As a child in Taiwan, artist Lihua Lei Farley remembers making a boat out of a bamboo leaf, dropping it into the water, and then following it downstream to see where it would go. Now based in Cushing, with a studio overlooking Broad Cove in the St. George River, Farley’s multi-site project SEED revives this child-like sense of wonder, playfulness, and curiosity. It offers moments in which to do the essential imagining—of what it feels like to emerge from a chrysalis, to spread our seeds asunder, to breathe in water, to flow.

Comprising a sculpture installation at the Langlais Art Preserve; two events along northern and central sections of the St. George River; and a closing performance at a special site where the river meets the sea, the project spans nearly 50 miles and includes participatory opportunities for community members.

The project’s geographic span and conceptual scope is achieved through the journeys of dozens of seed sculptures—egg-like forms crafted from biodegradable, environmentally safe materials and embedded with native riparian seeds; poems, drawings, and letters to the river from local schoolchildren; and sealed with fragments of Farley’s handwritten Buddhist Heart Sutra.

Contained within SEED is a hopeful message about human and non-human interconnectedness and the creative potential that vibrates through us all.