Five University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students created art inspired by water and water professionals as part of the 2025 Flow Project Art Exhibit.
Making its debut at the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention, held in Stevens Point March 26-28, the exhibit pairs Universities of Wisconsin students with water professionals across the state to create paintings, sculptures, dances, drawings and other artistic works that celebrate lakes and rivers. Pieces from the exhibit will also be featured at UW-Stevens Point in the display windows outside the Dreyfus University Center Laird Room in April and May.
The UW-Stevens Point students include:
- Marna Andre, Pulaski, wildlife ecology and management, paired with Associate Professor Ashley Lemke, UW-Milwaukee Department of Anthropology;
- Viella Aprill, Oconto Falls, music education, paired with Abby Dremel, UW-Stevens Point Water and Environmental Analysis Lab;
- Alison Hesse, Appleton, biology, paired with Lonnie Parry, UW-Madison Fisheries Science;
- Liam Kaplan, Marshfield, art and conservation and community planning, paired with Lauren Haydon, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Watershed Protection coordinator; and
- Maggie McLain, Fitchburg, wildlife ecology, paired with Gavin Dehnert, UW-Madison Sea Grant scientist
McLain, who is minoring in art, created a painting that explores how contaminants in ecosystems affect bald eagles and their habitats. Working with Dehnert, she learned how microplastics get into the bloodstreams of the eagles. As she is passionate about birds, this was an exciting project.
“I learned a lot about bald eagle habits and how all things are connected,” said McLain. “These contaminants, small as they are, have a massive impact on the ecosystems they infect. They travel through the water, into plants and fish, moving their way up through the food chains to the top, the bald eagle. This impacts the animal’s health, and the death of a predator is the death of an ecosystem. Maintaining clean ecosystems is lifesaving, and tracking the movement of contaminants is the first step.”
UW-Stevens Point biology major Alison Hesse paired with fisheries scientist Lonnie Parry from UW-Madison to create a tea set that represents the interconnection between Parry’s work and the many anglers she works with on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River.
Kaplan created paintings that explore the fragility of high-quality watersheds in Wisconsin. Working with Haydon, he learned about the process of categorizing and mapping these watersheds and how to access this data through the Wisconsin DNR geographic information systems website. His work features the powerful waves of Lake Superior, wild rice fields and a river with brook trout that features the faces of the next generation who will enjoy the water’s ecosystem.
UWSP student Liam Kaplan paired with Lauren Haydon, a watershed protection coordinator with the Wisconsin DNR to create art on Wisconsin watersheds. The exhibit debuted at the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention in Stevens Point March 26.
“I used impasto brushstrokes to evoke a sense of the energy radiated from water and the surrounding life,” he said. “Individually, each panel represents a microcosm of beauty and function in different Wisconsin ecosystems. However, structurally, the piece appears unstable and fragile, as are our watersheds if not properly protected.”
Andre’s work depicts a scene combining elements of both modern-day Wisconsin coastlines and the ice age era.
“I wanted to use juxtaposition to show the incredible history of the ice age here in Wisconsin and how the landscape and our species has evolved and changed from then to now,” she said. “I was able to explore a lot of cool resources that displayed what like was like for our prehistoric ancestors.”
Learn more about The Flow Project at https://water.wisc.edu/the-flow-project/.
