Widening Circles

I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world….

Titled after a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, Widening Circles celebrates the natural history of the San Antonio River Basin. Both the convergence of tributaries into the San Antonio River and the radiating networks of ripples suggest interconnection, interaction and communication. Images of plants, animals, and fossils indigenous to the basin reference the branches of science housed in this building, and speak to the innovation manifest in the diversity of form found in nature. The star lights form constellation patterns visible from this location at the time the sun was setting in Waxahachie, Texas, after the first day of classes at Trinity University in 1869, linking the two campuses across time and space.

Circle Imagery in Descending Order

1. Dragonfly wing
2. Monarch caterpillar
3. American Beautyberry
4. Live Oak leaves
5. Monarch butterflies
6. Theropod trackway
7. Widemouth Blindcat
8. Texas Salamander (foreground); Epithelial cell junctions (background)
9. Giant river prawn
10. Titmouse (foreground); Bald Cypress on Medina River (background)
11. Mesquite leaves
12. Ammonite
13. Caddisfly (foreground); Magnified azurite pigment (background)
14. Monarch butterflies
15. Anole

Liz Ward
2013

  • Widening Circles Installation

    Widening Circles (Installation), Center for Science and Innovation, Trinity University

  • Wall piece detail

    Widening Circles (detail 1), Center for Science and Innovation, Trinity University

  • Detail of Wall Piece

    Widening Circles (detail 2), Center for Science and Innovation, Trinity University

  • Wall piece detail

    Widening Circles (detail 3), Center for Science and Innovation, Trinity University

  • Wall piece detail

    Widening Circles (detail 4), Center for Science and Innovation, Trinity University