Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Collens.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started pressing seaweed as part of a “Diversity of Seaweeds” field class I took on Vancouver Island for my Botany undergrad degree. Pressing plant and seaweed specimens is a way of preserving them for scientific research, but I thought they were really lovely and ended up hanging up my collection in my house. I also studied evolutionary biology and genetics of kelp for my Ph.D., and while my big girl day job is still in genetics and biotech, I love staying connected to the marine biology and botany aspect through art.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle is the timing of low tide, which can be pretty early (like 4:45 am early)! I only collect seaweeds that has already been knocked off the rocks, and low tide is the best time to find specimens that are still in good condition. Overall, I’ve been really fortunate that the reception to my work has been positive. I find it completely delightful when people are experiencing the beauty of seaweed for the first time, rather than knowing it as the icky stuff that they want to avoid at the beach.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My specialty is finding interesting, diverse seaweed specimens and arranging, pressing, and drying them to create art. I still feel a pull to honor the scientific aspects of the craft, so it’s important to me to identify the species I find, learn about them, and be able to talk to other people about them. I also submit specimens to the herbarium collection at the San Diego Natural History Museum, and I’m hopeful that those will be useful to researchers in the future to better understand and preserve the biological diversity of our region.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I think that the merger of art and science is really special. And honestly, I have to give a heap of credit to nature and the seaweeds themselves for being beautiful all on their own; I just help people see them in a new way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StoneStepsHerbarium
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stonestepsherbarium/
Image Credits
Margarita Schweibert
Julie Collens
