Making Art with No Boundaries and DREAMS of Wilmington

By Heather Bariso, Coastal Educator

Keep an eye out for our mural in the Fleming Environmental Education Center soon!

Back in January, Conservation Technician Joel Davies and I got to work with No Boundaries International Art Residency and DREAMS of Wilmington on a collaborative art piece featuring birds and other island wildlife! We’ll get to keep one of these pieces to display in the Fleming Environmental Education Center at the Bald Head Island Conservancy campus.

Before we started painting, Joel and I got to educate the group on how we identify and protect the birds on BHI. This included birding demonstrations and viewing specimens! To fuel creativity, our wonderful island residents pitched together to provide lunch for the students while they worked. As the artists painted away, they were able to interact with our ambassador animals for color inspiration and texturing. 

Once the paintings were completed, we got to meet visiting artists that were creating art on the island and hear about what inspires them! The students were able to see a variety of mediums used and took inspiration for their next art pieces. It was a wonderful experience to work with these two organizations and be able to create art together!