Presented By: School for Environment and Sustainability SEAS
Art exhibit displays work of SNRE's Sara Adlerstein
'Water Blues' is latest exhibit at new Art & Environment Gallery in the Dana Building

Sara Adlerstein, a research scientist who uses statistical modeling to investigate ecosystems, also embraces art as a way to understand nature.
An accomplished artist with many gallery showings to her credit, Adlerstein will display her work starting Nov. 8 in the Dana Building’s Art & Environment Gallery. Her show, ”Water Blues” begins with a 4 p.m. talk by the artist, followed by a reception. The exhibit and talk are in the Ford Commons, on the main floor of the Dana Building.
“In my world, art and science belong together as naturally as air and water. Both inform my work “influencing my approach,” Adlerstein said. “Observation, experimentation, improvisation, making comparisons, searching for patterns and answers all come together within the creative process. As such I have developed my own mixed media techniques and my research influences the subject of my paintings. The process has been magical, nurturing and informative.
Adlerstein is an applied aquatic ecologist within the Conservation Ecology field of study at SNRE. She obtained a master of science degree at the University of Concepcion Chile and a master of science and Ph.D. at the University of Washington.
Her work focuses on environmental stressors affecting Great Lakes ecosystems. She did not pursue academic training in the arts but she has been painting for as long as she has been a scientist.
At the University of Michigan, she has taught courses bridging arts and sciences at the School of Art & Design and the Residential College, and has organized and participated in events to immerse the arts within the endeavors of a research university. Her works have been published in books and magazines; shown in galleries and museums in Chile, Europe, Canada and the United States; and are part of public and private art collections.
She is a visiting artist at the Washington Street Gallery in Ann Arbor. Adlerstein moved to Ann Arbor with her husband in 2001 and has two sons.
An accomplished artist with many gallery showings to her credit, Adlerstein will display her work starting Nov. 8 in the Dana Building’s Art & Environment Gallery. Her show, ”Water Blues” begins with a 4 p.m. talk by the artist, followed by a reception. The exhibit and talk are in the Ford Commons, on the main floor of the Dana Building.
“In my world, art and science belong together as naturally as air and water. Both inform my work “influencing my approach,” Adlerstein said. “Observation, experimentation, improvisation, making comparisons, searching for patterns and answers all come together within the creative process. As such I have developed my own mixed media techniques and my research influences the subject of my paintings. The process has been magical, nurturing and informative.
Adlerstein is an applied aquatic ecologist within the Conservation Ecology field of study at SNRE. She obtained a master of science degree at the University of Concepcion Chile and a master of science and Ph.D. at the University of Washington.
Her work focuses on environmental stressors affecting Great Lakes ecosystems. She did not pursue academic training in the arts but she has been painting for as long as she has been a scientist.
At the University of Michigan, she has taught courses bridging arts and sciences at the School of Art & Design and the Residential College, and has organized and participated in events to immerse the arts within the endeavors of a research university. Her works have been published in books and magazines; shown in galleries and museums in Chile, Europe, Canada and the United States; and are part of public and private art collections.
She is a visiting artist at the Washington Street Gallery in Ann Arbor. Adlerstein moved to Ann Arbor with her husband in 2001 and has two sons.