“The extent to which we take everyday objects for granted is the precise extent to which they govern and inform our lives.” ( Margaret Visser, Canadian philosopher, 1986)

The Dandelion’s pallid Tube/Astonishes the Grass – And Winter instantly becomes/An Infinite Alas – The Tube uplifts a signal Bud/And then a shouting Flower – The proclamation of the Suns/That sepulture is o’er (Emily Dickinson, American poet, 1881)

My new collections project is focused on the settler plant Taraxacum officinale, and her cousins, introduced to North America after first contact between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans. I have been accepted at two artist residencies to work on this project, both associated with the University of Lethbridge, AB, Follow the project at IG @nandyheule.

Yukon, June 2025: Dempster Highway – Common Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale).

Alberta Prairies, July 2025: A Dandelion cousin – Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis)

Acknowledgements and selected sources for this project:

• Special thanks in chronological order:
• Tristan Wicks for Latin translations, 2020
• Dr. Milena Tomic, PhD, for course materials related to the history of printmaking at OCAD U, Toronto, 2020
• Curator Krista Broecks for invaluable curatorial feedback, 2024
• SAW workshop on non-colonial, fluid mapping in Ottawa, ON, 2024
• Dr. Heather Kharouba, PhD, and speakers at the Crossing Boundaries Symposium, U of Ottawa, May 2025. This symposium facilitated multidisciplinary collaborations between artists, scientists, & engineers to address climate change.
• Jennifer Doubt, Curator (Botany), National Herbarium of Canada, Canadian Museum of Nature, 2025
• Shannon Asencio, Collections Manager, National Collection of Vascular Plants, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Images from this collection ©His Majesty The King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada, 2025
• Kara Matthews, Horticulturalist, Coutts Centre for Western Canadian Heritage, Nanton, AB
• Lyndsey Sharp, Assistant Collection Manager. Botany. National Herbarium of Canada, Canadian Museum of Nature, 2025
• Selected Resources:
• Arber, Agnes. Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution. A Chapter in the History of Botany 1470-1670. Cambridge University Press, 1912.
• Dickinson, Emily. The Letters of Emily Dickinson. C.Miller, D. Mitchell, eds. Belknap Press, 2024
• Gerarde, John. The Herball – Or, Generall Historie of Plantes, London, 1597. Copy at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON,
• Macdougall, Jane. Weeds in a Bouquet? Why Not? Globe and Mail, Aug 12, 2025
• Sanchez, Anita. The Teeth of the Lion: The Story of the Beloved and Despised Dandelion. Perfect Paperback, 2006
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• Invasive species and noxious weeds lists from non-profit organizations and Canadian provincial governments. This includes lists by Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation, Ontario Invasive Plants Council, provincial noxious weeds lists in BC, Alberta and Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/page/noxious-weeds-ontario.
• Wildflower field guides, including my go-to guide Wildflowers Northeastern/Northcentral North America by Roger Tory Peterson/Margaret McKenny
• Trelawny, John G. Wildflowers of the Yukon & Northwestern Canada. 3rd edition. Harbour Publishing, 2009.