An American Family, November 5th, 2024

Medium: Ink on printmaking paper.
Title: “An American Family, November 5th, 2024” Artist: Andrew Naeger
Date: Started Nov 5th, 202 - completed Jan 5th, 2025

I have been researching the Mississippi Flyway and the birds that travel this region from South America all the way to Canada. The Mississippi Flyway and the birds that travel it are impacted by US agricultural practices. For many bird species, like the cerulean warbler that needs over 700 acres to make the area safe to inhabit, they are under a unique threat. Less habitats by square footage and a growing heated climate as a catalyst to more severe weather related catastrophe's. Or take the declining presence of the Wood Thrush, who by it’s very existence in a forest signals the forest health. This relationship between humans and the habitat of birds came together in a most poignant way for this work in my study of species life along the Mississippi River. The nest, for me is both literal and a metaphor for family life. While bird species are threatened by de-forestation, pesticides and herbicides and more, so too is our American way of life is changing to a new political climate. Living in Missouri along this same river, I see a change. The concept is rooted in my personal observation of the ideological divide in this country coming through the core of family life. Communities, friends, and extended families have always been able to have debate and discussion on idealism. This is an observation of the hard stances being drawn creating rifts directly in the home. While we maintain an inherent connection to our country and where we come from, the “how” we live our lives according to our belief system has become sharper.