Art in collaboration with nature

My name is Daley. I am a multimedia artist and farmer based in Northern Vermont. My work focuses on the dynamic and challenging relationship between humans and nature and the hopeful yet heartbreaking path towards harmony. We have a lot to learn from our environment- I process these learnings through physical labor in my art practice and my work as a farmer.

Some of my work…

Here are some pieces I have created within the last 5 years. Not all of it, but some…

Ghosts (The Swallowed Becomes the Swallower), 2019, 35mm film, digital collage.

This piece portrays the ghosts of the plants and animals that humans kill by destroying natural habitats through deforestation and sprawling developments. The quote “The swallowed becomes the swallower” is from Unbearable Splendor by Sun Yung Shin. In this piece, it refers to how humans started as small organisms that could be easily consumed by natural forces; we have evolved into creatures that take advantage of nature and this selfishness and greed will cause our own species extinction in the end.

Grow a Garden, 2021, wood, deerskin, forged steel, handmade paper, cotton string.

This book is made of entirely compostable materials that, when buried, will grow a garden of herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers. The pages are embedded with seeds and instructions on how to care for each plant are written on each page in ink made from beets, carrots, and cabbage. The pages also include step-by-step instructions on how to assemble and disassemble the entire book to form a closed loop system of growth and destruction.

Tea towels dyed with marigolds (top 2) and coreopsis flowers (bottom 2).

more works below

  • Wall Hanging 2

    2021, driftwood, pine cone, shell, pig teeth, metal wire.

  • Wall Hanging 3

    2022, driftwood, metal wire.

  • Plant Study 1

    2024, 24”x20”, graphite on paper.

  • Wall Hanging 4

    2022, driftwood, pig teeth, metal wire.

  • Converse Bay Road

    2022, 12"x16,” graphite on paper.

  • Forage Basket

    2021, 10"x10", white pine needles, waxed cotton string.

  • Weaving 2

    2020, wood, cotton yarn.

  • Weaving 3

    2022, wool yarn, buckthorn branches.

  • Wall hanging 1

    2019, elm branches, aluminum flashing, metal wire.

  • Chugach Range in August

    2022, 20”x24”, graphite on paper.

  • Migration

    2023, 20”x24,” acrylic on canvas.

  • Homage/ Map to Home

    2020, assemblage of found materials, digital collage.

  • Our Earth

    2019, branches, ice, leaves, tree stump.

  • Observation Drawing

    2022, 20”x24,” graphite on paper.

  • Moving Around

    2022, 24”x20,” acrylic on canvas.