http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/modern-canadacana daily 1.0 2019-06-18 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/t/5d08436744b01d00010251de/1455159640695/ Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/538f7f8ce4b0ca4f15995a71/56bbf9581bbee010e689a1cd/1455159640695/ Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560822272612-2PCS0PPJOAZ3OOEP1RIS/Wyominginstall-entire-edit-sm.jpg Home - In Nature | Of Nature: Perceptions of Place University of Wyoming, February 11 through March 22, 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560822134948-FG5Z9QODW5PQLQZDY9HZ/wyoming-install-sm.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560823015860-DNZN6JCTH950FWZD3UL8/wyoming-install-sm.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559942614256-XVUZ4XDKGXQAAHKLL0NG/McMahon007-circle2-edit-rotate.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532302100867-3TCDH45J32MUJFD46CRC/process-1-web.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532301608257-Y2MTAHZ25P1SCELQMCBO/tree-section-lobby.jpg Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/538f7f8ce4b0ca4f15995a71/5b3acfa2fb28051f46a45787/1530580786142/ Home http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/phenotypes daily 0.75 2014-09-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401989171810-1S18VXRBR2COTS3J2GFO/install-crop.jpg Phenotypes - Phenotypes: Observable Traits, Stange Strangers Series of 12 Archival Fine Art Prints Mounted on Aluminum, Various Sizes, 2011 (signed editions of 5) As more is being seen through the lens of "new science," are we in danger of forgetting that much of our human experience eludes measurement and rational explanation? Thinking about how art and science work hand-in-hand in forming our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world, led to “Phenotypes” which I hope will serve as an invitation to engage critically and skeptically with both. “McMahon…uses digital magic to put disparate objects together in a single image. She got a Fulbright grant in 2007 to work in Rocky Point, and her photographs pair human trash with objects washed up from the sea. Sand dollars stand side by side with plastic coffee-cup; a duck skull is lined up with a plastic box. The combinations are witty, with McMahon uncovering heretofore unnoticed relationships between sea stuff and human junk. In "Punctuated Equilibriates," the long, pointed skull of a seagull is face to face with a long, pointed dental device. But all of them implicitly critique the human tendency to lay waste to nature. These gorgeous images owe their beauty in part to McMahon's mastery of complex technologies. The objects are digitally altered so they'll be the same size—a bottle cap becomes the equal of a sea lion skull from Baja. Then they're supersized, printed in ivory or white on velvety black, and mounted on aluminum. Six coats of a clear gloss spray made the dark backgrounds even denser—as dark, maybe, as the bottom of the sea. McMahon calls her series Phenotypes, the scientific word for classification of objects by traits. Her deliberately false pairings raise a cautionary note: We shouldn't necessarily believe everything science tells us.” Regan, Margaret, Tucson Weekly https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401989171810-1S18VXRBR2COTS3J2GFO/install-crop.jpg Phenotypes - Phenotypes: Observable Traits, Stange Strangers Series of 12 Archival Fine Art Prints Mounted on Aluminum, Various Sizes, 2011 (signed editions of 5) As more is being seen through the lens of "new science," are we in danger of forgetting that much of our human experience eludes measurement and rational explanation? Thinking about how art and science work hand-in-hand in forming our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world, led to “Phenotypes” which I hope will serve as an invitation to engage critically and skeptically with both. “McMahon…uses digital magic to put disparate objects together in a single image. She got a Fulbright grant in 2007 to work in Rocky Point, and her photographs pair human trash with objects washed up from the sea. Sand dollars stand side by side with plastic coffee-cup; a duck skull is lined up with a plastic box. The combinations are witty, with McMahon uncovering heretofore unnoticed relationships between sea stuff and human junk. In "Punctuated Equilibriates," the long, pointed skull of a seagull is face to face with a long, pointed dental device. But all of them implicitly critique the human tendency to lay waste to nature. These gorgeous images owe their beauty in part to McMahon's mastery of complex technologies. The objects are digitally altered so they'll be the same size—a bottle cap becomes the equal of a sea lion skull from Baja. Then they're supersized, printed in ivory or white on velvety black, and mounted on aluminum. Six coats of a clear gloss spray made the dark backgrounds even denser—as dark, maybe, as the bottom of the sea. McMahon calls her series Phenotypes, the scientific word for classification of objects by traits. Her deliberately false pairings raise a cautionary note: We shouldn't necessarily believe everything science tells us.” Regan, Margaret, Tucson Weekly https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987734279-W5OACT9RZ5T7TBFRTN02/Adaptive-Radiants-web.jpg Phenotypes - Adaptive Radiants Adaptive Radiation: diversification of a species or single ancestral type into several forms that are each adaptively specialized to a specific environmental niche. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987739774-E502BGYL76QNGENTDRH2/Heterotic-Sympatrics-web.jpg Phenotypes - Heterotic Sympatrics Heterotic: of or relating to hybrid vigor, Sympatrics: animals or plants occurring within the same geographical area; overlapping in distribution. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987743214-2KPKJ58JKL9FGO86OUW2/Nonoperculated-Homologs-web.jpg Phenotypes - Nonoperculated Homologs Nonoperculated: derived from operculum, a structure that closes or covers an aperture. Homologs: things having the same relation, relative position, or structure.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987746287-G3WZ4IBHL2S59ZP6AO9I/Tubercled-Recessives-web.jpg Phenotypes - Tubercled Recessives Tubercle: a small rounded protuberance, esp. on a bone or on the surface of an organism Recessive: relating to or denoting heritable characteristics controlled by genes that are expressed in offspring only when inherited from both parents. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987738477-7GCZ5WQ7HYFV1YAK8SPU/Genetic-Drifters-web.jpg Phenotypes - Genetic Drifters Genetic Drift: random fluctuations in the frequency of the appearance of a gene in a small isolated population, presumably owing to chance rather than natural selection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987736402-0QEP2PSF6ZCLAZ83QXZN/Allopatric-Horripilates-web.jpg Phenotypes - Allopatric Horripilates Allopatric: related species or populations occurring in separate non-overlapping geographical areas. Horripilate: to have one’s body hair bristle, as from fear or cold.