Hello and welcome to the artists of Root System the cohort of the 2026 WSP residency.
Wonder Women 14: Root System
Exhibition at Wildflower Sculpture Park at South Mountain Reservation
September – December 2026 , Opening reception September 20, 2026
Artists:
Anonda Bell
Corrine Carr
Christine DaCruz
Kate Eggleston
Samar Husseini
HAMEWS
Karen Leo
Alessandra Puglisi
Jimena Vega
Willa Vucetag
Curated by Doris Caçoilo and Penelope Malakates
Presented by South Mountain Conservancy
After three attempts to create Cycle No. 2, I’m excited to share that I finally succeeded in bringing the piece to life! It’s been a challenging yet rewarding process, testing my patience and creativity as I refined the form and structure. The final piece, shown in the attached photo, captures the organic flow I envisioned and marks a meaningful milestone in my artistic journey. I’m thrilled to continue developing this series and exploring the cycles of bloom.
Update on progress:
After our first couple of meetings where I presented my proposal and my first pass of the project to the group, I received a lot of helpful feedback. One of the comments about an “architectural lens” hit home, I re-framed my idea of using Willie Cole’s Sunflower as a focal point and dismissed my idea of superimposing a painting frame onto nature. As a result, I built a model with a circular opening (see the images).
When we looked through the model on-site, it still felt wrong in that it mimicked the sculpture’s shape rather than enhanced the landscape. The model didn’t do justice to the growth of the wildflowers, landscape and sequence of time. At our initial visit to the park, the meadow had recently been mowed and with each visit we have witnessed the awe-inspiring growth of the wildflowers.
At the time of this post, I am exploring how the layers of translucent material will reflect the growth over time in conjunction with Doris’ comment regarding the idea of a fictitious and narrative element as based on my initial sketch. I have also begun to play with ink drawings on various materials ranging from vellum to mylar/acetate to plexiglass. Lastly, I have redesigned my plans and have built a life size model in foam core to bring to the site to confirm dimensions and determine location.
Screens in model
Agnieszka Wszolkowska
Project Description
In my recent work, I have been exploring the imagery of Rx bottles while researching both overmedication and undermedication within the American healthcare system. I investigate alternative forms of care, such as prioritizing rest, sleep, and time spent in nature—fresh air and sunshine as sources of joy and healing. Through this exploration, I aim to challenge conventional ideas of wellness and encourage a more holistic approach to health.
For this residency, I would like to expand on these themes by incorporating imagery of flora and fauna native to the park. I plan to create paintings inspired by these elements and print them on aluminum signs, which would then be displayed throughout the park
The Work is a project that highlights the people who keep South Mountain Reservation running – those who care for the land, repair the trails, manage the day-to-day, and quietly make the park what it is. It’s about recognizing the hands behind the beauty and the labor that keeps this space alive and accessible to everyone.
Each portrait in the series focuses on a different tool or piece of equipment. These tools aren’t just objects; they’re part of the story. Alongside them, you’ll find short bios of the workers who use them—sharing who they are, what they do, and why their work matters.
Over the next two months I will be interviewing people who work and volunteer at South Mountain.
This project is a way of saying thank you and looking closer at the often-unseen effort that shapes our shared spaces. It’s about the connection between people and place, and how everyday work becomes something bigger when it supports a whole community.
In September I will install the portraits of the tools and have a zine with all the images and stories I collect available for the guest who attend the show.
Cycles of Blooms is a ceramic installation I am creating for the Wildflower Sculpture Park. This work consists of a series of imagined flowers, born from my own feelings and intuition rather than any specific species, though they are loosely inspired by tulips and orchids. The installation captures the transformative journey of a flower’s life cycle. I have completed Cycle Number 1: Flower Bud, which is currently in the greenware stage, and I am now working on Cycle Number 2, a semi-opened flower. Initially planned as a four-cycle piece, I decided to reduce it to three to honor the Rule of Thirds and achieve a more balanced composition within the park. Each ceramic flower will be displayed on a steel stake mounted on broken tree trunks, serving as pedestals that allow the flowers to bloom.
