My Art

I specialize in VISUALIZING relationships between science, land, people and art

Gabrielle Whisler’s art explores wonder, using lines, patterns, and vibrant colors. With a keen focus on folk art that celebrates community, land and water, she draws inspiration from her home within the Midwest, making it a central theme in her work.

My Science

“FLOW” Water@UW

Artist

Year: 2020

Soil for Society network branding

Branding artist

Logo

Year: 2023

“Learning to make Running Water Walk”

IIllustrative Storyteller

Painting and zine illustrations

Year: 2023

“Life as we dont know it” Wisconsin Institute of discovery

Artist

Painting

Year: 2022

Engineering Capstone UW Madison

Student Engineer

Machine Learning Model

Year: 2022

“Life as We Don’t Know It”

“Life in The Clouds of Venus”

This collaborative project between science and art brought together student artists and astrobiologists to create artwork aimed at engaging the general public in astrobiology. My scientific collaborator, Jaime Cordova, research focuses on Venus and contributed his knowledge in Venu’s middle cloud layer that potentially supports microbial life. To inspire the public about the possibility of microbial life on Venus, I created a painting that conveys themes of curiosity and wonder. Using metal leaf, I represented potential microbial life within the cloud layer, as it reflects light and creates a dynamic effect. The metal leaf also highlights the middle cloud layer as a distinctive and mysterious element. The painting, large in scale, immerses viewers in the atmosphere of Venus, featuring colors that are abstracted to convey the sense of wonder.

Learning to Make Running Water Walk Oral Narrative Project

Role: Illustrative Storyteller

EMployer: Headwaters Lab, Commissioned by the Coon creek Community watershed council

Overveiw:

The project seeks to inform the Watershed Council about conservation practices' history, personal connections to the land, reflections on watershed changes, and hopes for the future from community stories. The overarching objective is to have these stories guide the Watershed Council for floodplain mitigation and environmental planning.

Painting: “Dancing with Coon Creek”

Acrylic on Canvas

2023

30” x 40”

Overveiw

To contribute to the project's goal of expanding environmental community engagement, I created a painting that incorporates people's stories, significant landmarks, and explores their relationship with water and land. This painting aligns with the Headwaters lab's goal of bridging environmental science and community engagement in this project. The painting has now become an important component of their visual outreach strategy.

Artist statment

A watershed, an area where all flowing surface water converges, acts as an unifying force connecting hills and valleys, streams and stories, and all the beings who are shaped by these spaces. Within the Coon Creek Watershed, thriving communities of farmers, gardeners, educators, business owners, and more gather to celebrate and care for the water and for each other. In the artwork titled "Dancing with Coon Creek," the stories of community members of the Coon Creek Watershed gather together to form a vibrant landscape. The painting flows with the currents of history, celebration, and resilience coursing throughout the watershed. Through the whirling lines, the painting portrays an innermost relation; the dance between water and people. Important landmarks with old and new stories populate the landscape. The stream embraces the entirety of the landscape, symbolizing the connection between nature and the communities it sustains.

“Walking with Water: Stories From the Coon Creek Watershed” Zine Series

Place, Practice, Ponticia, Process

Overveiw:

Artist Statement:

Gabrielle illustrated 30+ images for the “Walking with Water: Stories From the Coon Creek Watershed”. This includes branding and repeatable designs, covers and illustrations based on the residents of Coon Creek’s oral narratives and central themes. Here are few selected works in the upcoming pages. Zines will be linked once finished.

Gabrielle has contributed to the "Learning to Make Running Water Walk" project by painting for the zine series titled "Walking With Water: Stories from the Coon Creek Watershed." The process of illustrating this zine series was a delightful experience, thanks to the vibrance of the community's stories. These stories, brimming with beauty, hope, and power, served as a rich source of inspiration. Colored in bright blue ink, the stories swirl into the characters, patterns, and symbols of the watershed. The zine serves as a visual tapestry, depicting the lives of people within the beautiful landscape of the Driftless Area. These illustrations showcase the convergence of their stories.

Logo Design: Soil For Society Network

whislerGabrielle@gmail.com