Maureen Hearty "Mining My Own Business"

Hi, I’m Maureen Hearty. 

I’m inspired by the relationships of humans with their environment. My preference for building materials are slow decomposing waste; specifically, rusty old parts from farmer’s forgotten piles. 

Humanity’s impact on ecology is extremely visible living in an isolated rural community in north - east Colorado, surrounded by industrial agricultural operations that are barely keeping the communities alive as it is, never mind the fact that the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides the water irrigating all the fields, is quickly drying out. In a land with very little rain and a water shortage created mostly by human extraction, one is faced with contemplating the realities of a waterless agricultural landscape. Tired of the celebrated cultural isolationism in a time where communal problem solving is key, I created this piece, Mining My Own Business, which explores NE CO rural themes in relation to climate, ecology, extraction and change, using traditional rural craft techniques of welding and cross stitch on found objects. I invite you to explore the high plains horizon line landscape by turning the handles at the bottom of the piece to travel through the moving picture of Mining My Own Business.