Minneapolis Artist Teaches NBC Celebrity About Nature on Naturally, Danny Seo
On January 19th, artist and WGM board member Sarah Nassif put Minneapolis in the spotlight as a guest on the Emmy-award winning NBC show Naturally, Danny Seo. In a segment about discovering art and nature, Nassif takes host Danny Seo on a tour of the city’s downtown urban forest and leads an outdoor screenprinting activity viewers can try at home. The segment “Botany in the Big City” will air ed on January 19 as episode 9 of Season 3 of Naturally, Danny Seo, with a rebroadcast scheduled on March 30, 2019. The show will also be available on https://www.nbc.com/naturally-danny-seo.
Sustainable lifestyle expert Danny Seo invited Nassif to his show in summer of 2018 to share her passion for art informed by science and nature. In her practice, Nassif combines botany and textile design to create work that celebrates the natural world while engaging the public as naturalist-collectors and artists in their own right. Nassif shows Seo how to design and print a “leaf motif” based on his drawing of a bur oak leaf. “Textiles commonly feature botanical designs–looking at nature makes us feel good, so it makes sense that we like to bring nature indoors as designs on everyday things from clothing to hand towels.”
Nassif is a teaching artist who creates nature-informed experiences for both kids and adults. She has been awarded a number of grants to support her public art works that connect people to nature in the city through creative experiences. She also offers a three-week residency to deeply connect kids to the natural environment around their schools and recognize that creativity is the foundation of both art and science. She has shared her work across the Twin Cities, Wisconsin and Minnesota. A former urban forester and plant researcher, Nassif says trees provide ample opportunity in the city for anyone to sharpen their own powers of observation and tap into their own creativity.
Learn more about Sarah Nassif, her public art and teaching curriculum at www.sarahnassif.com.