Shannon Molter

Forest Floor 3
re-purposed leather
32 x 9 in.

The Forest Floors recall walks through the woods before dawn, when the ground is hardly visible. These dreamy, cross sections of leaf litter, reflective stones and branches, celebrate the mystery of the understory. Their lush textures are built from re-purposed, black leather from garment production, further employing a luxurious waste material to richly describe a forgotten, essential ecosystem.

The wilderness of the mind is reflected when people experience ambiguous environments or challenging spaces. The Forest Floors not only describe, but retrace those places and ask their viewers to come along.

Shannon Molter is a maker confronting voices and places. Making large-scale installations, directing group collaborations, writing, and building conceptual garments and landscapes, she generates participatory situations in which her audience is cast as a critical character in a worldly story.

Molter’s work often incorporates found and primarily biodegradable materials to weigh contemporary societal and artistic conventions. She concentrates on the multi-faceted relationship we have with our environmental experience. It is her goal to empower with reflection and invention: to give breath to the many overlooked beasts of our past and present, while drawing focus on our future.

Molter holds a BFA from the Peck School of the Arts in both Fiber Art and Art Education, with an Honors College certificate in Philosophy. She shares her skills and passion as Youth and Family Programs Educator at the Milwaukee Art Museum, working with children from birth through 15 years old and their families in diverse media, making artwork inspired by museum exhibitions and the renowned permanent collection.

© Shannon Molter