Greetings fellow creatives! It’s Meg from Studio 2 Makings here with something a little different from our normal newsletter format in a Behind The Scenes Blog.
It’s been quiet over here in the studio, as we’ve been in diligent focus preparing for Spring and Summer Workshops, and have just wrapped up a very cool commission project, which I wanted to take some time to show and tell with you!
The QC Ecological Corridor Network Backstory:
Recently I completed a commission an for illustrated map for the National Wildlife Federation featuring The Quad Cities Ecological Corridor in collaboration with Quad City Arts. I wanted to share a little bit of the story behind this project, successes, and challenges.
What is an Ecological Corridor?
Ecological Corridors can be defined as:
Prioritized, connected networks of natural landscapes—including forests, wetlands, and floodplains—designed to link fragmented habitats across the Iowa-Illinois border region. They facilitate wildlife movement, improve climate resilience, and mitigate flood risks along the Mississippi River.
The NWF, in combination with Prairie Rivers Network, DPI Climate R&D Hub, and a large team of scientists, engineers, and professionals across disciplines worked hard gathering environmental data on The Quad Cities region and translated that data into a resource that can be used by citizens to better serve in conservation of our natural areas. You can find more information on the project as a whole by clicking here.
You can see a beautiful rendition of the combined metadata in the ARC GIS created StoryMap here. I learned about Story Maps in grad school, and it was fascinating to work with this resource under a design lens. The amount of data collected and displayed is MASSIVE. And so, the visual challenge was to show this data in a way that informed and inspired our local audiences and beyond.
That’s where the artist comes in! I was asked to interpret this data into visual format that can be not only used by environmental professionals, but also as an inspiring resource for community members. This map’s purpose is to highlight areas that are ideal for conservation and preservation, environmental projects in the area (like Nahant Marsh, or Milan Bottoms for example), and several endangered and native species specific to our area.
Here’s the high res image. Be sure to zoom in to see all of the details!
This map was a doozie of a creative challenge and very much a labor of love. Using several maps compiled from NHS’s StoryMap, endangered species data from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the insight of environmental professionals regionally and nationally, the final design arrived here.
From an artist’s perspective, it was an interesting challenge to maintain map integrity, while deciding which information to highlight. It was a fascinating collaborative challenge to go through the process of visual translation between disciplines; what can be offered to both the scientific professional, and the curious first-time naturalist?
There was SO MUCH information (you should seriously check out that Story Map!) that a variety of professionals had to put our heads together to decide visual priorities, sift through the data, identify what was alike, and what was visually redundant.
As a lifelong Quad Citizen and artist who has had the pleasure of making memories in the beautiful natural areas we call home, this project was close to my heart. I hope to highlight the awe and inspiration and awe that the nature of the Quad Cities generously provides for us, and inspire others to continue a legacy of care in her honor.
I recently spoke on this topic for WVIK, NPR and Quad City Art’s Talking Art Podcast titled: “Drawing Connections: Meghan Hollister’s Work in Art and Environment” click here to give it a listen.
Quick FAQ regarding the Quad Cities Ecological Corridor Illustrated Map:
What inspired your interpretation of the ecological corridor?
- being proud to be a lifelong quad citizen that’s made many memories in nature- at all of these locations, and rediscovering them over the years. Spending time in these places and nature at large inspires the work that I do today.
- My reference points were things like botanical scientific illustration, field guides, and even tabletop games and children’s illustrated stories resources that make complex natural systems feel inviting and accessible.
What does the artwork help people see or understand that a technical map might not?
- Data informs, but art creates an emotional response connection to place. I feel that inspiration and curiosity is what moves people towards participation, and expanding their world outwards.
- The species illustrations give you a story to connect with, and a point of curiosity. Maybe someone never knew about The Rusty Patch bumblebee, and wants to go see if they can spot it out in the wild. Maybe someone is inspired towards volunteering or conservation. When you see a peek into your backyard backstory, it becomes personal, and I hope that inspires curiosity and action.
How do you hope communities might use or connect with this artwork?
- I’d love for it to live in classrooms, community centers, and naturalist spaces as a conversation starter — it’s designed to be approachable for all ages and backgrounds.
- For environmental professionals, I hope it’s a tool that bridges their work to broader community audiences — sometimes the data exists, but the on-ramp for new folks doesn’t.
- My biggest hope is that someone sees this map and goes outside — finds Nahant Marsh, looks up native plants, starts noticing what’s already living alongside them in the Quad Cities, and finds time to appreciate and participate.
This short FAQ was inspired from the recent webinar I was asked to speak at for the map’s debut, where many different professionals across disciplines came together to discuss the development and conservation of the Quad Cities Ecological Corridor.
Pictured throughout the map are a variety of endangered and native species local to our area provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Starting at the compass, and working our way clockwise, the featured species are as follows:
The Regal Fritillary, Swamp Milkweed, Big Bluestem, the Rusty Patch Bumblebee, Bald Eagle, Joe Pye Weed, Blanding’s Turtle, the Grey Headed Coneflower, and ending with our key framed in Black-eyed Susans.
The process used to create this graphic was digital painting. After the painting was complete, I integrated text layout. All of my design work was completed using an open-source process. If you’re interested in nerding out about the open-source graphic design process used, make sure to sign up for the Studio 2 Newsletter as a process walkthrough is on the horizon.
Thanks for coming along for a process journey story time. Stay tuned to the Studio 2 Making Page for incoming workshops and classes for all ages- Spring and Summer are coming swiftly and we are excited to share it with you!
Are you looking for a collaborator for your next environmental arts project? Shoot me an email at: studio2makings@gmail.com
Cheers Xo,
Meg