About the Artist: Emma Rosi

Exploring nature through art

Emma is a retired environmental scientist who studied the ecology of rivers to advance water conservation throughout the world. After 30 years of doing science as a way of knowing nature, she has shifted her energy to use art as a new way of knowing.

As the COVID lockdown put a stop to Emma’s research travels, she started exploring art in her spare time. She began to create art based on her photos of places where she worked around the world, from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to the plains to the Serengeti, to the mountains of New Hampshire, among other places. 

After retiring in January 2024 from Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, Emma has pursued art full-time, and she often paints scenes from northern Michigan, en plein air or from her photographs.

Emma works in oil, watercolor, printmaking, and uses polymer clay to make nature-based art and designs. Emma grew up in Old Mission and Traverse City before her science career took her far and wide, and she now resides in Lake Leelanau. 

Website www.emmarosi.com