My story is a little convoluted, but whose isn’t? Before coming to landscape architecture, I got my Bachelor’s of Science in Geology from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After briefly pursuing the research science track, I transitioned to work as a chef and attended culinary school at Parkland College. My interests in soils and food networks as they pertain to landscape are vestiges of those past lives.

My personal work is broadly focused on rural landscape issues. I worked as a research assistant for Professor Kelley Lemon on a Graham Foundation-funded project investigating the history of African-American agricultural communities in Illinois, the fruits of which are nearing publication. My thesis research used photographic systems of inquiry and the act of trash collection to document the typologies of landscape in rural and wilderness areas, generating more rural-inclusive design methodologies to be taught and employed in the future.

Please feel free to contact me by email or connect on LinkedIn if you’re interested in talking. I’m always ready to talk landscape, art, or something else entirely.

Me, Stirling