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987735681-V7MMWZVUZ8A9NX11E02X/Balanced-Polymorphs-web.jpg Phenotypes - Balanced Polymorphs Balanced Polymorphism: the occurrence of a certain proportion of homozygotes and heterozygotes for specific genetic traits, which is maintained for generation by the forces of natural selection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987744584-II6DLDEMJ1GADIZ0ZO8R/Reproductive-Isolates-web.jpg Phenotypes - Reproductive Isolates Reproductive Isolation: the inability of a species to breed successfully with related species due to geographical, behavioral, physiological, or genetic barriers or differences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987742124-KJ3VWMMOBPZROABQMRLF/Littoral-Nomads-web.jpg Phenotypes - Littoral Nomads Littoral: relating to, or situated on the shore of the sea or a lake, Nomads: having no permanent abode. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987743488-T1KTW6QMXUDSG2X38KTL/Phylidic-Graduals-web.jpg Phenotypes - Phylidic Graduals Phylidic: phyla (misspelled), a group of organisms ranking above a class and below a kingdom Graduals: derived from gradualism, the theory that new species evolve through gradual changes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1401987744275-FGV7PC8S7C3J3M5P9MPE/Punctuated-Equilibriates-web.jpg Phenotypes - Punctuated Equilibriates Punctuated Equilibrium: the theory that speciation occurs in spurts of major genetic alterations that punctuate long periods of little change.   http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/groundwater daily 0.75 2014-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287861100-W91ADX4B04E5FHVLSW9C/g_w-2.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River - Ground|Water: The Art, Design and Science of a Dry River Ground| Water co-edited with Ander Monson and Beth Weinstein brings together a diverse community of artists, designers, and scientists interested in understanding and raising public awareness about local water and its relationship to global climate. Writings by Nathaniel Brodie, Alison Deming, Allison Dushane, Gregg Garfin, Ander Monson, Logan Phillips, and Paul Robbins provide poetic perspectives on the Rillito River; an overview of the region's climate, hydrology, and water policy; a comparison between the theory and practice of interdisciplinary research; and a trail of the overlapping roles of science and art in the construction of contemporary concepts of nature from the Romantic period to the present. Art and design projects include intercontinental comparisons of arid regions and river systems, finely detailed drawings, photographs and performance resulting from direct encounters with the local ecology, and collaborations with the Rillito River Project. Book design by Jonny Black, Kelly Leslie and Ellen McMahon, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287861100-W91ADX4B04E5FHVLSW9C/g_w-2.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River - Ground|Water: The Art, Design and Science of a Dry River Ground| Water co-edited with Ander Monson and Beth Weinstein brings together a diverse community of artists, designers, and scientists interested in understanding and raising public awareness about local water and its relationship to global climate. Writings by Nathaniel Brodie, Alison Deming, Allison Dushane, Gregg Garfin, Ander Monson, Logan Phillips, and Paul Robbins provide poetic perspectives on the Rillito River; an overview of the region's climate, hydrology, and water policy; a comparison between the theory and practice of interdisciplinary research; and a trail of the overlapping roles of science and art in the construction of contemporary concepts of nature from the Romantic period to the present. Art and design projects include intercontinental comparisons of arid regions and river systems, finely detailed drawings, photographs and performance resulting from direct encounters with the local ecology, and collaborations with the Rillito River Project. Book design by Jonny Black, Kelly Leslie and Ellen McMahon, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287869400-KXO6QM4LY3TE6CO5QOH3/g_w-3.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Covers: letterpress on book board by Letterpress Finesse. 112 pp. / 9" x 9" / 2013 “It seems an object of art before you even turn a page. Hopefully this is the direction in which bookmaking is headed in the digital age, toward the small-batch and the quirky—something worthy of being called a genuine artifact.” Tim Hull, Tucson Weekly https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287872829-SS29N7P8JR1VMQQBMPSI/gw-1.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Binding: exposed and Smythe Sewn by Roswell Book Bindery, Phoenix AZ “I immediately obtained a copy of Ground|Water and found myself holding an artifact that is as ecocritical as one could envision, right down to its physical substance produced and contracted for entirely by writers, artists and print artisans on eco friendly materials, ranging from recycled paper to the vegetable inks, an elegant miscellany of texts, essays, photos, drawings all pertaining to the Rillito as it runs through the metro area.” Harold Fromm, Hudson Review https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287866470-N1Y5BSZ1IVY7I305I2HR/g_w-4.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Interior pages: 5-color offset on New Leaf and Mohawk Loop by Arizona Lithographers. “There is wisdom as well as beauty in this book, which starts from the premise that we do have choices and that the future brings great promise [… and goes on to encourage] us to examine our own roles in this desert ecosystem and to individually and collectively invest in the social and natural systems that support us.“ Katherine L. Jacobs, Director of the National Climate Assessment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287870700-6Y8OSEFTW1XRTKPYC23L/g_w-5.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Photography by Camden Hardy (pictured above), Daniel Cheek and Christiana Caro. One scientist in the project describes the ability of art and design projects to "transform messages from the stilted language of scientific literature into rich, multifaceted vocabularies that can be grasped by those interested, but inexpert, in the subject matter. Turning the desecrated and overlooked dry rivers of Tucson into muse and inspiration, this project speaks volumes about community, creativity, and responsibility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403290480791-HYB84YQ427ZHUZD9TQPM/g_w-8.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Illustration and Book Art by Robert Long (pictured above) and John Gialanella. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403290480291-93XENYVDKVBURE7EXI32/g_w-7.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Architectural and Information Design by Danielle Alvarez, Sulaiman Alothman, Jennifer Heinfeld, Jongwoo Kim, Jeff Leinenveber and Mathew Propst. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403290482872-3K5CKKDXMZ4GIGXFEKDJ/g_w-9.jpg Ground|Water: Dry River Graphic Design by Jessica Gerlach. http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/Books/bid2407.htm http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/maternalwork-and-publications daily 0.75 2026-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030841360-GM40BPBOLLB76Z8WO037/A-is-for-1.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - A is for Autonomy Boxed set of twenty six alphabet cards on Rives BFK (edition of 20) 6" × 4" 2001   The body is inevitable. No matter how much our emotions are intellectualized, theorized, and rationalized, they still persist as physical experience and expression. A is for Autonomy pokes fun at the effort to understand love and reflects the tension between opposites like: adulthood and childhood, love and hate, thinking and feeling, mechanical and handmade, and intimacy and autonomy. Things that actually blend and fuse and overlap and need each other to even exist. