Living Art and Ecology Lab

Plants and living organisms growing in vials

Samples of paints made using natural pigments

students examining living organisms through a microscope

students working with bio materials made in the lab

Close up of 7 Adults looking down into an open fuzzy container. The container is white with blue zebra stripes from the outside. Three figures hold cups or tea mugs.

Participants look into the mobile compost bin, Worm Wagon by Amy Youngs at the Those Who Feed Us art exhibition for Ohio Soil Health Week in 2024.

In the foreground, blurry is a silver hand lens magnifying glass. Within the viewing frame of the glass a yellow-orange crustose lichen is magnified. In the background the same lichen is present but smaller and blurry

Lichen noticing during the Lichen Liker’s overnight field excursion with the Ohio Moss and Lichen Association on their 2024 fall foray

An up-close view of a bowl of wet brown sawdust. A blue gloved hand pours cornstarch into the bowl (cornstarch container visible to the right in their other hand). To the left, two white plastic spray bottles with one labeled “H2O” for water. The image is slightly blurry and the figure’s hands appear to be reaching the bowl through a plastic barrier, giving the impression this experiment is occuring inside a plastic tent for sterilization.

Mycelium bio composite Sculpture making with amy Young’s Art 5101: Special Topics (EcoArt)

A lab bench with the components to make paint, including a whole head of purple cabbage, beakers and jars full of blue paint liquid, a base and acid solution with pH test strips, paintbrushes, and coffee filters. The table's surface is black; in the background on the lefthand side is a glassware drying rack. Above the table is a beige lab cabinet with various bottles of reagents inside.

pH-sensitive paint making with purple cabbage

The Living Art & Ecology Lab supports interdisciplinary creative research related to human relationship with the environment. As a Living Lab, LAEL uses Ohio State’s campus as a study site for students to explore how big picture patterns show up in our local landscape through project-based learning. In doing so, LAEL encourages students to practice communicating across disciplines while also highlighting art as a way of thinking and creative problem solving when approaching “wicked” environmental problems.

Examples of activities supported by LAEL:

Alternative materials and biomaterials exploration

Scientific equipment for observation

Local ecologies and field opportunities

Art as a research practice and way of sense-making

Interdisciplinary projects across fields like Architecture, Ecology & Evolution, Design, and Molecular Genetics.

Examples of equipment and resources in the lab include a dye garden, a materials test kitchen, a microscopy station, paintmaking equipment, and a lending library of field guides and binoculars. Ways to engage with the LAEL include scheduling time to visit the space for individual/group use, workshops, class visits, public exhibitions or outreach events, and project collaborations.

Location: 340 Hopkins Hall, 128 N. Oval Mall, Columbus Campus

Hours: Monday- Friday 8:00-12:00 and 1:00-5:00 (academic year)

8:00-12:00 and 12:30-4:30 (summer hours)

Contact: LAEL Specialist Emma Kline, kline.434@osu.edu

Learn More:

Living Art & Ecology Lab website

LAEL Instagram @ecoart.osu

LAEL Mailing List

*A note from the Lab coordinator: Sometimes, course visits, materials preparation, and collaborations with other units take me off-site from the lab during business hours. Folks are always welcome to drop by if I am in the lab. However, if you have a pressing question or want to discuss a potential project in depth, it is best to email me with some times you are available to meet, so we can set up a time to talk.