(Cumming) A husband/wife artist team from Drake University revealed their newest installation at Wilson’s Orchard in Cumming earlier this month. Edward Kelley and Emily Newman created “It’s in the Water” to raise awareness of Iowa’s water quality problems by combining art and science.
The artwork looks like a barn quilt, but it is made of repurposed plastic children’s toys that have been cut and sewn together. It is 18 by 18 feet and anchored by four floating buoys at each corner.
Kelley and Newman also founded the Parts Per Million Collective (PPM) where they research ways to remove nitrates from water and monitor conditions that could lead to rapid algae growth. “It’s in the Water” is their latest project involving research on an invention called the Semi-Passive Algae-Rooted Carbon Collector (SPARCC).
The installation is free and made possible by Fred and Charlotte Hubbell. It will be on display through mid-September.
