Alli Johnston is a visual artist, graphic designer, and copywriter originally from Southern Ontario. She moved to Corner Brook , NL in 2001 and has spent many summers in Gros Morne National Park. She has had her work showcased at many festivals in the province including Writers at Woody Point and CB Nuit, an after dark festival in Corner Brook. She is a member of the League of Artists of Western Newfoundland and the Rotary Arts Centre. Alli’s project, And Still the Wildflowers Grew, involves creating a space where people can learn about the botany of the national park, and about the wildflowers in particular. Over the course of summer 2020, Alli explored Gros Morne National Park through hiking and canoeing to identify wildflowers and ferns growing in the park area. She collected samples of these plants from outside the National Park boundaries and utilized them to eco-dye pieces of silk. The final piece will be comprised of approximately 10 pieces of silk installed on a clothesline in the shop at Gros Morne Adventures in Norris Point when they re-open in the spring of 2021.
For more information about Alli Johnston, please visit her website, follow her on Facebook or Instagram!
Alli shared this about And Still the Wildflowers Grew: As an artist, I love to look at the natural world around me at a micro level and this project created a framework for me to look more closely at what is under my feet when I’m in Gros Morne National Park. I also found great comfort in the fact that despite all of the unrest and stress in the world, the flowers were still growing and thriving. This project provided me with numerous experiences of deep peace and connection with nature in troubling times. Once the final piece is installed at Gros Morne Adventures, my wish is that Park visitors will learn about the Park’s botanical world through their interaction with what I have made for years to come.
A glimpse of the beautiful eco-dyed pieces of silk which is part of Alli Johnston’s And Still the Wildflowers Grew Connecting through Culture Project