Artist: Stephanie Romano
Project Title: ‘Stitching Memories of Those Lost’
Project Proposal: Through this residency project, I will create a sanctuary for myself and others to walk together and share grief. Together we will interact with the nature of the sculpture park, share memories and create artworks to nurture the process of healing from loss. I aim to create a multi-sensory experience for visitors as they enter and exit the park.
I will ask artists, friends, and family to hand stitch the names and memories of those they are grieving onto pieces of fabric using red embroidery thread. They will also be asked to record an audio memory via a dedicated phone number voicemail. The pieces of embroidered fabric will be joined and sewn together into long shawls of fabric which will be hung from the wooden house-like structure at the end of the Wildlife Sculpture Park. As visitors walk through the structure they will be surrounded by the hanging shawls, feeling their gentle touch as they are wrapped up inside of them much like an embrace. As visitors read the names from the shawls they will also listen to the audio memories played on speakers from above. I hope to create a celebration in sorrow for those lost but also joy for the memories that still remain.
Project Proposal:
During the Wonder Women residency I would like to build an architectural installation in the natural environment which heightens visitors’ awareness of the connection between nature, experience and memory. I have been studying neuroaesthetics of architecture and how our perception of spaces alters our emotions. Research has shown that ten minutes outdoors in the morning significantly improves our outlook for the day. Additionally, even paintings of landscapes have been shown to produce a calming effect, especially in healthcare settings where they help alleviate apprehension.
The schematic plan for my installation is based on a path that leads to a threshold upon which a built structure frames the landscape. Depending on the site and its specific features, I will refine the design and begin constructing the installation during the residency. The woodchip or wood plank path is shaped in exaggerated perspective to emphasize the journey. At the end of the path, the threshold connects the natural world and the built environment. It is where three-dimensional space transforms into a two-dimensional image in our minds. This image correlates to the painted landscape that has the power to evoke memories of the experience.
If time permits, I hope to expand the installation by adding a series of frames at different heights and angles, offering varied perspectives of the surrounding landscape.
Artist: Hao Feng
Project Title: “Big joy”
Project Concept:
“Big joy” is a site-responsive, participatory art experience designed to connect the public with nature through movement, mindfulness, and cultural expression. Aligned with the 2025 theme “Walk With Me,” this project centers around a series of live, artist-led activities that foster environmental harmony, presence, and community engagement. These outdoor sessions will be held within the Wildflower & Forest Preserve and are inspired by traditional Chinese sports and movement arts.
Artist-Led Activities:
Public Experience & Safety Considerations:
All sessions will be free, inclusive, and designed to be safe and accessible. Activities require minimal or no equipment, ensuring low impact on the natural environment and high engagement across age groups.
Conclusion:
This interactive project transforms the park into a living space for reflection, play, and shared presence. Through guided physical and meditative experiences, the artist invites visitors to “walk with” both each other and the natural world, cultivating joy, mindfulness, and environmental empathy.
This installation will deploy brightly colored marking flags—commonly used for construction, utility lines, or pesticide applications—into an intervention within the natural landscape of the South Mountain Reservation. Clusters and scattered groupings of flags will be installed along the walking path, appearing at first as if they might indicate something real and urgent—perhaps an underground danger, a planned disturbance, or a hidden toxicity.
Though visually inviting, their cheerful colors fluttering festively in the breeze, these unmarked flags will offer no explanation. Their ambiguity is the point. The piece aims to live in that in-between space—where caution meets curiosity and ordinary materials take on new emotional weight through placement and repetition.
As walkers move through the forest, these bright pops of colors will beckon them forward. With each step, the walker’s perspective shifts, drawn by the flags. Typically, flags like these communicate an instruction to ‘keep off the grass,’ meaning ‘don’t walk here.’ The viewer’s natural impulse to avoid them may be countered by their interest. They will create moments of intrigue and hesitation, guiding walkers through the landscape in ways that might alter their usual pattern of movement.
The flags serve as a reminder that all landscapes—even those we think of as untouched or pristine—are already entangled with human systems, presence, and actions.
(texas811.org)
