In what ways have we lost our connection to the earth, and how do we rebuild it? What does it mean to "work the land"?
Artist Melody Epperson has sought out these answers over the past two years, exploring the farmlands of eastern Adams County and the people who tend to them.
Epperson is passionate storyteller and land artist dedicated to exploring the complex relationships between people and the natural world. Drawing on personal history and collective memory, her project Dust to Apples: The Colors of the Eastern Plains invites you to reconnect with the land through her family's story and the magic of transforming plants and minerals into beautiful, vibrant artworks.
The land holds memory. Humans have shaped it, scarred it, and sometimes forgotten their role in its story.
Melody Epperson
In Search of Fertile Land
The Hill Family's search for greener pastures
On a trip to Springfield, Colorado, Melody saw for herself the land her great-grandparents homesteaded back in 1922. With promises of green, lush lands for farming, the 1920s were a time of great population growth for Springfield. Melody's great-grandparents, Charles and Maude Hill were part of that growth, becoming wheat farmers on a small plot of land outside of town.
Families journeying to Springfield came in search of a better life, but brought with them farming methods that ultimately contributed to dust storms and climate change of the Dust Bowl. As growing conditions deteriorated, and the effects of the Great Depression set in, many residents of Southeastern Colorado struggled to survive.
Melody's grandparents, Florence and Leslie Hill, ultimately made the decision to move their family to the mountains in search of more fertile land. Making the trek by covered wagon, they found a new home in Guffey, Colorado, growing wheat and potatoes, and trading for apples to survive.
Florence Hill describes the changed landscape of the area in an excerpt from her journals:
We looked back on the land, once covered by beautiful fields of golden wheat. They were gone, and only a vast wasteland lay to the mercy of the winds. Always shifting to and fro as though playing hide and seek. Always searching for a place to rest next to a farmhouse, a shed, a barn, or even a tree or weed. The garden, always so important, was hidden under dust. The tractors and machinery were useless and lay half-exposed. Dry weather had started this disaster, but also, farmers had not farmed properly.
Melody's family has since left the agriculture industry, but these stories and challenges still influence her work today.
Springfield, 2025
In March 2025, Melody and her mother visited Springfield, Colorado to explore their own history and connect with the land their ancestors once tended to.
The Colors of the Eastern Plains
Melody Epperson's exploration of Eastern Adams County and the Historic Splendid Valley
Throughout 2024 and 2025, Epperson immersed herself in the farms of eastern Adams County and Historic Splendid Valley to talk with farmers, learn their stories, and collect natural materials from their lands to create pigments and inks.
While known for its sunflowers and wheat fields, Adams County is home to many native plants, and many more plants that were brought here by humans. Melody has worked with landowners to safely and sustainably gather plants for her art making.
Berry Patch Farms, Red Daisy Farm, Flying B Bar Ranch, LazyB Acres Alpacas, and Sakata Farms all dedicated time and knowledge to Melody as she explored their fields. Her experiences at these farms brought a deeper understanding of what we've gained and lost as farming methods change and new challenges arise: the wisdom of land passed through generations, the knowledge of seasons and soil, and the disappearance of small family-run farms.
The land gives us what we need, but we are not just consumers of her gifts — we are partners. It’s our responsibility to be generous when we are given much, and mindful when we take.
Melody Epperson
Eastern Adams County Plains, 2025
Melody's exploration of Eastern Adams County highlights the beauty and diversity of the plants, animals, and people who live here. The photos below were captured during the 2025 growing season.
Alchemy
Creating color from materials provided by the earth
As Melody has gathered materials throughout the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons, her ink-making techniques have emerged from experimentation. Learning from mistakes, and celebrating surprises, Melody has embraced the impermanence and fragile beauty of the natural pigments she has created.
According to Melody, ink-making is quite simple. All you need to do is extract the color. This is most often accomplished through water and heat, and nearly any part of a plant can be used. Her inks have been used to create a body of work that invites us to reconnect with the land and deepen our care for the world around us.
From to Prickly Pears, to rusty car parts, to Ashes from the Marshall Fire, Melody has created vibrant pigments and stunning artworks from materials provided by the land. Her artistic journey across Adams County reminds us that magic often shows up in expected forms and places.
Ink is alive.
Melody Epperson
Melody's Studio, 2025
Melody's studio is like a science lab full of plant materials, detailed notes, and beautiful artworks in progress. Take a peek into her process below.
Experience More Dust to Apples: The Colors of the Eastern Plains
Melody's project has been featured on Rocky Mountain PBS and KUVO Jazz. Check out these segments for a deeper dive into Melody's story and art practice.
Rocky Mountain PBS Story
KUVO Jazz Live and Local Interview
About Melody Epperson
Melody Epperson is a passionate storyteller and land artist dedicated to exploring the complex relationships between people and the natural world. Drawing on personal history and collective memory, Melody creates immersive art that reflects both the beauty and fragility of our connection to the land.
About Jimena Peck
Jimena Peck is an independent documentary and editorial photographer originally from Argentina, currently based in Denver. Her documentary work focuses on the lives of rural communities in Latin America and the Western United States. Her work explores the complexities of the human experience and sheds light on the beauty that exists in even the most ordinary moments.
www.jimenapeck.com
About Dust to Apples
In a world increasingly disconnected from the land, Dust to Apples: The Colors of the Eastern Plains is a powerful art project that seeks to heal our relationship with the natural world. In collaboration with Adams County Parks, Open Space, and Cultural Arts, artist Melody Epperson explores her family’s history and challenges as farmers during the Dust Bowl, what it means to “work the land,” and guides us on a journey of reconnection with the earth.
Dust to Apples: The Colors of the Eastern Plains is on view now at the Gallery at Taza Coffee House.
Special Thanks to Participating Farms and Collaborators
Berry Patch Farms
CSU Extension
Curious Farms Market
Flying B Bar Ranch, Brighton
Historic Splendid Valley
LazyB Acres Alpacas, Bennett
Red Daisy Farm, Brighton
Sakata Farms, Brighton
Town of Bennett
Town of Strasburg
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