Wild madder, also known as white bedstraw, is a part of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, and although native to the area, it is considered invasive in the state of Wisconsin. Along with the wild madder, depicted in the tiled composition are more than 1,280 plant species found in Sheboygan county.

Wisconsin artist Beth Lipman accentuates this connection to the local landscape, illustrating central Wisconsin’s natural surroundings during a time of radical transition caused by climate change. The verdant collage that fades in vibrancy is a visual representation of the region’s vanishing native flora and fauna. Enclosed vignettes feature slip-cast ceramic copies of extirpated flora specimens from the University of Wisconsin-Madison herbarium. The plumbing fixtures surface treatment—a collaboration with Kohler Co.’s Waste Lab—uses a glaze that repurposes factory byproduct. Through visual preservation, Wild Madder offers a dynamic counterpoint to global mass extinctions of flora and fauna.