Arts + Literature Laboratory presents Becoming: an oak savanna laboratory, an exhibition by Maria Schirmer, on display from Tuesday, November 18 through Saturday, December 20, 2025. This exhibition is part of the Bridge Work Madison program.
An opening reception for all current exhibitions will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
Erasmia Press presents Becoming: an oak savanna laboratory. This exhibition invites viewers into a space of regeneration, remembrance, and imagination. Inspired by the oak savanna, which was the predominant ecosystem of Wisconsin before settler colonialism and is now among the most endangered in the world. Imagine massive bur oak trees scattered across the landscape, their lower branches stretching out wide in the uninterrupted sunlight, with a diverse array of grasses and wildflowers flourishing in the understory, a vibrant and complex habitat for many plants and animals. Indigenous land stewards maintained these ecosystems with fire; without fire an oak savanna becomes an overgrown forest. This project reflects cycles of loss, renewal and time.
A wall of reduction linocut proofs traces a slow, layered process of becoming, evoking the abundance of oak trees and the creatures that once flourished. Each proof state reveals a record of time and transformation. Layer upon layer, the image builds through carving, inking, and erasure, a rhythm that mirrors the patience of growth and the abundance of oak trees that once defined the landscape. The creatures depicted in these prints will ultimately form part of an oracle deck, a tool for reflection and connection that extends the work’s dialogue beyond the gallery.
The exhibit features a Wishing Well by the late Sylvie Rosenthal, created as part of Maria's artist-in-residency with The Bubbler in 2023-2024. The hundreds of wishes it once held have now transformed into seeds and the Wishing Well is giving back: visitors can take an acorn, a talisman that their wish is ready to take root. In addition, Acorn portals, small acorns encased in glass, are available for purchase, with proceeds supporting the fellowship established in Sylvie’s honor at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
The “laboratory” portion of the exhibition shares sketches, test prints, and experiments, revealing the artist’s mind at work. Together, the installation honors loss, possibility, and the living processes of creativity and ecological renewal.
