October is Here, Bringing New Art

Wicked’ is Heeeere!!

The hanging is over and the survivors exult!

East Wall Lineup?

How many Artists...?

Another one bites the Dust

Ya Got That, Irma?

Somebody's Working

Down on the left...

Sophisticated Card Height Template

Up and Labeled!

Sales opportunities

See you at the Opening on Saturday: 1400 Dallas St, Aurora, 4 - 7  pm.

Lots of News

I had to take a month off as BlogMeister, due to some health needs. Feeling much better, and with my apologies regarding timeliness of posting, here's all the news that's fit to print!

First up: ASBA Conference!
This was an amazing event. Attendees were blown away by the organization, support and content offered to them. At the banquet, Susan Fisher called up Committee Chairs, and then, in her inimitable style, thanked each committee members. In your Botanical Artist, which should have just arrived, you'll find a rundown on the happenings and most importantly, the vibe of this conference, which included the most intense sharing, conversation, friendships and fun I ever seen. So, check out the details in TBA!

Conference Coordinator Marilyn Garber loved working with us, and sent this lovely card and note:

Dear RMSBA Members,

Thank you soooo much for everything you did to make the ASBA Denver Conference successful!  Your great team made my job easy.  We could never accomplish such a diverse and interesting conference without the support of people "on the ground"  Your willingness to pitch in and get the job done is much appreciated.  Every detail was taken care of by you all - from the complexity of putting on Small Works to choosing the right hotel the right transportation company, to the lovely brush holder gift, to the beautiful banquet center pieces - and much, much, much, more.  Even the zombie event was lots of fun for our members!  Like the first conference in Denver, this second one was a huge success - all due to your work.

With great appreciation,

Marilyn

The wrap party happened at our regular October Member Meeting. Becky Hall organized and managed amazing finger food, Heidi Snyder provided an heirloom Black Forest Cake made with, truly, an heirloom kirschwasser (cherry liquor) as a a special ingredient, as well as sugar/gluten free individual cakes for those who require them. There was champagne, mimosas, and faux-mimosas with great sparkling apple cider.

Dorothy DePaulo led the discussion assessing strengths and weaknesses, how to help the next Conference organizers for the event in Miami next year, and then passed the podium to floor, asking each member present who had attended the conference to discuss their individual experiences. Again, there were helpful comments, but the theme of all comments was the absolute pleasure working together provided. We were all somewhat tearful that the effort was over, and yet happy to have done it right!

In closing, on behalf of RMSBA, Dorothy presented Susan Fisher, Conference Coordinator, and Ronda Ballard, who were present at committee meetings, work sessions, stuffing events and pretty much anywhere you needed them for the entire year of planning, with gift certificates. Many thank yous,  followed by applause from the entire group and hugs all around closed the meeting. Susan and Ronda send many thanks to the members for their help AND the lovely gift certificates.

Susan (left) and Ronda say, "Thank you, RMSBA, for your kind thank you gift. The ASBA conference was a great experience for us because of this terrific group of hard working botanical enthusiasts!"

 

Changes Afoot!

Every healthy organization benefits from changes in leadership, and we are definitely a healthy organization! In that vein, here are some things to look forward to in 2015:

RMSBA President: Vanessa Martin has accepted the position of RMSBA president. You know Vanessa from her tireless work for Exhibitions. In her new position, she'll continue to lead us into new growth and adventures.

Treasurer: Vicki MacWilliam has served in this position forever! Many thanks for her amazing dedication. She has now passed the baton to Ronda Ballard. Ronda was our first Treasurer, and we're so pleased she's helping again!

November Member Meeting:
Don't miss this opportunity to hang out with fellow artists at the Rocky Mountain Land Library. This amazing resource serves botanists, artists, authors, naturalists and historians with a collection of books that exist because of this land we live on.

 

The meeting this month will be on Sunday, November 30th at 1:00 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Library's  Waterton Canyon Library (located at Denver Water's Kassler Center). 

This library is so unique and such an important resource for us as botanic artists. It is truly one of the most unusual libraries in America! and it is right here in Colorado! You don't want to miss this.
Please visit the Rocky Mountain Land Library at https://landlibrary.wordpress.com/ to find out more about about this unusual library.
We will be visiting their Waterton Canyon Library and they will be telling us more about their South Park Library/Inn as well. 
As always, feel free to bring a piece of art to share with us.