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030841360-GM40BPBOLLB76Z8WO037/A-is-for-1.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - A is for Autonomy Boxed set of twenty six alphabet cards on Rives BFK (edition of 20) 6" × 4" 2001   The body is inevitable. No matter how much our emotions are intellectualized, theorized, and rationalized, they still persist as physical experience and expression. A is for Autonomy pokes fun at the effort to understand love and reflects the tension between opposites like: adulthood and childhood, love and hate, thinking and feeling, mechanical and handmade, and intimacy and autonomy. Things that actually blend and fuse and overlap and need each other to even exist. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030848525-178X4ML0AFMV6X4WH6M3/A-is-for-3.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - A is for Autonomy Instaled https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030849648-TRTL3L7ANMTE84W1477J/A-is-for-4.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - A is for Autonomy Installed detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030879806-ZD2PX6B1ZF8NHM0IJPVA/028.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Alice’s Idea Letterpress on Rives BFK, Cranes Cover and Fabriano Ingres, Platinum /Palladium print 14.75" × 10.25" 2004 One day my daughter asked me to write words and phrases on her body and take photographs of her. During a break I looked up and saw us reflected in the mirror. I was holding the camera so I took the shot. She took the film and developed the pictures. Six months later, for Christmas, she gave me a framed print of the picture I had taken of us in the mirror. After looking at it on my bedroom dresser for another six months I decided to make this book with my version of what happened that day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030882077-G9U1KN6667PFMO4DUV5V/033.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Alice's Idea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287056691-WG1QDZ387XWHWL1ZKUX5/ellen13x.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Alice's Idea Detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031062690-NXPUH0W7GM6JLAJSQZK7/DSC_7193.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Moment of Pleasure Graphite on wood, 5" × 12.5", opening to 29" 2003 TEXT: Della is five, following me around as I gather dirty laundry from the floor of every room in the house. “Mom, play with me. You never play with me. If you loved me you’d play with me. You don’t love me.” Alice is ten. She is in her room moaning that she forgot to pack for her overnight field trip. She needs my help. She’s trying on “looks” in the mirror. Glassy-eyed, she can’t seem to focus on the packing. Della is still asking me to play with her. Alice buries her head in her knees. “No one listens to me.” Della settles down with her feet on the TV. I ask her to move back and take her feet down. She ignores me and I’m too tired to argue. I walk into the kitchen to make dinner. I see the sink full of dirty breakfast dishes, bowls covered with hardened oatmeal. I throw the metal can opener hard against the kitchen floor. I want to make a dent in the wood. I get a moment of pleasure as I discover the mark I’ve made. I go into the bathroom and lay on the floor. Hot tears roll into my ears. I notice the black mildew on the bottom of the shower curtain and the giant clumps of dust in the corner by my head.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031062857-13SEMGO1DBF615Q2IL56/DSC_7196.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Moment of Pleasure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031067557-UNNKZ3TUMACJSXOGHLNN/DSC_7200.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Moment of Pleasure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031069276-7K2K9F5JE6NZZN2U2XRL/DSC_7204.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Moment of Pleasure Detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287377719-72GRGWHOBD1D1NQEMXVB/00-Baby-%26-Pre-Verbal.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Baby Talk Flash Cards and Pre-Verbal Flash Cards Boxed sets of 5” x 3” flash cards, inkjet prints 1998, reprinted in 2007 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287401686-ZR4N1JSLNKR5VWBK8XUO/01-babyt.jpg Maternal Work + Publications Boxed set of 12 cards, inkjet prints Your baby is making the same demanding sound over and over again, getting more upset by the minute. Each request gets louder and more shrill as you frantically try to determine what baby wants. You end up rushing around the house offering everything you can think of — drinks, toys, food, bedding, and clothes — all to no avail. Now with the help of Baby Talk Flash Cards you can learn baby's language, figure out what she's asking for, and talk back too. Baby Talk Flash Cards features 12 full-color cards each with a scan-o-gram and descriptive baby talk word on the front and English translation on the flip side. Authenticity guaranteed! Every word uttered by a real baby. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287410810-98QIA1BL816504SNF62R/02-preverb.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Pre-Verbal Flash Cards Boxed set of 8 flash cards, inkjet prints TEXT: Pre-verbal Flash Cards introduce the adult to the world of the pre-speaking infant. This set features eight full-color cards each with a scan-o-gram of common baby care objects on the front and a corresponding non-verbal alphabetic symbol on the flip side. Each device pictured extends the reach of the caretaker into the baby's body. They block to clear, hurt to help and stifle to protect. Weary of the demands of rationality? The Step Back Series offers a comprehensive assortment of products for adults who feel the need to recover those useful lost skills of infancy. Look for these additional Step Back products: Guide to Having your Own Temper Tantrums, How To Fall Asleep Anywhere, Getting Your Needs Met Instantly, The Sensual Pleasures of Food and Everything Else.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898761098-Q0Z4GNYOILKD1TZCVJQY/house-of-cards.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - House of Cards: Maternal Queens Boxed set of eight 5.5” x 4” cards, Indigo prints, 2000 TEXT: Maternal Queens represents one mother’s reflections on four myths about motherhood. With the eight cards in this package you can build your own precarious House of Cards. Maternal myths can be revealing but they can also mask the social realities of mothers and interfere with the development of real social and economic support for women and their families. Four myths about mothers: Club: Occupation: Once a woman becomes a mother her motherhood is always her top priority. Good mothers don’t feel ambivalent about this. Heart: Passion: Once a woman becomes a mother all of her passion is channeled into her family. Other passion is always potentially dangerous. Spade: Misfortune: Once a woman becomes a mother a force known as maternal instinct allows her to miraculously transcend the deficits of her own childhood and meet all of the emotional needs of her children. Diamond: Finances: Once a woman becomes a mother she can manage it all by herself.