Unintended Consequences - Vessels explores the relationship between migration routes of animals, highway systems of people and the intersections of the two.

The Vessels project is a documentation of each ungulate fatality over the ten-mile section of Wyoming Highway 191 between mile marker 89 and 99, which is my daily commute. For each fatal collision I made a lidded ceramic jar in honor of the animal killed. Each jar is decorated with traditional ornamentation and an image representative of the specific animal, as well as a note of the species, sex, gender and age of the individual represented.  There are 67 unique jars, data being sourced from documentation kept by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. 

This project is my way of paying respect to the struggle that migrating animals face, and of honoring each individual that wasn’t able to complete his or her journey. It’s important to note that by no means is my intention to place blame. Humans as well as animals have a need to move over the landscape, and I among many others drive twice daily through migration corridors. None of us intends to cause damage to wildlife. Quite the contrary, those of us who choose to live here tend to be deeply engaged with natural surroundings and many have made a deliberate choice to live in a region with abundant wildlife. I recognize and applaud the efforts made by a wide assortment of entities to mitigate casualties, many with excellent results. The overpasses north of Pinedale have seen tremendous success, and ongoing efforts such as removal of view-obstructing vegetation, the spraying of clover and other attractant forbes in the right-of-ways, lowered speed limits and warning signage demonstrates the commitment of the state and the community to minimize casualties. It’s an important cause to many, and I’m certainly not alone in my wish to address this issue. As an artist, as a resident of the region over which the migrants flow, and also as a driver who empathizes with the victims of the frequent collisions, I hope that by performing this gesture of respect, a different way of seeing the issue might emerge. If nothing else, for me, the act of creating a clay offering to honor the death of each individual over the course of a winter serves as a personal homage to the creatures with which we share this cherished landscape.