PoetryOtherPast event
SECOND NATURE: Salvaged Metal Sculpture & Haiku
About this event
SECOND NATURE brings together sculptor Michael Zant and poet Thomas L. Vaultonburg in a collaborative exhibition pairing salvaged-metal animal sculptures with original haiku. Zant transforms discarded and repurposed metal into animals, while Vaultonburg’s poems respond to the creatures and the Midwestern landscape through an approach he calls Prairie Zen. The exhibition explores transformation, attention, animals, landscape, and the unexpected possibilities of overlooked things. Scrap becomes sculpture; sculpture encounters poetry. SECOND NATURE also benefits Wild Roots, an organization devoted to promoting the prairie. Vaultonburg is the author of Vanished Roads (Wolf Twin Books, 2026), a collection of haiku and short poetry exploring many of the same intersections between the natural world, ordinary objects, memory, humor, and transformation. Learn more about Vanished Roads: https://www.wolftwin.com/product-page/vanished-roads SECOND NATURE takes place during Fall ArtScene, October 2–3, 2026, at Rockford Art Deli in Rockford, Illinois.
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Thomas L. Vaultonburg ↗
Thomas L. Vaultonburg is a Rockford, Illinois poet and author of Vanished Roads (Wolf Twin Books, 2026). His work explores contemporary American haiku, landscape, memory, humor, and the overlooked details of everyday life through an approach he calls Prairie Zen. His poetry has appeared in journals including Presence, Acorn, Kokako, and Wales Haiku Journal. He is co-founder of Wolf Twin Books.
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Wolf Twin Books