Directions from C-470 & Wadsworth Blvd:

Go south on Wadsworth, 4.4 miles. Turn Left onto Waterton Road. You'll quickly pass the Audubon Center to your left. Continue on Waterton and you'll see a cluster of White brick buildings to your right. At the far end of those buildings, turn right into the Kassler Center parking lot. The library is located in the brown building, which is the first building to your right as you pass through the gate. 

Here's anAudubon link that has a couple of maps (folks just need to remember that we are just south of Audubon, and on the opposite side of Waterton Road):

http://www.denveraudubon.org/auduboncenter/location-hours/

New BlogMeister: Libby Kyer (that's me!) created our blog 3.5 years ago. I offered to do this when the Board was trying to decide how/if to continue the website. At that time, the best option for an easily updated web presence was a blog. Benefits included it's complete timeliness, as it could be updated each and every day if needed, as well as flexibility in layout and design. Since then, it has become a valuable tool for RMSBA functions and mission goals. However, it's time for Libby to pass our blog to a new BlogMeister. Our immediate past president Dorothy DePaulo has volunteered to step in and learn the ropes.  Here's Dorothy!

 

Dorothy is an accomplished artist and becoming an author with her book with Heidi Snyder about Wild in the City - the flora and fauna that thrive in city parks and preserves. To add to her busy schedule, she's volunteered to be your BlogMeister starting in January of 2015. Here's a sample of her artwork, entitled "Spotted Towhee," created in colored pencil on film:

 



Dorothy is excited about learning to create an interesting and informative blog for you. You can help her by emailing her images and words about your life as an artist and RMSBA member. Let her know if March's Drawing a Day theme is something you enjoyed and benefitted from. Have a conversation about online exhibitions using the blog - pro or con! Update your member gallery, to provide fresh new artwork for members and patrons to enjoy. And look for great new things right here! Starting with about 12,000 views in our first full year, we now total over 74,000 views from interested folks around the world! Yep, WORLD!! Take advantage of this wonderful service to you, your art, and our organization.

I'll continue until the end of the year, and then help Dorothy learn the ropes in the next couple of months. This has been a great learning experience for me, and rather unexpectedly, so much fun! I'll miss providing this service to you, but have loved the support offered, and know the new Blogmeister will love it as much as I have.

 

In Just 81 Days All This Can Be YOURS!

“Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”
― Anthony G. Oettinger
We NEED a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started. Click HERE to contact the Blogmeister herself. Time yourself on how fast you can jump into this adventure. .

You're Gonna WANT This Volume! Act Now!

 

DBG''s SBAI Program Created This Unique and Wonderful Book - the Ultimate in a Contemporary Botanical Artists' Journal - and Shares It With You.

See what program manager Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski has to say about this project:

 

Click on Image to enlarge

Judy Vanderbosch                                         Cynthia Rothbard

 

Dear all,

Practice Makes Perfect, A Botanical Illustration Sketchbook, is created by Denver Botanic Gardens’ School of Botanical Art and Illustration. It's the brainstorm of Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, scientist, botanical artist, and manager of the SBAI program. This special edition volume not only represents skills and abilities, but also creativity, ideas and friendship from a consortium of masters and students in the program. In this collective work, each page and image presents a unique view from the illustration community, and reveals something of the heart and mind of the artist. Illustration can take many forms; it has an ability to transform a page and can add magic to words to present what simple text might imply, but can not say.

#1 BIG news: We know at this point that our Kickstarter campaign has been successful for our first goal - we have reached the $20,000 mark needed to print this amazing volume. We have gone over our base publication amount, and so are pushing to do two things:
        1. Sell the remaining limited edition book, in order to,
        2. Fund our new Artist Residency Program.
Since I have gotten so many questions from you, here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions:

1. Printing is secured. 212 books are reserved and we have 288 left of the limited edition.
3. Our KickStarter project continues for just eight additional days, until October 5, 11:04 a.m.
4. The price of the book until October 5 is $48, after that it's $90!

5. From here on, every penny raised goes towards our Artist/Illustrator in Residency Program. Every $3000 unlocks one 6-week position We hope to fund three 6-week positions, available each summer, open for everybody to apply, from the U.S. and abroad.

As of today, we have raised $1853 towards unlocking the first 6-week position!