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287302897-CBL24H80603PXLKOPE3J/01.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - No New Work Letterpress on paper hand made out of cloth diapers, palladium prints on vellum. Each page 17” x 11” 1993 Unbound book installed on a 14-foot counter with an internal light source under each page. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403290398599-YT5PUIJS7YEJL900L9Z1/02-copy.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - No New Work Pages installed on a 14-foot counter with a light source under each page. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287326750-Y0U4995EZK89ADTQXYX1/03.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - No New Work The light under each page illuminates the photographs, which are palladium prints on vellum, and reveals the fibrous traces of the cloth diapers. It was made as a site-specific piece for the University of Arizona Faculty Exhibition when I was an Assistant Professor with young children.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031006420-X3RVQH2ENFJF3Z29OHLP/book-1-web.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Performance (of): Nutrition, Hygiene, Love Inkjet on vellum each panel 7" × 4.5" (opens to 45") 1998 This book version of a large instllation focuses on the politics of intimacy and the tension between the desire to merge and the struggle to separate, which has been central to my experience as a mother and as a daughter. Like much of my work it is informed by my daily experience of mothering in relation to the social category of Mother, constructed as natural, thus simultaneously romanticized and undervalued. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898414722-FOPYB3ZB0N21SQED1MPY/matamb1-web-.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Performance (of): Nutrition, Hygiene, Love Detail, self portrait https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898347960-GVV9EJ4527WCDYPGOZ06/mama-01-web.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Mama Do You Love Me 24’ x 24’ installation with sound, wood, plaster, baby bottle nipples 1997 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898364218-0D5Q8S9WKKT6W6TR8ULG/mama-02-web.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Mama Do You Love Me Detail, plaster https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898377817-D0OKZEPIVWX5QA3E36W5/mama-03a-web.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Mama Do You Love Me Detail, wood and baby bottle nipples https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1410898389931-H3G7HGVF6WAQ887MKRXA/mama-04-web.jpg Maternal Work + Publications - Mama Do You Love Me Detail, wood and baby bottle nipples https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772748485366-QI5EIBX816N80IOH0T4T/Boobs+copy.jpg Maternal Work + Publications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772748520441-6I1MOHP1EXRY7PGOW843/boobs-back-cropped+copy.jpg Maternal Work + Publications http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/drawing daily 0.75 2016-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285182834-RVDTYRAD7XOU2K4N1TD5/e_mcmahon.image_1.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 1 Charcoal on Rives BFK 22.25" x 29.5" 2013 Series of drawings of my dog sleeping on hot summer days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285182834-RVDTYRAD7XOU2K4N1TD5/e_mcmahon.image_1.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 1 Charcoal on Rives BFK 22.25" x 29.5" 2013 Series of drawings of my dog sleeping on hot summer days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285190769-CS3A7B44BDQNPXH5RWQC/_MG_2713.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285208095-CK1WR5SO173MB3HLGO2E/_MG_2719.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285199789-C37KVGA3W1VUPTGEX40B/_MG_2716.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285216776-1C6WKRHXTU8JWHTC9ZO3/_MG_2722.jpg Drawing - Animal, No. 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030815931-1UMSZIILR4EA48ZVSRX6/LoveObjects.jpg Drawing - Love Objects Graphite on Found Flash Cards, each card 3.5” x 2.5 “ 2000 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403031806875-PCIVLK6RY8TFLUWVPZTT/Suckled-install-web.jpg Drawing - Suckled Charcoal on Rives BFK, individual drawings 20" × 13" 1996–2005 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283309663-N3IGOGVBX36NEF6ZTI2F/REPRO-Install-Detail.jpg Drawing - Reproduction: Procreation Litho crayon on damp cloth, individual drawings 17" × 13" 2000 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403282795482-P3U6VC9SIAFYUAAJFM71/REPRO-2.jpg Drawing - Reproduction: Procreation-detail Litho crayon on damp cloth 17" × 13" 2000 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283295250-US7088B7U66XFJWRZBEK/REPRO-1.jpg Drawing - Reproduction: Procreation-detail Litho crayon on damp cloth 17" × 13" 2000 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283301128-B0165QK4KCD344B1FN0Z/REPRO-4.jpg Drawing - Reproduction: Procreation-detail Litho crayon on damp cloth 17" × 13" 2000 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403285166851-QNR5BWUXDSR8YUYGWO79/REPRO-3.jpg Drawing - Reproduction: Procreation-detail Litho crayon on damp cloth 17" × 13" 2000 http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/design-science daily 0.75 2026-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1412735706808-WD7JY6M2C183EAY6I5VP/CEDO-10-7-14-2.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1412735706808-WD7JY6M2C183EAY6I5VP/CEDO-10-7-14-2.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287490948-39638DUW6TP87N6O2C3K/opener.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO) At the request of CEDO Intercultural and Sociedad Cooperativa Única de Mujeres oyster growers in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, my students created a natural history mural and signage for a new restaurant and eco-tourism business on the banks of Morua Estuary. This led to several visits with students to learn about the ecology of the Gulf of California and work on other projects: including a second mural and branding for CEDO’s 30th Anniversary, The estuary Conservation Fund, and NaturArte: ecotourism corridor. These were applied to a wide range of publications, programs, and presentations. (co-designed with Kelly Leslie, Margaret Kimball, Eva Orduña, Sean Waple, and other students in my Critical Issues courses from 2005 to 2010). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287550257-AS53ZE8PGTCPDH6ZYPY0/tank.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Students researching illustrations in the CEDO field station library aquarium. 2007 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1413582113704-OIFPUH94T75CVJLFXQ4Y/-up.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287543009-QQUYEBIP9EVRMHDBAZRO/painting5.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Mural for Aquamar Oyster Growers kayaking and bird watching eco-tourist cooperative on the banks of Morua Estuary in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. 2008 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1413582133787-QAF68M4RJC6IQJW5OBDF/painting2-up.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Mural painting https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1411090188065-RJV8X9QQ340L1R1HZMMS/conservlogo.