Author: Brianna Joy Seipel

Do you remember a time when you stood in the sunlit silence of the woods, caught your breath at a fleeting sunset, or waded into the ocean only to be completely surprised at the strength of the waves? It can be difficult to express why moments like these matter. And yet, if I asked you to tell me about a place in nature where you’ve felt a similar sense of wonder, freedom, safety, or peace, I wager that it wouldn’t take long to think of “your” place. The natural world has an undeniable power to capture our attention and...

This multi-part editorial series was based on the “Rise and Thrive: A Lives in Landscape Exhibition” created by Milwaukee artist Brianna Joy Seipel. The project was produced in partnership with LOTUS Legal Clinic and the Untold Stories program. https://mkeind.com/riseandthrive The word wake is polysemous: it means both a ritual act of mourning (to ceaselessly watch over the dead) and also to become awake (both from sleep and figuratively, for example, to become aware of some new truth or beauty, that is, to become enlightened). Thus, the phrase the wake of dreams has two distinct senses: it means both to...

This multi-part editorial series was based on the “Rise and Thrive: A Lives in Landscape Exhibition” created by Milwaukee artist Brianna Joy Seipel. The project was produced in partnership with LOTUS Legal Clinic and the Untold Stories program. https://mkeind.com/riseandthrive This small grouping of trees is found on a long and winding road in Maui. The main road is full of elevation inclines, sits atop cliffs without guardrails, and has hairpin turns. These particular trees, however, are found off the main road on a path deeper into the rainforest. The path is even and painless to walk, but without investing...

This multi-part editorial series was based on the “Rise and Thrive: A Lives in Landscape Exhibition” created by Milwaukee artist Brianna Joy Seipel. The project was produced in partnership with LOTUS Legal Clinic and the Untold Stories program. https://mkeind.com/riseandthrive Darkness crushed and shattered Drenched in a chasm of devastation Frayed, wrapped in sorrow Disintegrated Alone My injury, your injury Jagged barbs, inflamed abrasions My distress, your distress Startling incursions, engulfing implosions Copious snarled, shadowed roots of insinuating doubts Lightning darts sting My failures, your failures, parched and raw Your loss, my loss; our screeching losses, dust Together Yesterday’s ended...