This is an extra-special thrill for me, as it is the second time RISD has contributed significantly to furthering my interdisciplinary education—the first was in 1990 when I moved to Providence fresh out of college with a BS in Biology to enroll in RISD’s Continuing Education program in Scientific and Technical Illustration. That experience set me on a path toward becoming a conceptual and sound artist; what a surprise to find that eventually the same path would lead back to where it all began.

My thesis—“An Intricate Ensemble: The Art-Science of an Ecological Imaginary for the Anthropocene Epoch”—is the culmination of my work over the course of the past twenty-five years. In a nutshell, I suggest practices and frameworks that emphasize and enhance collaboration, spontaneity, and care, in defying convention, contain the potential to subvert it. The impossible can be realized through creative acts: we can "know what the possible feels like because we know ourselves to be its creators" (Arturo Fallico, Art and Existentialism, 1962). I hope readers will find it relevant to the times at hand.