Necedah Wildlife Refuge


	Necedah National Wildlife Refuge 2007 Artist-in-residence “On September 9, I finished a two week residency at Necedah, “land of the yellow waters”, and was granted complete access to remote landscapes of bog and sand ridges.” “I was immediately inspired by the quiet beauty of the place: misty sunrises over the marsh, Whooping and Sandhill Cranes, Egrets and Great Blue Herons wading in shallow pools, red-headed woodpeckers playing tag, migrating monarch butterflies, otters and cormorants sliding through the water. The natural drama of everyday life is allowed to occur here without hindrance.” “As I got to know the Refuge, I began to find it’s rhythm and many more subtle spectacles were observed: Goldfinches fluttering among stone monuments marking the resting places of residents who worked the land a century before; Lightning and thunder in dark clouds passing over the heads of trumpeter swans as they wait out the storm; Dedicated Operation Migration staff leading early morning training sessions with ‘07 class of young Whooping Cranes; Fresh wolf tracks in the soft sand.” “I will forever draw inspiration from this experience and will continue to create art from a desire to make apparent to others my respect and admiration for the land, its wildlife inhabitants, and its modern-day stewards.” Jay Jocham