TwispWorks and the Methow Conservancy have announced that the 2022 Mary Kiesau Community Fellowship grant recipients are Rosalee de la Foret and Suze Woolf. Each will receive a $1,000 award in support of their projects.
This is the second year of the fellowship, which supports the independent, professional development projects of artists, photographers, naturalists and naturalist educators. Kiesau, who died in April 2020 after a battle with melanoma, was the Educational Programs Director with the Methow Conservancy for 13 years. She was renowned for her photography and environmental education business, Mountain Kind, for which she taught photography, naturalist and art classes. She was also a seven-year board member at TwispWorks.
De la Foret, a Methow Valley naturalist and herbalist, intends to create a naturalist storybook/coloring book that is based on the beings and seasons of the Methow Valley. She is the author of several successful books including “Wild Remedies,” “How to Forage Healing Foods” and “Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine.”
Woolf, a Seattle-based visual artist, plans to spend some time in the Methow this summer as a visiting artist, where she will continue two bodies of climate-related work. She creates large portraits of individual burned trees and artist books made from bark-beetle-damaged wood and bark.
TwispWorks and the Methow Conservancy announced creation of the fund in 2020. It is supported by donations from friends, family and loved ones. Find more information at https://twispworks.org/programs/mary-kiesau-community-fellowship-fund.