Rural Rhythms

A series of nine risograph art prints inspired by my childhood backyard in rural Wacousta, Michigan

    Inspired by my childhood backyard in rural Wacousta, Michigan, this series reflects on the patterns, sounds, and small moments that shaped my experience of rural life. These works explore the rhythms found in nature and in the objects we place within it.

    At age nine, my family moved from the city of Lansing to build a home in rural Wacousta, where the quiet and openness felt unfamiliar at first. With more distance between houses and open fields around us, light and shadow had room to settle. I began to see how corn stalks carried their own shape and became patterns when repeated across a field, how long shadows stretched as day turned to night, and how the landscape shifted from season to season.

    Without the steady noise of sirens and traffic, other sounds came forward—frogs singing at the pond, birds flocking and nesting, and the occasional squeak from the weathervane. Years later, after returning to city living, I realized how deeply those rural rhythms had shaped the way I notice and experience the world.

    (Left/First) May 28, 1994 - Driving grandpa's mower for the first time with my dad in the trailer

    (Right/Second) October 10, 1993 - Standing on a hill of dirt in the front yard while the house was being built

    Shop the series

    Nine Risograph Art Prints

    Free shipping anywhere in the U.S.

    Pairings

    Two-print sets designed to live together.

    Save 10% + free U.S. shipping.

    1 3

    Trios

    Three-print sets designed to live together.

    Save 15% + free U.S. shipping.

    1 2

    Printed in Detroit

    Produced at Small Works Detroit using risograph printing. Each print is made one color at a time, creating subtle variations in texture and depth of color. Printed with rice bran oil–based inks on 216 gsm acid-free archival paper. Each print is titled and signed.

    1 2

    Art shaped by life in Michigan

    Influenced by the rhythms, patterns, and textures in the world around me, I draw intuitively, letting each mark lead to the next without erasing or reworking. My practice is one of presence, acceptance, and finding beauty in a journey unfolding.

    About Elise
    1 3