 

For those who would like to get the book at the special KickStarter rate, and are wondering how Kickstarter funding works, click HERE. Open the link, and on the right you will see a green button “Back this project.” Click and that directs you to a new page where you have different support options to select from. For example: $48 for one book, $95 for two books, $150 one book and you get your name into the book acknowledgements etc. Select the option you like best, click 'Continue. 'That directs you to a page where you create a secure Kickstarter account. After creating your account, you are directed to Amazon.com where you use your amazon account for the pledge. Your credit card is not charged before October 5th. Everything that you pledge above the reward level is tax-deductible.

And here's something fun, if you pledge more than $100 above your pledge level, your name will appear as a supporter of the project in the printed acknowledgements.

More later – I’m so excited to get the Artist in Residency program running and open for you to apply! 
 

If you have any questions, click HERE to contact me.

Mervi

(Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Manager, SBAI, Member, RMSBA, ASBA

 

Barbara McKee                            Annie Reiser

 

 

 

 

Jessy Bergeman

Contributing Artists:

Karla Beatty, Boston, MA; Beatrice Coron, NY, NY; Susan DiMarchi, , Denver, CO; Sarah Homfray, U.K; Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Lafayette, CO; Renee Jorgensen, Lakewood, CO; Ikumi Kayama, College Park, MD; Veiko Kespersaks, London, U.K.; Libby Kyer, Denver, CO; Jenny Phillips, Melbourne, Australia; Lauren Pierson, Denver, CO; Randy Raak, Golden, CO; Annie Reiser, Estes Park, CO; Susan Rubin, Denver, CO; Constance Sayas, Denver, CO; Ann Swan, Rowde, U.K.  - Maria Bumgarner, Denver, CO; Lauren Bassing, Lebanon, NH; Jesse Bergeman, Denver, CO; Michele Bloom, Denver, CO; Leslie Boose, Englewood, CO; Nels Broste, Fort Collins, CO; Cindy Calkins, Aurora, CO; Karen Cleaver, Littleton, CO; Hayley Cook, Denver, CO; Rebecca Corbett, Denver, CO; Lauren Cotie, Denver, CO; Susan Curnutte, Colorado Springs, CO; Shanelle Deater, Aurora, CO; Estelle DeRidder, La Crescenta, CA; Susan Dorsey, Broomfield, CO; Emerson Easley, Saga, Japan; Teri Eichhorn, Ramona, CA; Laura Farnsworth, Denver, CO; Emma Felt, Santa Fe, NM; Meredith Feniak, Denver, CO; Carol Ferguson, Aurora, CO; Linda Forbess, Schofield, WI; Karen Genoff-Campbell, Greely, CO; Noreen Goetz, Aurora, CO; Megan Maksimovich Goodenough, Fort Collins, CO (label calligraphy); Rebecca Hall, Parker, CO; Erin Haley, Denver, CO; Jan Boyd Haring, Cascade, CO; Helen Hasting, Morrison, CO; Marj Hopkins, Colorado Springs, CO; Christina Hubbell, Colorado Springs, CO; Dawn Huston, Colorado Springs, CO; Diane Inman, Corrales, NM; Sendy Issanti, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ; Margaret Johnson, Boulder, CO; Vanessa Martin, Aurora, CO; Judy Matthews, Fort Collins, CO; Karen May, Erie, CO; Douglas McCallum, Longmont, CO; Mary McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Elizabeth McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Kathy McCrery, Galesburg, IL; Barbara McKee, Louisville, CO; Martha Narey, Denver, CO; Peter Orleans, Denver, CO; Carla Pawlewicz, Lakewood, CO; Alice Pearson, Greenwood Village, CO; Kirk Pfeffer, Broomfield, CO; Cynthia Rothbard, Nokomis, FL; Jaclyn Sachleben, Richmond, VA; Helen Smithwick,  Colorado Springs, CO; Irma Sturgell, Centennial, CO; Susan Stutzman, Golden, CO; Lesley Switendick, Boulder, CO; Mary Tharp, Arvada, CO; Angela Tingle, Buena Vista, CO; Karen Tillou, Oregon City, OR; Judy Vanderbosch, Denver, CO; Vickey Wood, Highlands Ranch, CO; Megan Wyeth, Saint Joseph, MO; Penelope Yerigan, Littleton, CO.

In Just 101 Days All This Can Be YOURS!

Time marches on. We NEED a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started. Click HERE to contact the Blogmeister herself. You'll be so glad you stepped up to the plate.

Check Out Portfolios and Galleries of Artists You Admire

Looking to learn a new technique or understand an old one better? Check out your favorite artists online. Here a few that might get you started:

Catherine Watters, Orinda, CA

Catherine works beautifully in watercolors. Click HERE to see her portfolio site.

