Insert The Plant Library.

A self-checkout library of various plants, wood shavings, twigs, nuts and cones, housed within a public library.

Patrons of the Plant Library had a 24-hour check-out period to take their ligneous or herbaceous companions to their office desk, a stressful exam, a first day of class.

The Plant Library , 2015

Drawing from a hypothesis introduced by biologist and theorist E.O. Wilson in the 1980’s, the term biophilia refers to the “innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms”.

Research has verified as much: our physical environment affects the neurology of our brain, our sense of belonging, and our health.

Humans are more relaxed, have better mental health and exhibit increased educational performance when given access to the outdoors, plants and animals. Unfortunately up until recently, our workplaces and schools were designed to exclude all three.

Midsummer Mural, 2023

Most murals in the Copper Country reflect its mining history, which is undeniably significant. But that legacy often overshadows the richness of day-to-day life, especially the magic of sharing this region with plants and animals.

The Downtown Houghton Revitalization Project was about bringing bold, vivid energy to downtown, and the Midsummer Mural concept was our way of highlighting parts of the area that weren’t yet visually represented. The parking deck in particular is located along a corridor that must be traveled. It is place to bring attention to the elements of the area that are still alive (if we protect them): sandhill cranes, woodpeckers wildflowers, juneberries, vetch and beach peas, porcupines, wild blueberries, thimbleberries, raspberries, birch trees, hemlocks, frogs, trout, pike, bugs, and so much more.

Each plant was given a library card indexing its personality, treatment preferences and care requirements.

The pencils provided are custom printed with the Dr. S. R. Ranganathan’s 5th law of library science "The library is a living organism”.