Groundwork: Art Honoring the Aquifers

By Gwendolyn Hustvedt

Beneath our feet flows a hidden world, one that is fragile, vital, and full of mystery.

In Groundwork, textile artist and professor Gwendolyn Hustvedt invites readers on a luminous journey into the underground. Through fifteen silk banners brought to life using the traditional Serti technique, Hustvedt merges art, ecology, and myth to reveal the unseen networks that sustain us, from Central Texas aquifers to ancient symbolic realms.

This rich visual and narrative collection explores root systems, mycelium webs, endangered species, sinkholes, fire-scarred stone, and the enduring power of snakes and eggs. Each piece meditates on sustainability, sacred water, and the subterranean layers of human consciousness, offering readers a deeply personal and ecological portrait of place.

Rooted in lunar creative cycles and crafted with environmentally conscious materials, Groundwork is more than an art book: it's a call to awareness, a tribute to what lies beneath, and an offering of care to a changing world.