Ghosties and Pumpions and Black Cats

 

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Member Show. The Opening Reception for Colorado Wild! was Sunday October 3, 2021. Some pix:

RMSBA Board Meeting. Directors contemplated our future and our need for more minds and hands to do the many tasks we face to git’em done. We attempted to break up the workload into smaller packets, many of which can be done “remotely.” We expect to be making a list, checking it twice, and trying for outcomes at the Holiday Party December 5 at Carol Till’s place. Please consider the prospects mentioned in the Presidential Letter you all received via MailChimp, and provide your input, via email or direct participation.

ASBA Annual Conference ONLINE October 13-17, 2021. Your Editor signed up for the Juror Training, and learned lots about process and not enough about images and botanical accuracy and initial impact. Maybe next time…

Gold in the mountains, yellow in the canyons, red in the scrub

 Reception. The Opening Reception for Rocky Mountain Wild! is Sunday October 3, 2021, 3-5 pm, Garden of the Gods Nature and Visitor Center, Colorado Springs.

Demonstrations (Volunteers step forward, please! Help out the overtasked Exhibition Committee). The Director of the Center would like to have an artist demonstration there for each month of the exhibition. They will be on Sunday afternoons, 1-2 hour blocks. Join the participants! This is a great way for you to promote your work and meet people. Contact Patti Hearn to volunteer: pattihearn@hotmail.com

Member Meeting on September 19, 2021, with 17 attending. Works accepted into Rocky Mountain Wild! were submitted, to be installed at Garden of the Gods on September 21. Some new members came to a first meeting so introductions were nice; future projects got some discussion, and we are reminded that From Platte to Peak reappears in Vail at the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens during the first week of November.

Board Meeting. Directors contemplate our need for more minds and hands to do the many tasks we face to git’er done. We want to break up the workload into smaller packets, many of which can be done “remotely.” We expect to be making a list, checking it twice, and trying for outcomes at the Holiday Party December 5.

ASBA Annual Conference ONLINE October 13-17, 2021. Registration for ASBA's second virtual conference is now open! For information, visit the ASBA website. To register online, click here. Registration closes at 11 pm Eastern Daylight Time on October 6th. Inexpensive. No transportation or lodging costs… Sign up.

Labels: Wildflower show, Rocky Mountain Wild!, Board meeting, member meeting, ASBA Online Conference

Not all hummingbirds have left yet; most plants are in fruit or seed

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Reception and Demonstrations (Volunteers step forward, please!)

Rocky Mountain Wild! Reception has been set for Sunday October 3, 2021, 3:00-5:00 p.m.  Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, Colorado Springs.

We would like to have an artist demonstration at the Center for each month of the exhibition. They will be on Sunday afternoons, 1-2 hour blocks. Ideally we would have 6 of our artists willing to demonstrate their artistic skills. This is a great way for you to promote your work and meet people. Contact Patti Hearn if you want to volunteer: pattihearn@hotmail.com

We need "one" of you to coordinate these demonstrations with the GOG staff and the artists. Be the one of 99 who steps forward to help our overworked Exhibition Committee.

Rocky Mountain Wild! (RMSBA members only) remains open for entries at Online Juried Shows. The deadline of September 10 is approaching at warp speed, so now is the time to finish your pieces and submit those scans!

Member Meeting at Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, September 19, 2021, in Freyer-Newman Center Classroom 1, to the left as you enter FNC. Enter through the main doors near the Copper Door Coffee Shop at 11^th Ave & York Street; do not use the public access gates at York & ~10^th. Anyone who wants to visit the Gardens before or after we meet should book a ticket as usual.

If your work was accepted into Rocky Mountain Wild!, drop it off at the meeting; that show will be installed at Garden of the Gods on September 20.

Happy Labor Day, American workers! Federal minimum wage is now $15/hour, at which full-time rate you could afford a two-bedroom apartment in exactly zero US counties.

Board Meeting. Directors have received a working agenda. Contact a Board member if you have a topic you want to submit for consideration. The meeting is set for 10 am, September 28, The French Press, 3504 E. 12^th Ave., Denver.

ASBA Annual Conference ONLINE October 13-17, 2021. Registration for ASBA's second virtual conference is now open! For information, visit the ASBA website. To register online, click here. Registration closes at 11 pm Eastern Daylight Time on October 6th. Inexpensive. No transportation or lodging costs… Sign up.

Fading Yellows Explained. New pigment sources find a way into our materials and we love it when they’re light-fast. This article in June 2021 Discover magazine points out what happened to brilliant yellows originally used by Van Gogh, Munch, and others.

No-so-new White. Titanium dioxide, source of Titanium White, was introduced to great fanfare in 1908, when Auguste Rossi first produced it in Niagara Falls, NY. Previously-used white pigments were lead white in Europe (What might that explain?) while calcium carbonates (CaCO₃) like chalk and lime were prominent in the Americas. Turns out, Rossi was just a little late to the party. The Inca had exploited the Giacomo Deposit in Peru more than 400 years ago; lots of material available. Find out why the Inca traded that in for imported lead white in this article in Smithsonian, June 2021.

