Tina Thieme Brown: From Environmental Activist to Visual Chronicler of the Agricultural Reserve
Story and photos by wib middleton
Tucked away in the backyard of her historic home in Barnesville, Maryland, is artist Tina Thieme Brown’ s 18th century split log cabin, Morningstar Art Studio. Charming doesn’ t begin to describe it. Its setting is mesmerizing, like looking through a window into a scene time forgot. Sumptuous native plants frame the studio and spill into the spacious lawn and beyond. Time has downed some large trees, others have been topped and left— at
Tina’ s insistence— providing space for crawling critters and birds of all kinds to nest, procreate and sing their song. It’ s a veritable backyard paradise— with purpose.
Spending time in her studio and walking the land is a sensorial slice, literally and metaphorically, of her remarkable life. Tina is an artist, passionate caretaker, plant midwife, environmental steward and activist, and nature’ s observer, and she juggles all of these roles simultaneously.
For Tina this place is her ever-changing sanctuary when not foraging in fields and forests for subjects to sketch. Seasonal planting, constant observation with an artist’ s eye, and gentle caring for all the living things around her is Tina’ s daily mindfulness practice.
For visitors to Morningstar Studio, her delicate pastel work, sketches, monotype prints of botanical subjects, or a great blue heron standing with wings akimbo are revelations of her passion for nature. Favorite subjects include landscapes around her beloved Sugarloaf Mountain and the pastoral beauty of the Agricultural Reserve.
Tina’ s sketches show the entire life cycle of living things that most of us rarely observe in totality.“ The shriveling up of things has its own intrinsic beauty,” she muses.“ Everything has to go to sleep, has to settle down for a bit. A plant is