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Estuary Conservation Fund logo co-designed with Kelly Leslie 2007 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1411090204322-9WVKE4HA68GT23IKI1B5/color-study.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Color palette by Mike Buffington, undergraduate student 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1411143969621-UE6UGG002ZH08Z5O1P2A/CEDO-postcardfront-grey.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Postcard designed with Kelly Leslie https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287628486-8FMU7JHCV3NVGZ4V7N5G/shirts.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural 30th Anniversary T-shirts and Banners, design and illustration: Margi Kimball graduate student 2010   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287588896-4LSHC5MIBKJMY1EPEKIB/calendar.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO Intercultural Tide Calendar,Co-designed with Kelly Leslie, 2009   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287577700-3WFM16OZ2N8XJX4R0DWK/cedo+brochures.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - CEDO intercultural Series of brochures designed by student, Eva Orduña 2007 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403288080478-NXO1Q4X2ZR4NX6GPZOJ7/DS-01.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Design + Science Exhibition Post Card designed by John Gialanella, graduate student 2009 This exhibition is the product of a collaborative exploration into the processes of translating scientific findings and concepts into designed communication. This project involving students in my Critical Issues in Design course, science students, and UA scientists provided a dynamic opportunity for each discipline to learn about the other. Student worked on several projects. One group of students worked with Dr. Matthew Sullivan, Assistant Professor of Ecology/Evolutionary Biology, and his students to create a series of posters intended to inform the public about the critical role of plankton in the ecology of the planet. Dr. Sullivan is a scientific coordinator of TARA Oceans, a worldwide, 3-year oceanographic expedition involving 100 international scientists. The goal of the expedition is to create a baseline understanding of the diversity and functional capabilities of marine organisms, from viruses to fish larvae, at 300 sampling sites. Defining such a baseline is an essential first step to understanding how the oceans are being affected by climate change and other human activities.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287636819-OOXSC48ZHCR1H59OOIUM/DS-02.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Design + Science Exhibition TARA Oceans posters Installed in the UA Student Union 2009 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287638698-C4ORBRJG5AH5NZRS82YQ/DS-02a.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - TARA Oceans Banner Designed with Kelly Leslie for Biosphere 2. 2009 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287673508-9HDJSVT0IG8ZCHEV3908/DS-03.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Tara Oceans Poster design, Thomas Deeney undergraduate student 2009   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287682128-FLPCMYY4ZL4B6USKF678/DS-05.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - TARA Oceans Poster design, Jessica Gerlach, graduate student 2009 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287695913-P8NSMJDSRRNEK0B4RI4P/DS-06.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - TARA Oceans Poster design, Christian Rice, graduate student 2009 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287701368-KEWC842JFU6UHB8IFVNK/DS-07.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - TARA Oceans Poster design, Johnny Nelson graduate student 2009   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287709244-DDV8FEHT8J5NEQU6EJIA/DS-08.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Marine Discovery Info-graphic design, John Gialanella, graduate student 2009   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403287725803-LG9J61WJ5MSOZXHIVNW7/DS-09.jpg Design + Science / CEDO - Marine Discovery info-graphic design, Jonathan Black, graduate student 2009 http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/lost-language daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1408388714615-K08I05XVJCC93RVE1HQ9/A-color-deaesa1-web.jpg Lost Language - Lost Language of a Desert Sea Letterpress on Rives BFK, Marbled paper cut outs, 29"× 93" 2009 For four months I was in solitary retreat, residing in a moldy studio built into a dune on the shore of the Gulf of California in Sonora, Mexico. I arrived with armloads of books to read and a box of scraps left over from previous projects to make into new work. Every afternoon I swam suspended in the warm hyper-saline water, peering through goggles. As the days stacked up behind me, my eyes recalibrated to the stingrays hidden just underneath the surface of the sand, the tiny fish camouflaged against the rocky reef, and the subtle markings distinguishing Sanderlings from the Sandpipers as they ran by on invisible legs. If I sat on the beach motionless for long enough, the shorebirds would look right at me with their bright yellow eyes. The mutual recognition I imagined between us provided comfort and relief from the struggle to communicate in Spanish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1408388714615-K08I05XVJCC93RVE1HQ9/A-color-deaesa1-web.jpg Lost Language - Lost Language of a Desert Sea Letterpress on Rives BFK, Marbled paper cut outs, 29"× 93" 2009 For four months I was in solitary retreat, residing in a moldy studio built into a dune on the shore of the Gulf of California in Sonora, Mexico. I arrived with armloads of books to read and a box of scraps left over from previous projects to make into new work. Every afternoon I swam suspended in the warm hyper-saline water, peering through goggles. As the days stacked up behind me, my eyes recalibrated to the stingrays hidden just underneath the surface of the sand, the tiny fish camouflaged against the rocky reef, and the subtle markings distinguishing Sanderlings from the Sandpipers as they ran by on invisible legs. If I sat on the beach motionless for long enough, the shorebirds would look right at me with their bright yellow eyes. The mutual recognition I imagined between us provided comfort and relief from the struggle to communicate in Spanish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283433459-VSZI8L519LIN0CD498JP/dessea4-web.jpg Lost Language - Lost Language of a Desert Sea- detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283422296-4CTROW9VB53PDJS9X42Z/deaesa2-web.jpg Lost Language - Lost Language of a Desert Sea- detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403283428455-RMLNST969OKYITUNVZE3/dessea3-web.jpg Lost Language - Lost Language of a Desert Sea- detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749398200-NXI2R53A4ZQFRTNZV7BN/Lost+Language+No.1-To+Wait.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749398489-2XC89V65M8O33SBDXVXO/Lost+Language+No.2-To+Want.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749401550-RNZFQATO3C2LTEOXTVNH/Lost+Language+No.3-To+Watch.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749401904-ESJARN2XX0M0P8MBCL54/Lost+Language+No.4-To+Wander.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749404363-LQJWYAL04Y0MOTYIAK6W/Lost+Language+No.5-To+Read.