The Jar Garden

Cathy McCauley and Pamela Self of Preserve Collaborative are united in their deep love and appreciation of the natural world and a commitment to thoughtful land stewardship. 

Cathy is an artist/writer, creative collaborator, and certified forest therapy guide. She explores connections to people, place, and story through poetry, collage, public art, movement, and somatic experiences in nature. In her work, she aims to reveal the subtle threads that weave us together by focusing on the concepts of time, play, paying attention, belonging, and becoming. Cathy works as the communications coordinator for Wormfarm Institute and volunteers as president of her local library board of trustees. Her past experience as a holistic bodyworker, nature educator, and community facilitator informs her collaborative approach to creative work. She is also the mother of two children who never stop inspiring her. 

Pamela Self, owner of Pamela Self Landscape Architecture, has led an innovative landscape design practice since 2003, creating spaces that instill beauty, connection, and ecological resilience. Pamela partners with schools, municipalities, corporations, hospitals, and wellness and residential clients to bring vibrant, engaging and functional spaces to life. Her firm was awarded a multi-year contract with the Chicago Department of Transportation to create the seasonal planting character and appearance in the median planters on the city’s famed Michigan Avenue. Taking a new approach from previous planter designs, Pam’s firm instead used a different local artist each year to inspire the plantings. Her love of nature was inspired by her father, while her appreciation for art was nurtured by her mother, influences that continue to shape her creative approach to landscape architecture. Cathy and Pamela, along with Shari Gullo, a third collaborative partner, have created a range of community-based and site-specific projects, including “Preserve,” an installation displayed in a Sauk County alfalfa field as part of the 2024 Farm/Art DTour; the Ela Peace Project, which culminated in the installation of Illinois' tallest peace pole; and a community garden honoring renowned American birder Phoebe Snetsinger. Visit preservecollaborative.com to learn more.

Originally hailing from “over the pond,” John Featherstone brought a mix of theater training and rock-and-roll instinct with him when he moved from the U.K. to the U.S. in 1989. More than three decades ago, he co-founded Lightswitch — a studio built on the idea that great design lives somewhere between storytelling, technology, and pure gut instinct. Before that, John cut his teeth lighting concert tours around the world for artists including INXS, Duran Duran, Van Halen, and Janet Jackson — experiences that shaped a design approach equally at home in arenas, architecture, and immersive environments. Since then, his work has expanded well beyond the stage into museums, corporate experiences, attractions, and large-scale public installations. Known for elegant, idea-driven solutions that balance creativity with real-world pragmatism, John’s projects blend innovation with a sharp awareness of budget, logistics, and guest experience. His philosophy is simple: the best experiences borrow from everywhere. “The strongest projects combine the precision of museum design, the polish of high-end retail, the drama of theatre, and the energy of a rock show.” Recent collaborators include Virgin Galactic, Hans Zimmer, John Legend, and award winning and groundbreaking immersive experiences including ‘Illumination - Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum’ and ‘Enlighten’ at Meijer Gardens. John continues to push experiential design forward — chasing ambitious ideas, new technologies, and projects that create genuine emotional connection for increasingly sophisticated audiences. He is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society.