A New Collaborative Artwork by Artist Jill Sans and Botanical Consultant &
Storyteller Kate Watters
FLAGSTAFF — Creative Flagstaff and ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience are pleased to announce the 2026 ARTx at The Arb commissioned installation, Ephemeral Bloom: Weathered by Time, created by artist Jill Sans in collaboration with botanical consultant and storyteller Kate Watters. The work will be on view throughout the 2026 season at The Arboretum at Flagstaff, opening April 29, 2026 and running through the end of October.
Continuing ARTx’s growing partnership with The Arboretum at Flagstaff, this year’s commissioned installation invites audiences to experience a living, evolving artwork deeply rooted in the ecology, stories, and plant life of the Colorado Plateau.
A Collaborative, Seasonally Evolving Artwork Ephemeral Bloom: Weathered by Time weaves together pigment, plant knowledge, and poetry to create layered narratives that unfold across the seasons.
• Sans’ abstract panels—painted with botanical inks and pigments crafted from native and locally grown plants—will shift naturally with sunlight, wind, and weather, embracing impermanence as part of their design.
• Watters’ poetic storytelling—informed by decades of botanical work, conservation practice, and ecological study—will guide visitors into deeper reflection on the themes of seasonality, resilience, and relationship with place.
These pieces will invite the viewer deeper into the story of the land with texturalstitching, use of positive and negative space to frame elements large and small. Eachpanel will be designed to reflect the landscape–to move with the wind or be rooted inplace–inviting guests to experience these living pieces of art as they do theArboretum’s native gardens.
Developed in part at Wild Heart Farm in Rimrock, AZ, the project incorporates plantsgathered and grown by Watters such as marigold, cosmos, black Hopi sunflower andthose collected here in Coconino Forest by Sans such as Aspen leaves, ponderosa barkand rabbitbrush. Together, they form the pigments and mark-making materials that setthe foundations for these artworks. Their collaboration began with research visits to The Arboretum in November 2025, where they studied the grounds, learned from Arboretum staff, and revisited a beloved plant Watters was introduced to years ago at the start of her botany journey.
About ARTx at The Arb
ARTx at The Arb commissions artists each season to activate existing structural frames on the Arboretum grounds through bold, site-responsive imagery. Artwork remains outdoors for the full season, encouraging artists to consider weather, longevity, and natural transformation as integral elements of the installation. Each installation includes an interpretive panel featuring the artist’s statement and connection to themes of native plants, ecology, conservation, and the Colorado Plateau environment, aligning with the Arboretum’s mission to advance understanding and appreciation of native flora.
ARTx 2026 Funding Support
The ARTx 2026 season is funded by $125,000 in support from the City of Flagstaff’s Bed, Board & Beverage (BBB) tax revenue, enabling Creative Flagstaff to support site- specific public art installations, creative collaborations, and programming across the region.
For more information about ARTx and the 2026 season, visit Creative Flagstaff or contact jsokol@creativeflagstaff.org