Storms to snow to river to sea. And all of us in between. This is the cycle of the watershed immortalized in a new mural on display at Finnriver by Jesse Watson and Taj Watson.

One of the main themes the mural works to highlight is the “interconnectivity of nature and ourselves,” said Jesse, in order to help people “remember everything we do affects downstream, even the way I dispose of paint.”

To help stir their inspiration, the father and son duo interviewed experts like Camille Speck, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound’s intertidal bivalve manager; Bob Simmons, Washington State University’s Olympic Peninsula water resources specialist; Mike Dawson, water quality manager for Jefferson County; and the lived experience expertise of commercial fishermen.

Once they’d been schooled on the intricacies of aquatic life in the watershed, they put paint to paper, or rather to wood since it lasts longer.

Using a special resin-based acrylic paint intended for outdoor use, the pair crafted a triptych of sorts with three unique scenes united by water behind it all.

“I’m stoked to work with Finnriver,” Jesse added, “because their goal is to be as symbiotic as possible with the land.”

Crystie Kisler, co-founder and owner of Finnriver, pointed to the symbiotic relationship of the original inhabitants of the land.

“I think it’s important to mention the connection between indigenous ecological knowledge and our relationship to the watershed,” Kisler said.

On Finnriver’s website, they dedicate a page to Indigenous land acknowledgement, stating: “We encourage folks visiting from near and far to research the Indigenous history of and continued presence on the Chimacum Prairie and beyond.”

Jesse is in a family lineage of artists and worked on this mural with his son Taj, who helped as part of his senior project in high school. Grandfather Richard, also an illustrator, was there to help mount the mural at Finnriver making for three generations of artists collaborating on the project.

Jesse said that while he hopes to raise his son in such a way that he’ll be able to make a better living than as a struggling artist, still “its pretty rad to get to spend time with my kids.”

There will be an opportunity to come meet Jesse during the Interdependence Celebration at Finnriver, July 17, where prints of the mural will be sold with a portion of the proceeds going to the Chimacum prairie restoration project and the Chemakum longhouse project.

After that event, prints will be available in Finnriver’s farmware store.