Rushing Waters - Erin Evans
Halstead Design Challenge ”Connections”
Artist Statement
Water. It’s one thing on this planet that connects us all. It’s also one thing on the planet that is constantly connected to itself. All the water we have is all the water we’ll ever have and the water cycle is one that continuously cycles through different forms constantly and is a connection within its self. I was inspired by water, and our connection to it, to create this piece. The base of my piece is inspired by the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, which is the land between two of Georgia’s major rivers-the Chattahoochee and Flint River. The Chattahoochee and Flint run together to form the Apalachicola River which flows and connects into the Gulf of Mexico. Not only geographically do these rivers connect us to the ocean, but it also connects us as a community. 70% of metro Atlanta’s drinking water comes from the Chattahoochee River, stored in two major man-made lakes in the northeast part of the state; Lake Lanier and Lake Altoona. Not only does the river connect us as a community, but it also connects us to the earth. The ACF River Basin is home to nine threatened or endangered plant species, twenty-four species of aquatic turtles, thirty-seven species of salamanders, thirty species of frogs and toads, and the American alligator. Not only does the ACF connect us to the earth; it also connects us to our past. In the lower Chattahoochee, there has been the largest collection of archaeological sites in Georgia. During the Mississippian period (800-1600AD) there have been at least sixteen settlements discovered south of the fall line. In our history anywhere on the map waterways have provided life, travel, and trade, this has also been the case for the Chattahoochee River and the ACF river basin. I have been an avid lover of water since my first time canoeing with my father at Girl Scout camp. That connection for me has lead me to a close relationship with water and waterways. Since that first canoe trip, I have now been paddling for over 35 years. The black stones in my piece were gathered from the Yellow River, one of the main rivers that runs just a few miles from my home. It’s a river we pass every day, and one I talk about with my kids as we pass. Our conversations connect us to this river, and to each other. I’ve paddled in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal estuaries. I’ve paddled in the heat of the summer and where ice was collecting on leaves overhead. I’ve paddled fast in races, I’ve paddled slowly letting the water carry me as I think, watch or pray. Though the body of water may change the peace I feel pushing off into it never changes. It always offers a sense of quiet calm, away from the noise of 2020, back to a place where all you notice is birds, wind, breath, movement. I feel more connected to myself when I’m on the water. Water in all of its forms connects us all, through time, history, and life.
Information about the Chattahoochee River was collected from The Georgia River Network.