Labels: Call for Entries, Wildflower show, Rocky Mountain Wild!, Board meeting, yellow pigments, white pigments, member meeting, Abundant Futures, ASBA Online Conference

Wildflowers everywhere, just when you need them!

 

Upper Sraight Creek Trail

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Miners Candle

Member Show Call for Entries. The Rocky Mountain Wild! exhibit  for RMSBA members only  this fall remains open for entries at Online Juried Shows. Enjoy a stroll through those alpine meadows to catch the mid- to late-summer blossoms and fruit you’ve been waiting patiently for to refine your drawings of your chosen Colorado wildflowers for this show. The deadline is September 10, so now is the time to face the page and finish your pieces!

Member Meeting at Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, September 19, 2021. We will meet in Freyer-Newman Center, Classroom 1, which is to the left as you enter FNC. Enter through the main doors to the Freyer-Newman Center near the Copper Door Coffee Shop at 11^th Ave & York Street; do not use the public access gates at York & ~10^th. Anyone wanting to visit the Gardens before or after the meeting should book a ticket as usual.

If you have work accepted into the Rocky Mountain Wild! exhibit, drop it off at this meeting; the show will be installed at Garden of the Gods the next day.

Freyer - Newman Center at DBG

ASBA Traveling Exhibit coming next year. ASBA announces that Denver Botanic Gardens will host Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, & Field, the Fourth New York Botanical Garden Triennial. It will be on view in Denver from October 8, 2022 – January 15, 2023. The exhibition will be installed in the Freyer – Newman Center, new home of Denver Botanic Garden’s School of Botanical Art and Illustration. The MotherShip are excited to bring this exhibition to Denver. 

We all have plenty of time to plan. For more information and updates as they become available, see ASBA's website here and Denver Botanic Gardens' website here.

ASBA Annual Conference ONLINE October 13-17, 2021. Registration for ASBA's second virtual conference is now open! For information, visit the ASBA website. To register online, click here. Registration closes at 11 pm Eastern Daylight Time on October 6th. Inexpensive. No transportation or lodging costs… Sign up.

RMSBA’s ZOOM member meeting on July 6 – hosted by Susan Fisher – drew as large an attendance as we ever have had at in-person meetings, and members from afar could join in. We may have to do that again. We had a lovely presentation by Mary Dillon of Kilkenny, Ireland, who was up at 1 am local time to talk with us at 6 pm here. Thanks, Mary. Thanks, Susan.

Caribou Ranch Bouquet

Happy Canada Day Jul 1! Happy US Independence Day Jul 4!

 

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ON-LINE Member Meeting! Tuesday July 6, 6 pm MDT, ZOOM. Susan Fisher will host.  The access link will appear in your email. We will discuss this fall's RMSBA member show. We also will be discussing the plant list for an exciting upcoming multi-year project. We hope you can join us.

Rocky Mountain Wild! Here is a list of 30 wildflower hikes at peak bloom in July.

Check out the new imagery at Our Executive Board, above. We do have a couple vacancies we’d like to fill, and some terms are ending. Volunteer for the Board!

Photosynthesis is the most important process on Earth. For most earthly plants, photosynthesis stops at 104 degrees F; for wheat, central to many culinary cultures, it is 100 degrees. Much of the nation’s wheat, potatoes, and green beans are grown in eastern Washington and Oregon, so I expect lower yields there and in the upper Midwest will generate a rise in prices. Between 1984 and 2017, vegetation cover in desert ecosystems in Southern California decreased by 35%. When grassland cover falls below 20% on the High Plains, winds lift the dry soil into great clouds in dust storms.

Can you believe it hit 112 degreesF in Portland?!?

 

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Member Show Call for Entries. The Rocky Mountain Wild! exhibit for RMSBA members only  this fall is open for entries at Online Juried Shows. Enjoy a summer trip through our lovely mountains and parks gathering mid-season sketches and photos, and refine your drawing of your chosen Colorado wildflower for this show. This year's exhibit deadline is September 10, so now is the time to head out into the field and get going on your illustrations!

 

If you are not a member, you may join here.

 

Rocky Mountain Wild! opens this September 20 at the Visitor Center at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. RMSBA anticipates multiple venues for this show; pieces must remain with the exhibit venue(s) until the official closing.

 

ON-LINE Member Meeting! Tuesday July 6, 6 pm MDT, via ZOOM. Susan Fisher will host and moderate; the access link will appear in your email. We will discuss this fall's RMSBA member show [see above]. We also will be discussing the plant list for an exciting upcoming multi-year project. We hope you can join us. Have ready any topic you want to add to the agenda.

Exhibit Kickoff and Supplemental References

Flag Day USA,

…and

US Army Birthday. Happy 246^th!

