wealth of natural areas that we are so lucky to have in this state, and I wanted to do a project that highlighted the natural world in some way. Most people have been to a state park at some point, and I thought that this would be a great way to remind people of that. I’m deeply committed to learning about our area’s natural areas, and I feel a great responsibility to share that, and promote ecological responsibility.”

The artworks themselves are mixed media, a combination of painting and block printing that Priestley has developed over years of experimentation. The works show Priestley’s love of art history, and are influenced by Japanese and Arts & Crafts woodblocks, but have a completely modern feel.

Each park was chosen because of its location, its relationship to other parks, and the uniqueness of the ecosystem. Priestley carefully researched each park, and did numerous sketches for each one. She then created an image that highlighted aspects of the park and its wildlife. The images were transferred to linoleum blocks, and carefully carved. Each was then hand-printed, mounted on a birch wood gallery panel, then carefully hand-painted in acrylic paints.