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749405309-XAPBS8CF0GQKWEK0BXVP/Lost+Language+No.6-To+Wonder.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749406688-G03BS138ARRALUX4XY36/Lost+Language+No.7-To+Ride.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749407807-50N8XDTWK9EHV835QUHL/Lost+Language+No.8-To+Wish.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749409167-PGLKV46NR9134ZLHN571/Lost+Language+No.9-To+Ponder.jpg Lost Language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1772749413924-08FP6L8D6R3DXFUB4645/cutouts.jpg Lost Language http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/past-inhabitants daily 0.75 2016-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030792031-WEI1SNU207WQT5XO4CM9/IMG_2052.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen I) Series of photographs of specimens from the University of Arizona collection. All are species no longer found in the bed of Rillito River because of the loss of Riparian habitat due to the over extraction ofgroundwater. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030792031-WEI1SNU207WQT5XO4CM9/IMG_2052.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen I) Series of photographs of specimens from the University of Arizona collection. All are species no longer found in the bed of Rillito River because of the loss of Riparian habitat due to the over extraction ofgroundwater. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030789901-9XVYXSLTPNOKDBZ49F8C/IMG_2031.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen II) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030786071-Y7DJC45UIEI3O0QJ9QUA/IMG_2024.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen III) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030809051-SVC2ZXXZS2GXABDO1H8U/IMG_2133.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen IV) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030801351-EA8X70SY5L0AS13URGMX/IMG_2126.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen V) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030780941-10LGZDVGC8H6WI0BIKYU/IMG_2003.jpg Past Inhabitants - Past Inhabitants (Specimen VI) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030782545-8GWTI0ZZQY5JSWRLHBMJ/IMG_2014.jpg Past Inhabitants - Specimen VII https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030777417-XXJDLTD07ZRRQLQY9NR5/IMG_1994.jpg Past Inhabitants - Specimen VIII https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030778937-UUOCO8D6OOAX87OS1X8J/IMG_1996.jpg Past Inhabitants - Specimen IX https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030794688-EOGO7YRCCR8BU0LJFAVK/IMG_2060.jpg Past Inhabitants - Specimen X https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1403030802316-PATTFZW5Z5QN34KA4MWG/IMG_2080.jpg Past Inhabitants - Specimen XI http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/change-over-time daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457927967428-AX09TP2V5CV42XV4FRFT/Change+Over+Time+final-300.jpg Change Over Time - Change Over Time Archival Photographic Prints and House Paint, 96"× 96" 2015 This piece is made of 275 hemispherical photographs taken by scientists studying global forest die-off and created to stand across from a 10-foot Douglas fir section in the lobby of the Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring building on the University of Arizona Campus. Special thanks to David D. Breshears and Patric Royer for consultation and providing the hemispherical photographs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457927967428-AX09TP2V5CV42XV4FRFT/Change+Over+Time+final-300.jpg Change Over Time - Change Over Time Archival Photographic Prints and House Paint, 96"× 96" 2015 This piece is made of 275 hemispherical photographs taken by scientists studying global forest die-off and created to stand across from a 10-foot Douglas fir section in the lobby of the Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring building on the University of Arizona Campus. Special thanks to David D. Breshears and Patric Royer for consultation and providing the hemispherical photographs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1455160543627-ZJ75CUQ97Q2ZEHHYMJAE/image-asset.jpeg Change Over Time - Change Over Time 275 Archival photographic prints and paint, 96" x 96" 2015 “Change Over Time” tells the story of the dying forests of the Southwestern United States in the language of tree rings­–time recorded in concentric circles radiating from the center. Created with hemispherical photographs taken scientists studying forest mortality, it was created to stand across from a 10-foot in diameter Douglas fir section in the lobby of the Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring Research building on the University of Arizona campus. In the last decade the South-western United States has lost more than 20% of its forests. In the 2002 drought Piñon pines died across the four corners area, reaching 90% mortality in some sites in Arizona and New Mexico. There is mounting scientific evidence that forests worldwide are becoming more vulnerable to previous threats such as drought and insect infestation due to the rise in global temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457908790373-E0YMDSEAEI3U142DBPBD/Change+Over+Time+finalsection.jpg Change Over Time - Change Over Time (detail) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457908850993-PBCQZ9SYGGNC5693DTCQ/image-asset.jpeg Change Over Time - Change Over Time (detail) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909151652-KMB8PCJJP3PVTJDR0P88/image-asset.jpeg Change Over Time - Change Over Time (detail) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909062073-500FXUF2P84O7NWLA515/final-lobby-lite.jpg Change Over Time - Change Over Time In place in Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring building. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457908949110-O62RZW1ES12VC9T6AC7W/image-asset.jpeg Change Over Time - Change Over Time in place in Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring building. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941603919-ZDGB8CXYF64A7W618K8S/change+over+time-wyoming-sm.jpg Change Over Time https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532383158855-UT19O4MYNNJFC9L5RDQJ/tree-section-lobby-web.jpg Change Over Time http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/new-gallery daily 0.75 2016-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1455160040781-UI9DQZJOSL1M2RVD0LI3/image-asset.jpeg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse Cardboard tubes, fabric, string, evergreen needles, video, 10' x 10' x 6' 2015 An immersive multi-sensory installation created to remind the audience of how wonderful it is to lay down in the forest and look up at the canopy, as they watch a video of the forest disappearing. Arizona Biennial 2015 Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson Arizona (July 24 – October 11) Collaborators: Beth Weinstein (video: Travis Boswell, sound: Jesse Chehak)   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1455160040781-UI9DQZJOSL1M2RVD0LI3/image-asset.jpeg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse Cardboard tubes, fabric, string, evergreen needles, video, 10' x 10' x 6' 2015 An immersive multi-sensory installation created to remind the audience of how wonderful it is to lay down in the forest and look up at the canopy, as they watch a video of the forest disappearing. Arizona Biennial 2015 Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson Arizona (July 24 – October 11) Collaborators: Beth Weinstein (video: Travis Boswell, sound: Jesse Chehak)   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909423388-EM27ZAH27IL0MUFUJZ6B/biennial2+copy.