 

 

Susan Rubin, Denver, CO

Susan is a master in colored pencil. Click HERE to see her portfolio site.

 

 

millie acharya, Ithaca, NY

millie works in watercolor. Click HERE to see her portfolio.

 

Robert McNeill

Robert is a watercolorist in Britain. Click HERE to see his work.

 

So, you can see, there's a lot of inspiration online. Tap your favorite artist's site every now and then, just to see how he or she is progressing, and watch the growth that is so obvious in wonderful online portfolios.

 

In Just 121 Days All This Can Be YOURS!

Time flies. We NEED a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started. Click HERE to contact the Blogmeister herself. You're going to love this adventure!

Last Chance for High on Botanicals Fast Approaching

 

This terrific exhibit closes after the 28th of August. Don't miss seeing the work of fellow members at this neat gallery. You can contact Square Deal Gallery HERE for more information.

 

 

 

In Just 141 Days, All THIS can be YOURS!

Or at least, it can be yours on behalf of your fellow members at RMSBA. We are looking for a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started.

You'll learn how to quickly and easily add TEXT! You can format and finesse it to your heart's content.

TEXT text TeXtInG text-ify TEXT

 You'll learn about using images!  Big and bold,

 

delicate, 

 black and white,

 

 

or with colored backgrounds,  

 .
You can create links to take people to places you want to SHARE, or that are IMPORTANT to our members, or that are just plain FUN. (Hint: click on each blue word to find something Libby wants to share, thinks is important, or is just plain fun. That's how links work! Isn't that easy!)

What do you need to help you decide if you want to start this blog adventure? A computer! Internet connection! Image program - like Photoshop Basics or any bitmap image management program! Your current Blogmeister has used CorelDraw's PhotoPaint for all the blog entries she's completed, and any image program can size a picture for use in the blog.

If you've wanted to have your own blog or web page, and didn't really have a starting place, this site is a perfect place to learn the basics of creating a presence online. Now's your chance for guided entry to a really fun process.

So, the countdown has begun!!! There are 141 days left until the end of the year. Just think of all  you can learn during this time to become the NEW & IMPROVED RMSBA Blogmeister. To get started, just click HERE and Libby will give you the details. Hurry! This opportunity won't last forever. I mean, it'll last for 141 days and counting down, which may seem like forever, but we all know the winter holidays are galloping towards us. Act now!

 

Class Opportunity for Fall

And remember, if you have a class offering you think your fellow members would be interested in, don't hesitate to send them HERE, and we'll get them posted.

Don't Miss RMSBA's Exhibit High on Botanicals Currently on Display at Square Deal Gallery

This lovely exhibit opened 15 July, with the opening reception on July 19. Square Deal Gallery is located at 1460 South Colorado Boulevard, Denver, CO, just next to Black Eyed Pea Restaurant on the east side of the Boulevard. Here are some images to whet your appetite! Many of the artworks are for sale!

Catalpa speciosa, colored pencil, Vanessa Martin

 

Vanessa supplied the images below of the exhibit setting. Nice work!

 

 

 

 

 

Linden Branch, colored pencil on film, Vanessa Martin

Showy Milkweed pods, water color, Vanessa Martin

Wild in the City Opening Tomorrow Evening

You won't want to miss this opening! Here are the details, and few images to encourage you! And remember, you can click on any image for a larger version. See you there!

 

 

 

 

Western Painted Turtle, colored pencil on Mylar, Heidi Snyder

 

 

 

Meadow, colored pencil on Mylar, Heidi Snyder

 

Egret and Shore Birds, colored pencil on Mylar, Heidi Snyder

 

 

 

Black Hooded Night Heron, colored pencil, Dorothy DePaulo

April 27, 2014 Member Meeting - Rocky Mountain Land Library

Eight members of the RMSBA met at Schlessman Family Branch Library for our monthly meeting. Members discussed the great work Becky Hall and Vanessa Martin are doing designing and fabricating our ASBA Conference gift, which is a brush holder made of native beetle-kill pine. The damage from the beetle creates a blue cast in a lot of the wood grain, making an interesting and beautiful pattern in the cut wood.

In addition, it’s an ecological use of the wood, which comes from standing dead trees which generally are not used for construction. Becky presented four different finish possibilities, and after discussion, a clear poly-acrylic coating was selected as being beautiful and easy to keep with good water resistance properties.

