mountmaking Archives - Dorothy Bayern

Chicago Backyards

Chicago Backyards, a supplement to Backyard Adventures
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2017

Chicago Backyards was an in-house supplement to Backyard Adventures by SCITECH. I called upon on-staff experts in horticulture, taxidermy, and entomology for their expertise, and created these exhibits end-to-end. The final displays represent Chicagoland nature and PNNM’s mission through collections objects, living specimens, and interactives.

Sharon Bladholm’s Soils, Seeds, and Sprouts

Soils, Seeds, and Sprouts: Tropical and Temperate
Artwork by Sharon Bladholm
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2017

This exhibition inspired visitors to get down to earth with an extravagant combination of 2D and 3D art in media including ceramics, glass bronze, watercolor, and etched prints. In addition to editing all label copy for this show and crafting Sharon’s bio, I put my background in mountmaking to use managing the fitting and installation of 68 brass wall mounts and 11 suspensions.

Explore Oregon

Explore Oregon
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Prototype “Explore Oregon in the Making” 2012
Opened 2014

This highly anticipated natural history wing doubled the public floorspace at MNCH. The visioning process began in 2009 with the aim of creating an exhibition of deep value to all Oregonians.

A Sparks! Ignition grant from the IMLS supported extensive front-end visitor evaluation. I developed a multitude of content and interactives for the prototype exhibit in 2012. By the time I took on the final copy deck in May 2013, we had thorough documentation of what our audience wanted and responded to.

When final buildout began, I apprenticed with mountmaker Mark Gostnell to create custom brass mounts for fossil specimens.