Lawns to Legumes: A Collaboration Across MCAD | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Lawns to Legumes: A Collaboration Across MCAD

By Peyton Stark on February 26, 2020
"Planting Hope One Seed at a Time" by Becca Albert. ; Image credit: Becca Albert
Image credit: Becca Albert

During the Fall 2019 semester, Arts Entrepreneurship Department Chair Stephen Rueff discovered Lawns to Legumes, a call to action in saving the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee from going extinct. 
 

"Your can bee the change" botanical illustration
Work by Kaila Larson


With Lawns to Legumes being a statewide initiative through the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) and the non-profit Metro Blooms makes it a great client project for many departments at MCAD. In addition to Rueff’s Client Studio class work on a marketing campaign to raise awareness to the cause, Benjamin Kjos's Copywriting class and Advanced Illustration classes taught by Jaime Anderson and Allegra Lockstadt helped with the project as well.

The students in Kjos's copywriting class created a variety of ideas to help further this message through a large range of advertisements to be used on social media, newsletters, and even lawn signs. 
 

Illustration of man raking leaves in his yard next to a yard sign that says "This Garden Saves Bees"
Work by Amy Yang

 

Illustration of a silhouette of a child holding their hand out towards a bee with text, "One seed. One Yard. One is just the beginning."
Work by Becca Albert
 

The advanced illustration students created paintings, drawings, and prints to be used as posters and for editorial purposes.
 

Images of children running through a life size garden with bees, butterflies, and pollinator friendly plants. Text on image says "Reimagine your lawn."
Work by Kaleigh Miller

 

Aerial perspective illustration of bees flying over a pollinator-friendly garden with the text, "Plant native flowers. Support the Rusty Patched Bumblebee."
Work by Jamie-Lynn Tietz


“To see the clients excited about everyone's posters and actively talking about the work makes me feel like I'm doing something right as an illustrator," illustration student Jamie-Lynn Tietz said of the project.

Illustration of a bumblebee and flowers with the text #pollinatorgarden, helping nature do its thing
Work by Arie Ksenia


“Sustainability is such a large focus in the Arts Entrepreneurship department and this project was a great way to really make an impact in the world we live in. Which is in and of itself the role we all have as artists whether your focus is fine arts, graphic design, or photography.” - Stephen Rueff

With a total of four classes and forty-three MCAD students all participating in this movement, they created a phenomenal amount of work for BWSR and Metro Blooms to pull from and use to help save the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee from extinction. Becky Rice, executive producer of Metro Blooms stated, “The MCAD students in all of the classes have really captured the spirit of the intent of this program, and I really want to thank the MCAD students and faculty for the amazing work they produced to help us all save this essential species from extinction.”
 

Illustration of bees and flowers with text, "Your yard can be the change."
Work by Cameron Kim

 

Photography of a bee on a bright pink flower with text, "Protect pollinators. Rethink your lawn. Learn why at bwsr.state.mn.us"
Work by Paige Polzin

 

Illustration of a girl sitting on a rooftop with a book in her hand amongst an urban pollinator garden.
Work by Katie Sartor-Duchene 

 

Illustration of a bee flying into a fancy looking park with potted plants and a wishing well. Text on images reads, "Your yard can bee the change."
Work by Sue Vue

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The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.