Newswise — When voters leave the polls in May, they will walk out with the image of a Nebraska songbird celebrating voting — in the form of a sticker designed by a University of Nebraska–Lincoln staff member.

Katie Nieland, associate director of the Center for Great Plains Studies, draws inspiration from Great Plains landscapes, wildlife and plants for her art, including the sticker that will be used in the upcoming May primary election. Nieland promotes the region’s wonders through both her work at the center and her art.

“I’m drawing species we’re having lectures about,” Nieland said. “I’m getting inspired by the art we have on the walls. We have a really fantastic collection, from historic to contemporary, so there’s always something to be inspired by.”

Nieland heard about the sticker design contest sponsored by the Lancaster County Election Commission and set about creating a design that represented both the election and Lancaster County as a place, settling on a drawing of the western meadowlark with a speech bubble reading “I voted.”

“The meadowlark is a very identifiable bird because it’s our state bird, and it also has a very beautiful song, so I thought about instead of its normal song, what if it was saying I voted?” she said.

Nieland handles communications and marketing for the center, including using her art skills for graphic design purposes, as well as assisting with planning programming.

Nieland has made art for as long as she can remember, she said, and has long combined it with her day job. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Nebraska. During a previous stop at the Chicago Tribune, part of Nieland’s job involved creating graphics and illustrations to accompany stories. She has since started her own art business.

Since joining the center, Nieland’s art has increasingly focused on Great Plains themes. Learning from speakers, exhibitions and other events sparks creativity for Nieland, resulting in a range of products coming out of the center featuring her art, like a poster featuring her illustration of a black-footed ferret and T-shirts with native plants. She said sometimes people approach her at art shows and recognize her work’s connection to the Center for Great Plains Studies.

“I sort of plugged in art to my career early on,” she said. “Now, things I learned about here come out in my art. When I first started my art business, I was doing dinosaur art, which is great and super fun, but I found that I was quickly low on inspiration. It wasn’t until I started making art about the species and landscapes of the Great Plains that I really found an endless fountain of inspiration.”

Nieland traveled to the Sandhills early in her tenure at the center for a meeting, and she got a driving tour of some scenic property there. The experience drove home the beauty of the region for Nieland.

“I feel like a lot of people aren’t going to leave Lincoln or Omaha to have that kind of experience,” she said. “Part of my job is to try to bring some of that experience, that awe and wonder, to them. Because that feeling is super powerful for me, and I want people to have that, too.”

As an interdisciplinary center, the Center for Great Plains Studies provides endless opportunities to highlight cultural and scientific aspects of the region’s story, Nieland said, including bringing together experts from different areas to work on projects. She is excited for the ways in which events and programming for the center’s 50th anniversary this year can foster community for these experts and the public.

“Having that interdisciplinary perspective of learning about Great Plains literature, art, science, grasses, will give you a much broader view of the region,” she said.

Learning about the Great Plains can give its residents a sense of place, Nieland said, and a greater appreciation for it. She hopes she can play a part in showing people, both from elsewhere and residents of the region, how special it is.

“My goal is share that the Great Plains is a place worthy of study, of conservation, of living, and my role here is to show people why,” she said. “And that is the role of my art — to get people excited about the place where they live and maybe wanting to learn a little bit more.”

Original release: https://news.unl.edu/article/nieland-turns-nebraskas-state-bird-into-symbol-of-voting-pride

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