Sitting in a Circle

Mary Anne Jordan  Professor, Textiles  Department of Visual Art 

Mary Anne Jordan is a Professor in the Textiles/Fibers Program in the School of the Arts at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. 

In 2015 Jordan travelled to Peru to study the use of cochineal insects as a dye source. This research and travel touched off the following years of delving into additional natural dye sources, dyeing processes, plant cultivation, and garden development.  Jordan is currently in the process of developing a community dye and research garden at a KU Field Station.  In 2020 Jordan introduced a new KU class in the Department of Visual Art with a focus on dyeing textiles and fibers with natural dye plants, insects, and earth pigments.  

Jordan received an MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and BFA at the University of Michigan.  Her textile work has been shown nationally across the US and internationally in Japan, Poland, South America, France, Canada, Korea.   

 _{Background image: Melting Block by Mary Anne Jordan.} 

Jillian Buckley is a Textiles major from St. Louis County, currently in her 4th year in the Visual Art Department at the University of Kansas. In the past few years, her work has taken a particular interest in the art of fabric dyeing. Buckley has found that the process of natural dyeing sparks both her interest in creating color and pattern with dye as well as her interest in exploring how humanity connects with the Earth throughout history and into modernity.  

Jillian Buckley

Jellyfish Quilt

McKenna Fisher is a textiles artist and fashion designer currently residing in Lawrence, Kansas. Since she was a child, she has always been interested in all matters regarding clothing, buying her first sewing machine for herself at 13 years old. During her time at the University of Kansas, while obtaining an undergraduate degree in Visual Art Education, McKenna has been given the opportunity to explore her passion and learn new techniques. In launching her own brand, Kelter Kenna, McKenna hopes to educate clients on the means of sustainability and longevity within garment production and ownership. Currently she is working on a collection based on her own experiences and trauma with growing up in the military community and its juxtaposition with the bohemian lifestyle she has begun to obtain.

McKenna Fisher

Direct Application of Natural Dyes

Kirsten Taylor is currently a second year MFA student in the Visual Art Department at the University of Kansas. She grew up on the prairies of North Texas and has nurtured a deep interest and affection for nature from a young age. Taylor’s work with natural dyes enables her to learn about plants and engage with her community, human and more-than-human.  

Deanna Hanson-Abromeit Associate Professor Music Therapy, School of Music

DeannaHanson-Abromeit, PhD, MT-BC is an Associate Professor of Music Therapy and Music Education. Dr. Hanson-Abromeit has been a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) since 1996 and has worked with a range of populations in community and healthcare settings. Her primary clinical and research focus is with infants in medical and community-based settings. Dr. Hanson-Abromeit has been a music therapy educator since 2005, joining the KU faculty in 2013. She leads the Baby-Music Intervention Research (baby-MIR) lab with a focus on developing and strengthening theory, design, research, and practice of music interventions, particularly for infants and families. Dr. Hanson-Abromeit developed the Therapeutic Function of Music Plan as a framework to deepen understanding of how and why music contributes to change.

She was the 2020 recipient of the AMTA Research and Publication Award and the 2019 recipient of the KU Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor Award.  

Dr. Hanson-Abromeit earned a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Arts in music therapy from the University of Iowa, and the PhD in music education with an emphasis in music therapy from the University of Kansas.

 _{Background image: Baby MIR Painting by Peggy Prouty.} 

As you read through the first pages of Braiding Sweetgrass, what is a passage that resonates with you and what is the transfer to music, music therapy or music education?

"It is the cardinal difference between gift and commodity exchange that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people."

I think that this is very interesting to think about in a therapeutic sense. On one hand, therapy is about creating a close connection between the professional and the client, creating a safe space where the client feels that they can be open and vulnerable in order to allow the therapist to lead them towards healing in some form or another. At first that sounded like a feeling-bond to me, but then when I thought about the dynamic of client and professional, where the professional must remain tightly guarded with their own emotions while caring for the client, and the client is often paying for services, is that a feeling-bond? It's hard to know if therapy is considered a gift or a commodity.... Does considering music therapy as a gift over a commodity lessen it's impact? Or does thinking about it as a commodity over a gift lessen the humanity of the profession and dehumanize clients as points of revenue rather than people? I think those are both definitely extremes, but I find it interesting to think about.

Merritt Parsons

I think that this quote perfectly explains why music is such an important addition to the world that we live in. While we have come to the age where much of what we receive has to be paid for, music is still the one thing where you can listen freely, and just enjoy the beautiful music that someone has made for you to listen to, either on the streets or in your phone. I also think this is why music therapy has such a deep impact on a lot of people. I like to think that, as music therapists, we are establishing a bond between ourselves and our clients. Music is something that can last forever and it is a gift that we give to those who feel nothing else can help them.... I liked the way that this story makes it known how much more we get out of seeing everything as a gift to us, rather than viewing goods as something that we deserve, and something that is ours from the beginning. 

Kassidy Michaelis

As a team, develop a sensory garden in the courtyard of Murphy Hall.

Painting Rocks for the Zen Garden

Molly Rysko Molly Vielhauer

Link the design of the garden to how the garden demonstrates the value of sensory experiences.

Our part of the garden will address nearly all sensory experiences and their value. We will include colorful pieces (the tree sweater and the bench) that will please the eye. We will have fragrant flowers that blossom in the Spring. We will make wind chimes that make sound. There will be a variety of textures for students to touch if they wish -- the flower petals, the yarn, the wood of the lattice and the bench. Our garden will be related to the topics we’ve discussed throughout the semester because we want to encourage a place where people are able to sit and calm down in between or after classes. The benches and flowers combined with the sounds of the wind chimes will create an aesthetically pleasing place to calm the emotions that classes tend to arouse.

Kassidy Michaelis Kelsey Neeland Madison Robinson Merritt Parsons