Michelle Stuart's early experience as a topographical and cartographic draftswoman influenced her development as an artist in the 1960s, when she created works reflecting her interest in the earth and the relationship of man to the natural world. Working outdoors, she made the drawing "Chichester" by rubbing graphite over a sheet of paper placed on the ground to register the character of the soil at a specific place (the hamlet of Chichester, upstate New York). This drawing marked a turning point in her career as she replaced illusionist representation with a direct imprint of the environment. Developing the concept on larger scrolls of papers, she created in the 1970s a major body of work that contributed to the radical reconsideration of the medium of drawing that was taking place at the time.