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone To Collapse Installed in the Arizona Biennial, Tucson Museum of Art. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909811795-IH5CQ7GXEZJ67SM3VCEZ/11068097_10206250447043888_1153254387494915463_o-1+copy.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse In use in the Night Gallery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457927018697-R2X64C0MVXKAZ9TMSVVY/IMG_8950.JPG Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse Installed at the Night Gallery, in conjunction with the Balance/unBalance 2015 conference (with info-graphics) in Tempe, Arizona (March 19 – 29) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457926932142-WBK2W1W5EZC23VORZH4J/alltubes.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse construction detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457926950560-DZMUNQ73VNWTJCI1GU13/needles-pillows.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse Evergreen needle pillows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909778400-2EJA6DPTNQ3TQXM2GSDQ/IMG_0075-1+copy.jpeg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse construction detail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457909809725-61VQZ2FYI75IR6VBV41Z/IMG_0140.JPG Prone to Collapse - Pront to Collapse Installed Night Gallery, Balance/unBalance 2015 conference (with info-graphics) in Tempe, Arizona (March 19 – 29) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457910201976-MM5H75YPYKUVTCJKJ063/Screen+Shot+.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse Video still https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1457926973062-YCZONAZHG94MMLX7FP4B/tubes-1+copy+copy.jpg Prone to Collapse - Prone to Collapse construction detail http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/distance-passed daily 0.75 2019-06-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1458068916115-1T0VG0OCKFNECMXNLNI9/cat4.jpg Distance Passed - Distance Passed 1–15 ink, gesso, charcoal, acrylic, and collage on paper, 2015 Over-all dimensions: 5 inches x 96 inches x 1inch In the summer of 2014 I drove thousands of miles to visit remote field stations in the Pacific Northwest where I had previously lived and worked as a field biologist in my early twenties. I smelled the sweet sage of the Alvord Desert and the earthy ferns of the coastal rain forests. I saw my handwriting on the tags of dusty stuffed bat and bird carcasses in the teaching collections and my blurry black and white photo still tacked up on the wall, but the person I was then remained as distant and unknowable as she was before my trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1458068916115-1T0VG0OCKFNECMXNLNI9/cat4.jpg Distance Passed - Distance Passed 1–15 ink, gesso, charcoal, acrylic, and collage on paper, 2015 Over-all dimensions: 5 inches x 96 inches x 1inch In the summer of 2014 I drove thousands of miles to visit remote field stations in the Pacific Northwest where I had previously lived and worked as a field biologist in my early twenties. I smelled the sweet sage of the Alvord Desert and the earthy ferns of the coastal rain forests. I saw my handwriting on the tags of dusty stuffed bat and bird carcasses in the teaching collections and my blurry black and white photo still tacked up on the wall, but the person I was then remained as distant and unknowable as she was before my trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1531617001072-P8OBSSR9QFSJLB4U8GN3/Distance+Passed+2015_side+view.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1458066390081-PHS0GX1K8IOAGYV2C6ZN/Distance+Passed2-web.jpg Distance Passed - Distance Passed (detail) Woodlands II, triptych: 1.25 in. x 1 in., .75 in. x 1.75 in., .75 in. x 1.5 in. Woodlands III, 1.875 in. x 1 in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1458066397105-IJZ8HA7GAFGI4F3D5O8I/Distancepassed-web.jpg Distance Passed - Distance Passed (detail) Ocean I, .75 in. x 1.5 in., .75 in. x 1.75 in., 1.125 in. x 1.125 in. Ocean II, 1.75 in. x 1 in. Ocean III, 1.25 in. x 1 in., 1 in. x 1.75 in.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1458066466147-KXWUHJ8A3GGXHHC7EHHU/cat6.jpg Distance Passed - Distance Passed (detail) Oceans I, triptych: .75 in. x 1.5 in., .75 in. x 1.75 in., 1.125 in. x 1.125 in.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1531616039196-RWMR0K08I2GI6WGCS7XU/image-asset.jpeg Distance Passed - Distance Passed 5 inches x 96 inches x 1 inch, 2015, acrylic, ink, paper, wood In the summer of 2014 I drove thousands of miles to visit remote field stations in the Pacific Northwest where I had previously lived and worked as a field biologist in my early twenties. I wondered if returning to experience these places again after forty years would help me to understand the course my life as taken. I smelled the sweet sage of the Alvord Desert and the earthy ferns of the coastal rain forests. I saw my handwriting still there on the tags of dusty stuffed bat and bird carcasses in the teaching collections and my blurry black and white photo on the wall of the library. And though the rugged beauty and awe-inspiring scale of the landscape effected me as much as it had when I first saw it in 1970, the girl I was then still remains as distant and unknowable as she was before my trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381986220-290ZLIFG88EWOV2BTJC6/DP01-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381994095-YJYZ9WAS4PV9Y5LS2DQ2/DP02-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1455160254377-G047PGLIRK27YR7ZYFS4/image-asset.jpeg Distance Passed - Distance Passed 5 inches x 96 inches x 1 inch, 2015, acrylic, ink, paper, wood In the summer of 2014 I drove thousands of miles to visit remote field stations in the Pacific Northwest where I had previously lived and worked as a field biologist in my early twenties. I wondered if returning to experience these places again after forty years would help me to understand the course my life as taken. I smelled the sweet sage of the Alvord Desert and the earthy ferns of the coastal rain forests. I saw my handwriting still there on the tags of dusty stuffed bat and bird carcasses in the teaching collections and my blurry black and white photo on the wall of the library. And though the rugged beauty and awe-inspiring scale of the landscape effected me as much as it had when I first saw it in 1970, the girl I was then still remains as distant and unknowable as she was before my trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381999735-260V417TX0SLT7KWO430/DP03-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382005203-EOFFFTREKP9F7JLKHGK7/DP04-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382009363-MCDUFC0JSIK9MEPYL6DN/DP05-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382014794-4OGZJVPJEMYM7H4VKZZE/DP06-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382019303-HSUVK7YVYV34JT5ZSTXP/DP07-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382025556-2AUW9HHVYI0NN8M3F0KC/DP08-web-borders.