T Edward Bak

During his Land Line residency, Bak created a series of illustrated works exploring the history of connections between people and native plants in the San Luis Valley region. His research drew from his own family history in the area, combined with resources offered by Denver Botanic Gardens. His work aims to support and expand awareness of connections between communities and their environments, and to detail the traditional knowledge and use of native plants in medicines and other cultural practices.

About the Artist

T Edward Bak was raised in Colorado and currently lives in Oregon. His approach as a writer and artist is informed by an interest in the environmental history of western North America. As an instructor of nonfiction comics and graphic novels with the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, he draws from the experience of a working cartoonist whose published stories have appeared in Drawn & Quarterly Showcase and The Best American Comics anthologies.