Galloway, N.J. - Ron Hutchison and Richard Vetter were digging footings to install recycled wind tower posts to grow hops, a creeping vine with flowers that give beer its bitter taste, when their shovels hit clay.  

Hutchison, an associate professor of Sustainability, and Vetter, a Sustainability Farm specialist, were initially surprised.

“Then we did some research. We found out that New Jersey is where Lenox china was getting their clay, and in the 1900s New Jersey was the number one producer of clay and exported it as far west as Ohio. We were the epicenter of clay production,” Hutchison said.

For Jack Swenson ‘24, an Environmental Science and Visual Arts double major, the discovery allowed him to connect his two majors by creating art from the environment.

With the acquisition of a kiln from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and tips from the local MudGirls Studios, pottery creations sculpted from farm clay commenced.

To add color and texture to the glaze, they sprinkled in ash from the Stockton Maple Project’s evaporator at the neighboring sugar shack. The fragile white flakes gave an earthy brown tint to the pottery.

Swenson, who participated in the Science Enrichment Academy at Stockton (SEAS) camp as a rising high school senior, knew he was going to major in Environmental Science.

“Then I took one art class, and the professor asked why I wasn’t an art major. At the end of my first year, I declared a double major with art,” Swenson explained.

His interests in art and the natural world go back to his childhood.

“I was a Boy Scout and spent so much of my time hiking in the woods with friends. My interest in environmental science and the outdoors really drew me to nature art,” he said.

He credits SEAS camp for bringing him to Stockton’s farm where he worked throughout his college years and found the bridge to join his creative side with the sciences.

After camp, he continued to work on a longterm garlic research project at the farm that is identifying which variety grows best in New Jersey, when to start planting for optimum growth and how to best space the plants. 

Clay isn’t the only source of artistic material sourced at the farm. Swenson helped grow dye plants for the Natural Dyes Club, a group that meets monthly at the Noyes Arts Garage to dye textiles.   

“The dye plants that we’re growing on the farm are working for the farm. We’re all about companion planting and working with nature. Our dye plants are attracting natural pollinators and beneficial insects, and once they run their course, we are able to harvest them and use them for an art product,” Swenson explained.

Students got to use natural dyes during a campus workshop accompanying the exhibition this fall. Sarah Lacy, a 2017 BFA graduate who now works for the Noyes Arts Garage as a liaison for event planning and promotion, led the workshop and encouraged participants to get creative.

"I've always had an interest in textiles, functional art and fine craft," said Lacy, who was inspired to learn more about natural dyes after taking a class on shibori dye techniques. 

Marigolds turned textiles a golden yellow, madder root offered red and indigo produced deep blues. 

Swenson witnessed the full process from seeds sprouting on the farm to students soaking T-shirts and bandanas in dye baths outside the Art Gallery. 

Back on the farm, Hutchison looked at the collection of pottery creations and said, "Jack Swenson is the impetus behind this." 

The 1.5-acre farm, which runs without electricity or a well, grows food, art and new ideas. Learn more about the campus sustainable farm and how it operates on solar power and a rainwater catchment system online. 

Photo story by Susan Allen

 

When clay was discovered on the sustainable farm, Jack Swenson found the link to connect his Environmental Science and Visual Arts majors. 

 

The row of pottery cups shows the different stages of firing with the last cup decorated in a maple ash glaze. 

 

Jack Swenson holds a Japanese indigo plant that the Natural Dyes Club uses to produce deep blue hues. 

 

 

Before they provide dye colors, dye plants attract pollinators to the campus farm. 

 

Madder root, which produces a red dye, was used during the Revolutionary War to color the distinctive red coats worn by British soldiers. 

 

Wood cutouts banded tightly to textiles create patterns during the dying process by blocking absorption from portions of the fabric. The pattern is revealed when the fabric is unfolded. 

 

Stockton's vibrant fall foliage is outshined by the textiles created during a natural dyes workshop. 

 

Inspired by the National Parks posters, Jack Swenson created a poster for the Stockton farm that he had on display during the University Weekend street fair. 

 

A belted kingfisher inspired this nature print by Jack Swenson.