Finding Refuge in the Arctic with CCS’s Assistant Professor of Illustration Francis Vallejo

In the northern part of Alaska exists the Canning River Delta, a wide river valley formed by glacial water from Mt Chamberlain. For seven days, Francis Vallejo, award-winning artist and assistant professor of Illustration, accompanied a group of biologists into an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge studying birds and small mammals. Vallejo is releasing a book of his illustrations during his time in the arctic as part of the Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence Program. 

Sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each year a new cohort of artists – visual, audio, performance and writers – are chosen to become an artist in residence. Artists are assigned to an Alaskan nature preserve and tasked with documenting their experience in the Arctic. Being chosen as one of the select few Arctic Refuge artists is an honor – and it’s one that Kresge Fellow, Francis Vallejo has received twice. 

In an area roughly the size of South Carolina, the isolated field camp has been a sanctuary for biologists to study birds for over 50 years. Vallejo observed, “I looked at this as a way to escape the busy world, and I did.” Shadowing the biologists who would walk up to fifteen miles a day, he “wanted to feel what they were feeling, and put the same amount of effort into the experience.”

A deeper connection to the environment was expected from his time in Alaska, but surprisingly, it was his experience living in the base camp that inspired the illustrations in his new book. Throughout the week together Vallejo would often be seen sitting in a corner of the camp drawing the biologists and rangers around him. These sketches and drawings have been turned into a book, The Canning River Bird Camp, A Visual Journal. Vallejo describes this body of work as “a way to celebrate  the natural lands and how they are able to bring together communities.”   

As part of his effort to bring elements of his experience in the Alaskan wilderness to Detroit, he recently included five Illustration students at the College for Creative Studies in a project with the Arctic Bird Fest. The group of students –Jenay Tripp, Aaron Murray, Andrew Tripp, Shawnee Geletka, Mary Brestovansky and Corina Klippstein– created bird collision graphics for the Audubon Society. “It was a deadline at the end of the school year and they managed to stay on time and come up with designs that fit the parameters, but also each had their own individual voice. I was really proud,” said Vallejo.

The native Detroiter is on a mission to connect urban communities to nature – something he believes is very important, especially for the next generation of artists. “The efforts to keep these natural habitats thriving are a big deal. And I had such a powerful experience with them. Those experiences impacted me profoundly and it was a privilege to be a part of that.”

You can learn more about Francis Vallejo’s work and find information about his book release on his website http://www.francisvallejo.com. You can learn more about the College for Creative Studies’ Illustration department at https://ccsdetroit.edu.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/illustration.

Video and photos of Francis Vallejo created by Rachel Heckerman for USFWS.