“You’re invited… to join the boreal forest in a duet.”

These words open Boreal Forest Duet, a collaborative limited edition artist book created for the 2022 In a Time of Change (ITOC): Boreal Forest Stories interdisciplinary program uniting arts, humanities, and sciences.

Writing and concept by Molissa Udevitz

Book design and construction by Oralee Nudson

Illustrations by Dana Lindauer

The artists first met in person at the ITOC June 2021 Bonanza Creek Field Trip where they participated in Molissa’s outdoor mindful movement session.  

Inspired by the outdoor mindful movement session, Boreal Forest Duet invites readers to slow down and engage mindfully with boreal forest plants in new ways.  Sensory and movement prompts are interspersed with boreal forest ecology to spark awe and connection to this ecosystem through each season.

The illustrations supplement the text, providing close up sketches of common plants of the boreal forest that individuals may encounter while exploring the movement prompts. Plant sketches are inspired by photographs of the boreal forest taken by Dana and Molissa. 

Design and construction of Boreal Forest Duet is intended to engage the reader's tactile senses through various textured papers, interactive magnetic leaves, and a pop up structure.  Each season’s design reflects elements observed that time of year including fallen leaves, a gradated winter sunset, bright green fiddle heads bursting through a carpet of brown soil, and vibrant colors resonating during the extended Alaskan summer daylight hours.  

Special thanks to Dr. Christa Mulder for fact-checking the science, Corinna Cook for providing writing suggestions, Rick Thoman for providing temperature data, Mary Beth Leigh for facilitating ITOC, and members of the Northwoods Book Arts Guild for book construction feedback.  Photos of Boreal Forest Duet by Chris Arend.