Courtesy ‘Stipplefringe Pole Lichen' is one work of Jasmyne Graybill, who uses polymer clay to highlight the question: Who are the real invaders: humans or nature?

WHO: Jasmyne Graybill, 27

BEST KNOWN FOR: Exploring the relationships between humans and nature, especially the effect of urban sprawl.

“I'm interested how nature can adapt to such synthetic environments and how nature and manmade objects influence each other's physical characteristics,” said Graybill, who lives in the rapidly developing New Braunfels.

CURRENTLY: For “Domestication” at UTSA Satellite Space, Graybill used polymer clay to create intricate organisms that appear to be growing on everyday objects.
Yellow and orange polyps flourish in a muffin pan; green lichen creeps along a mailbox; white barnacles cover a razor.

Graybill uses synthetic colors to create the fictitious organisms; she's not going for realism as much as she's creating metaphors illustrating how “nature is a part of our lives but not necessarily a welcome part.”

The exhibit includes a small installation of a yard with a garden hose and sprinkler, both partially covered with a mysterious mold; an unnatural greenish tint covers the floor, representing how a water supply can be polluted with chemicals and “how it can be beautiful and disturbing at the same time,” she said.

Her paintings and drawings show close-up views of ambiguous organisms. “Septic” is a window into an optical illusion that depicts either a cave or the inside of a human colon, depending on how you want to see it.

With these works, Graybill said she was playing with the idea of micro vs. macro and different ways of perceiving the world.

“I tend to notice things that most people don't notice,” she said, adding that she wants to inspire the viewer to “go out into the world and notice what they might not otherwise notice.”

BACKGROUND: Graybill grew up in Dallas and earned her BFA at the University of North Texas.

“Domestication” is her thesis exhibition for her MFA from UTSA.

CHECK HER OUT: “Domestication” will be at UTSA Satellite Space through April 20. Call (210) 458-4391.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA contributor