"'Fields of Salt' is a view of wetlands and industrial salt ponds from the southernmost part of San Francisco Bay. The salt ponds in the foreground are in the process of being restored to wetlands which provide habitat for wildlife, recreational opportunities and flood management." - Linda Gass

Artist’s Statement:
"I am inspired by the relationship between humans and the water and land that sustain them. My work explores how landscapes change over time focusing on those places where destruction and renewal, wounding and healing, absence and presence overlap. The three artworks shown here explore the environmental impact of landfill and wetlands restoration on the health of San Francisco Bay, focusing on the human mark on the landscape as seen from the birds-eye point of view. Each artwork involves research such as reading scientific publications, interviewing scientists, historical and present day maps and photographs.

To make the artwork, I stretch a large piece of white silk on a frame and paint the landscape with vibrant liquid silk dyes. I then remove the silk painting from the frame and stitch it using quilting and embroidery techniques to create the highly detailed and textured landscapes you see. The aesthetic of beauty is important to my work; it helps make the serious nature of the environmental concerns I’m addressing more approachable"