Image: Larissa McPherson is a Master of Fine Arts student in jewelry and metalwork at UGA. During Fall 2024 semester, she is participating in a directed study with the Georgia Museum of Natural History under the supervision of her graduate adviser, Demi Thomloudis, and GMNH collection manager, Nicole Pontzer. Her directed study with the museum is an exciting example of the creative and cross-disciplinary possibilities available at UGA. We recently interviewed Larissa to learn more about her experience at GMNH. GMNH: Can you tell us about your role at GMNH this semester? Larissa: I am currently doing a directed study and using my time studying specimens and learning how the collections are run. I'm also learning about exhibitions within the museum and helping with that process while also working on my own exhibition. I am primarily working with the mammal collection. GMNH: How did you find out about the museum and what drew you to inquire about participating in a directed study with GMNH? Larissa: I came to UGA knowing that I was interested in making work about the environment and environmental issues. My professor, Demi, mentioned the museum and that other art students had worked with the collections. I'd also been exploring, through help from my professor, 3-D scanning processes and how they could be used to recreate specimens. I visited the curation annex several times over my first year to scan and see the specimens and started using those scans in my work. I was interested not only in learning about the specimens themselves but also in how the Natural History Museum operates and the archiving of specimens. GMNH: How has your experience with the museum this semester influenced your art process? Larissa: It shapes how I approach the objects I work with. I'm not only thinking about the singular object but also about the collection of objects. I'm starting to approach my work almost as if I'm a natural historian learning from and collecting these specimens I create. I'm learning about how the Natural History Museum is a tool for advocating and informing environmental issues and that is inspiring how my work can also address these issues. GMNH: Tell us more about your work. My work includes creating wearable objects that explore environmental issues. The current focus of my research and making is exploring the accumulation of microplastics and waste in the environment and how this impacts animals, particularly through their consumption. Some of my research questions include: How might waste & microplastics accumulate in the animal body? How might this be visualized in what animals leave behind - specifically the base elements -bones? How can jewelry and personal adornment act as a symbol of what we care for and be used as tool to inform and advocate for these issues? I primarily work with bone, found plastics, biodegradable PLA, and metal to make my pieces. GMNH: What has been your favorite thing about working at GMNH this semester? Larissa: I really enjoy being in the collection and seeing how it all runs and comes together, especially with cataloging materials and setting up the exhibition. Type of News/Audience: Museum News
