Sandbeck posing with her piece Lake Victoria (Nyanza), a multi-color, multi-layer papercut. Photo by. Elise Lockner

The Large Lakes Observatory hosted an open house art gallery on Friday, February 13. The event spanned two floors of the Observatory and featured the work of Ellen Sandbeck of Duluth, MN.

Sandbeck’s artistic medium is papercutting – the practice of making art through cutting paper. Her pieces are composed of multiple layers of these cuttings, resulting in intricate and colorful designs.

“I have been doing papercuts for such a long time that the practice has actually changed the way my mind works, and the way I perceive the world,” Sandbeck explained in her artist statement.

Her featured pieces depict aquatic life; specifically, native and non-native species and their interactions with each other, as well as people’s perceptions of them. Sandbeck is particularly interested in lesser-known native species, as they tend to be overlooked despite being important to their environments.

“I just find the natural world so fascinating,” Sandbeck said.

Sandbeck's piece, entitled Headwaters of the Mississippi, 2021. Photo by Elise Lockner, Feb 13.

Papercutting is not only an artistic outlet for Sandbeck. Since beginning to experiment with the medium after the birth of her son in 1985, it has become a mode of learning about and seeing the world for her. After researching a topic, she then creates a piece based on what she learned, as exemplified in her gallery pieces based on conversations with LLO researchers about various aquatic organisms and their roles in the environment.

Entoprocta is based off of what Sandbeck learned about the organisms through conversations with Dr. William Perry of the LLO. Photo by Elise, Feb 13

Currently, she is planning work for a piece inspired by Dr. Cody Sheik’s research on cyanobacteria: the under-appreciated cornerstones of the food web. People tend to think negatively towards them for the toxins they produce, though without these creatures, the food web would not stand as it does today.

“Paper-cutting requires figuring out connections, because if you sever the wrong connections, the whole thing falls apart,” Sandbeck said in her statement.

The open house also featured pieces by students in Professor Darren Houser’s Sustainability Studio class, as well as a few pieces from the LLO’s permanent collection by John Simenson. The students incorporated sediment from Lake Superior in their pieces, gathered from aboard the Blue Heron.

Giant lure by John Simenson tucked against the ceiling. Photo by Elise Lockner, Feb 13

Catherine O’Reilly, Director of the LLO, hopes to one day have a permanent art gallery in the observatory.

“I have always been interested in that interface between art and science,” she said.

O’Reilly noted the similarities between the two disciplines: “The best scientists are also creative; they kind of have to be.”

For more of Sandbeck’s work, visit her online portfolio.

For more information about the LLO, visit their UMD page.

When Art Meets Science: Artist in Residence Gallery at the LLO