In my adolescence, I became very allergic to poison oak, which grows everywhere in the woods I grew up in. For years, I would suddenly get it and be in physical misery for weeks. My body's response to it has shifted over time, but I realized I still carried a visceral resentment towards the plant. To transform my relationship with it, I have been engaging with it with kindness and respect. Poison Oak is a resilient and opportunistic native plant, whose uses by Indigenous peoples include basketry, culinary, and tattooing.  It often acts a protector of places, discouraging human traffic. I harvested a bucket of poison oak from a personally meaningful spot in Richmond, Ca and printed these 2 x 3 ft collagraphs, careful to not spread the oils to myself or anyone else in the process. 

 

2022