Soils to Pigments: Merging of the Sciences and Arts in Soil Science.

The integration of the arts and sciences is undergoing a renewed renaissance in universities where students are receiving training in both the arts and sciences together. How can research occur between the visual arts and soil science?  Furthermore, what knowledge and advancements in studies can be made by merging investigations between these two diverse disciplines? These are questions I asked when teaching an undergraduate field course focused on experiential learning to understand the relationships between soils, vegetation and landscapes in the boreal forest.  Although this course has an art component to allow science students to connect with the landscape from a different perspective than what they were trained to do, I wanted to increase this integration of the arts with soil science. Was it possible to use soil and other natural materials to develop mediums for painting?  If this research can be carried out by soil science students, why not invite the fine arts to join in on this investigation? These ideas were put into practice in 2012, when graduate and undergraduate students from Fine Art and Soil Science were brought together for a week at the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus to create pigments from soils, rocks, bones and plants. In the afternoon the students used the pigments to interpret various boreal ecosystems in the area. During the week students were allowed to play and experiment with the soils (i.e. washing, heating etc) to determine the impact on color. This presentation will discuss the effect of this merger of science and art in the area of soils and how it can increase the visibility of soil science as well as begin to engage the entire student in learning.