This site-specific art/science collaborative work was created for Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington.  Janke/Pindell are a collaborative team working on the human relationship to soils, particularly the living critters that make soils and horticulture supportive of human and more-than-human life.  Rhonda Janke, PHD, MFA is an organic-agriculture soils researcher, teacher, and an artist. 
 
We sought to tell the story of this land from the point of view of the soils, including the natural and cultural histories of place.

Our group of artists and soils scientists collected  small, shallow soil samples to conduct soil tests and make soil-paint (March 2012).  Research was conducted on the types of soils present at Fort Worden in the lab, looking at maps, and reading about the geology and subsurface characteristics. 
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The land on which the Fort is located has a particularly rich cultural history. Both historic and contemporary indigenous peoples use the land; the military history of place is unique among Forts; the land served an early 1900's Chinese farming community and a later 1900's juvenile rehabilitation center, among others.

The playful, touchable signs were installed for the month of September 2012 and again for September 2013.
The website remains, please enjoy it!