The focus of the meeting was a presentation by Kathy Imel and Jeff Lee, representatives of the Rocky Mountain Land Library, a unique organization dedicated to engaging people in the history and care of the land in our area. Kathy presented Jeff to the members.

The Amazing Growth of An Amazing Idea
Jeff Lee and Ann Martin share a marriage and their love for books, which has taken them on a number of journeys, perhaps the most successful is the creation of the Rocky Mountain Land Library. The concept began to grow after a trip to the London Book Fair, with a particularly important side adventure.

They went to Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St. Deiniol's Library, a residential library in Hawarden, Wales, founded by Victorian statesman and politician William Gladstone. In 1895, at the age of 85, Gladstone gave £40,000 (equivalent to £3.91 million today) and much of his own library to start this library’s holdings. He hauled most of the 32,000 books a quarter of a mile to their new home, using his own wheelbarrow! Now, over 250,000 books comprise the library holdings, and folks looking for research, respite and inspiration in their work come from around the world and stay in the 26-bed establishment.

Lee and Martin saw the wealth such a library offers and on their return home, they began collecting books about the Rocky Mountain region, with a commitment to encouraging greater awareness of the land and the communities who live on it. Over the ensuing years, their collection grew to over 30,000 books, old and new, documenting the way land in Colorado was worked, tended, sold, swapped, and cared for.

Denver Post image 2/2/2012 – Jeff with collected books in his basement, prior to moving the collection new digs

 

RMLL has received praise and recognition from around the nation, starting with local support (Channel 9), and spreading all the way to the east and west coasts (Bloomsbury Review, LA Times, and Huff Post to name a few).  

Topic range is astounding, with books on modern beekeeping to traditional pruning methods, keeping goats in the city to The Poetry of Birds, a lovely tome on Fodder Plants and Pasture Plants, beautifully illustrated, cowboy poetry and works on art, craft, farming, mountain men, native peoples and more. So much is learned about the people who inhabited our lands, how they lived, what they cared about, how they interacted with each other, and how they husbanded the resources and treasures they found. Take a look at these:

Beekeeping - in the city!

 

 

 

Proper pruning beautifully illustrated

 

 

The City of Denver allows 2 goats per household

 

 

Inspiration drawn from the land's - and skies' - inhabitants

 

 

Serious information for the plainsman

 

 

Beautiful illustrations allow accurate identification

 

 

 

Cowboy's were often close-lipped, but remembered and embellished their lives with poetry. You can catch cowboy poetry in Denver and other cities at festivals and readings

 

RMLL, in partnership with the Tattered Cover, established an author series focused on the land and communities of the American West. Since 2001, they have hosted over 400 authors, including luminaries Barry Lopez, Bill McKibben, Lester Brown, Stewart Udall, Peter Mathesen and John & Teresa Kerry. 

In addition, a thriving outreach program, the Kids & Educators Library in south metro Denver, has been established in partnership with Denver Water and the Thorne Ecological Institute. 

After several years of searching for the perfect permanent home, Buffalo Peaks Ranch in South Park will soon house the RMLL collection. Founded in 1861 and recently designated a National Heritage Area,the ranch is a beautiful spot, the perfect home for a library dedicated to the conservation and appreciation of the land.

Beth Wood, a friend of Lee and Martin, photographed restoration work on the Buffalo Peaks Ranch in 2009, and some of the images are seen below. You can view more of her work HERE.
 

The vista that nurtures the permanent home for the RMLL, in South Park, CO, a few miles outside of Fairplay, CO, including waterway, main ranch house, a bunk house, and majestic mountains rising in the distance.

 

Once the rehabilitation of buildings is complete, the main house, attendant bunk houses, a huge barn, and massive concrete cattle stalls will all be re-purposed.

The main ranch house on renovation day, with outside paint and repair in progress

 

A volunteer works hard on a warm day, as two smart pups find a spot of shade

 

The outbuildings of Buffalo Peaks Ranch in South Park near Route 9, as a storm walks across the valley. Clouds moving in fast demonstrate the capabilities for high plains to generate capricious weather, looking back through the bunk house, with large cattle sheds barely visible mid-right of the picture

 The main library will be in the upper level of the wood-beam barn, residency settings located in the bunk houses and artist studios and work areas created in the cattle stalls.  General meeting and education areas are planned for the main house. There will be room to honor, preserve, research and expand the many activities that encompass the land.

Their commitment to our land, and their support of the arts that portray it are a perfect match for botanical artists. Click HERE to reach their informative website, and find your niche to participate in this terrific organization.