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382397700-QYJCX0KIN7P9H56UJO5S/DP09-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382424444-X4DDM6I8TTV9V5DLPAZK/DP10-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382438038-XI231PQOFYL2P8DVHASY/DP11-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382452868-Q53KDL7PQWCISBHK8WYF/DP12-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382467921-F7JRQ34HBOD5GCU3WK1Y/DP13-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382484681-XUS0L634GUPIQWIK7T27/DP14-web-border.jpg Distance Passed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532382496241-QCBLBKZ2ULWFP80WWJ9R/DP15-borders.jpg Distance Passed http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/diminutives-112 daily 0.75 2019-06-07 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/t/5cfadb701fa6b6000122e47f/1531097646436/ Diminutives: 1–12 - Diminutives: 1—12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/5b42826f70a6ad05d07828f0/5b4282c803ce641f98046dfa/1531097646436/ Diminutives: 1–12 - Diminutives: 1—12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532305347758-4ASJVRVXFKZ5VOCXN808/Diminutives-web+install.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532305484938-YEDB9CXIETCPCXBMTG1A/Diminutives+sideview2.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532305496154-A92HBLKUB685KQJYU22X/Diminutives+closeup-web.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381759787-AY4RUZZ0PY6PEVB4L3SB/Diminutives-01.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381774064-9EUMBO95U8N3NUEOHSRU/Diminutives-02.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381780853-NP1A446LM2NTFKI7B3HP/Diminutives-03.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381796061-843MQZSFRPDB8WVWHJI0/Diminutives-04.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381801335-T0ZMQN6ZZM13U3SGWN1B/Diminutives-05.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381805973-XNPJ0PGUYJDOD0BPLBNH/Diminutives-06.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381831639-A4U3HNNI2K1RW4O69G5E/Diminutives-07.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381836758-L9WFJINCI2VZICJ09C5G/Diminutives-08.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381840324-DAHJSP1LJNOZ4A3MNBFJ/Diminutives-09.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381846579-PUYWTFO8UP2M1T6K460U/Diminutives-10.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381851243-MTMI9E0ASIPOHBJUI8F0/Diminutives-11.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1532381859291-J3SAYZTKVHKFUP3IW0UP/Diminutives-12.jpg Diminutives: 1–12 http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/time-and-place daily 0.75 2019-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560730616320-7O6J30D086SJK357UOMY/IMG_3609-edit.jpg Time and Place - Time and Place: One through Seven 22” x 22” Archival Prints In “Time and Place” I reference past scientific representations of the natural world because they reveal both our efforts and our limitations in understanding ourselves and our surroundings. These images are influenced by radar of the surface of Venus taken by the Magellan orbiter in the 1990s. Because of the limitations of the equipment, strips of incomplete imagery were mosaicked to create a map of the planet. “Time and Place” also reflects the frailty of time and the power of place that I felt when I returned to remote sites in the desert where I had worked as field biologist in my early 20s. As I­—transformed by 40 years of human time—stood alone among the bubbling mud pots, white-rimmed mineral ponds, and slimy green watering holes of my past, how could they have remained so unchanged? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941127282-JPWL687DX2E06JL2M7F9/McMahon020-circle.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559940813573-3X9R9V0FW973TNTQEYA2/Wyominginstall-entire+copy.jpg Time and Place - In Nature | Of Nature | Perceptions of Place University of Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming, February 11—March 22, 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941178530-8JZPOCAEWO0YNKGGJZSD/McMahon028-circle3-clean-edit3b-5m-darker.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941211982-JDGKESID8EY92OOH47C8/McMahon030-circle+3-edit-desaturation+30.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941256237-1UGE260JVRVJVAAI68L2/test2a-FINAL.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941292111-HXQYMBWPBESITC4UBGW6/test1-edit-clean-darker.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941329280-YSYVCYK97SD8GH3L0A9Q/McMahon019-circle2-clean-rotate.jpg Time and Place https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559941359583-EGW2OV8L83FZDS53U9FG/McMahon007-circle2-edit-rotate.jpg Time and Place http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/remembrances daily 0.75 2026-01-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560731359642-KNFUYJWCLF3IC4FN41KE/install-Remembrances-edit.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 - Remembrances: 1–12 Overall dimensions: 22 inches x 29 inches x 1 inch 2018 Ink, gesso, charcoal, acrylic, local pigments and collage on paper. Drawings and paintings from 19th century expeditions evoke the romance of distant lands, ripe for exploration and discovery. These diminutive analogues suggest our losses as the natural world shrinks before our eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1559940393581-3T4WGX8FWYFJRGAMIKD5/install-Remembrances.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560731359642-KNFUYJWCLF3IC4FN41KE/install-Remembrances-edit.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 - Remembrances: 1–12 Overall dimensions: 22 inches x 29 inches x 1 inch 2018 Ink, gesso, charcoal, acrylic, local pigments and collage on paper. Drawings and paintings from 19th century expeditions evoke the romance of distant lands, ripe for exploration and discovery. These diminutive analogues suggest our losses as the natural world shrinks before our eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560731692053-P08SHZ4HA4R35SZPZU18/Wyoming+install-Rememberances-edit.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560736626213-QDKZ6M6JL3KRVBE15LXT/Rememb-01-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737012104-OKLOW9I3WCMXZL2X22TQ/Rememb-02-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560736701642-0CL063DDKBC9Z6UXM5IS/Rememb-03-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560736729993-WBD0BBKTKG0DKS87MIHX/Rememb-04-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560736754318-MBHT0KZBDF45T85PKZAU/Rememb-05-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560736790462-G4HR0NFVP7T9LDAHCS4X/Rememb-06-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737037425-I7WYT1G2T1MDXG9CGHT7/Rememb-07-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737052101-HX3STHUOPX6GH8435GY3/Rememb-08-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737078369-6IQOAAHP0U8F4QCAP2CY/Rememb-09-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737110796-OZ9AEK9FD7IILF3GO5QZ/Rememb-10-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560737124050-N9MML1TDQBL23FAEN4UW/Rememb-11-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5375306ae4b020043377a505/1560741346714-MN4C6G8BA248ZMIV4YWS/Rememb-12-edge.jpg Remembrances: 1–12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5375306ae4b020043377a505/5cf99c74b5413a0001c25514/6961471fbd0c064a984fcedb/1767982879381/ Remembrances: 1–12 http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/curriculum-vitae daily 0.75 2026-03-05 http://www.ellenmcmahon.com/cv-and-bio daily 0.75 2026-03-05