Member Meeting! Sunday June 20, 3-4 pm, Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street. Meet at the main entrance at 2:50 and we can go in together.

We will discuss this fall's RMSBA member show. It's short notice, but Jessica at DBG was able to schedule a meeting room. We want you to come to the Gardens, when everything is blooming. This year's exhibit deadline is September 10, so now is the time to head out into the field and get going on your illustrations! We hope you will be inspired by the plants at the Botanic Gardens and even find one to illustrate after the meeting.

We also will be discussing the plant list for an exciting upcoming multi-year project. We hope you can make this meeting, if just to catch up with your fellow artists and reconnect with old friends. We look forward to seeing you.

Field Guide Recommendation. A useful reference for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Wild! plant search, this volume has truly excellent photographs of the wildflowers included. Introductory material has diagrams of flower part names, inflorescences, and leaf shape and arrangement; there is a key to the life zones. The Index is organized by floral color group and common name; the last page has a ruler along the left margin. The plant entries include the Family and Scientific Name (Genus species), photo, description, habitat, life zone, and blooming season. This one is a keeper, and a handy size for the pack or car.

Atmospheric Perspective. Reprinted in the May 2021 issue of Discover Magazine, this very interesting article from Astronomy (March 2019) is about Seurat (the Pointillist) and the French Post-Impressionists’ environment of light and shadow during a period of repeated volcanic pollution of the air. 

Very Soggy Memorial Day Weekend

 

US National Cemeteries that you might have visited today are listed here. In RMSBA’s region, Colorado has 3, New Mexico and Arizona each have 2, Wyoming and Utah each have 1. I visited the Idaho Springs Cemetery, where a number of veterans of many wars are interred, and Golden Banner saluted them from the road’s edge.

Spring in the West. All the high desert early bloomers are hard at it on the Colorado Plateau. Any old highway rest stop has something blooming around the edges. Miss no opportunity to catch a bloom or observe an interaction with a pollinator or herbivore. It’s endlessly fascinating.

Call for Entries. The Rocky Mountain Wild! exhibit for RMSBA members only  this fall is open for entries. Take a spring trip through our lovely state gathering early spring sketches and photos, start your drawing, and practice your subject for this show. If you are not a member, you may join here. All entries are made through Online Juried Shows, where you will find pertinent information. Entries to be accepted now through September 10, 2021. Rocky Mountain Wild! opens this fall at the Visitor Center at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. RMSBA is seeking multiple venues for this show; pieces must remain with the exhibit venue(s) until the official closing.

 

Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating Mexico’s 1862 victory over the French army

 From Judy Vanderbosch:

Hi everyone, My husband and I sat down Sunday afternoon and happened on to a wonderful TV program. Originally from PBS we found it on Prime: Beatrix Farrand, American Landscapes. We had never heard of her; she was a landscape architect and way ahead of her time. Some beautiful landscapes and an interesting story.

I would also like to thank everyone for their support for the Art Pop-up last week-end. It was a huge success thanks to all our arty friends.

From Susan Rubin comes a sad note:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 5 is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Awareness Day. Spare a thought.

 

Lookin’ like Spring in my yard – snow pea patch doing well

 

Pandemic. Probably we’re not really out of the woods, but we’re doing way better than many populations with our access to the breadcrumbs …

Board Meeting. Your RMSBA Board of Directors met April 5. We went over plans for the next exhibit and a couple of longer-term projects with Garden of the Gods. We expect to apply for grants for a little fiscal support for those. Also discussed were practical matters, like member meetings and maybe workshops. We set an aspirational date for the RMSBA Annual Holiday Party on December 5, 2021, so mark it on your hopeful calendar now. Should you wish to raise an issue to the Board, or bring up a concern or propose a project, let Our Prez or Exhibits Chairs know about it so it can become an Agenda Item. Keep your eye on this space -- and your email – for the forthcoming details.

Hairy Clematis

Call for Entries. The Rocky Mountain Wild! exhibition for RMSBA members only  this fall is open for entries. Make a spring dig through your sketches and photos, start drawing, and plan a trip into the wild itself to find your subject for this show. If you are not a member, you may join here. All entries are made through Online Juried Shows, where you will find pertinent information. Entries to be accepted now through September 10, 2021. Rocky Mountain Wild! opens this fall at the Visitor Center at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. RMSBA is seeking multiple venues for this show; pieces must remain with the exhibit venue(s) until the official closing.

 

 

Late Report from New Mexico: Earth Day at Simon Canyon in Navajo Lake State Park. Amazing things can happen with lightning, but the hike highlight was the Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) blooming along the canyon walls and filling the air with scent. Birds all over.

Winter “C” arrived with the Equinox, dumped lots of snow

Vaccine Eligible? Have you had one yet? Are you on a list? Double shot? Office Depot says they laminate vaccination cards at no charge…

Board Meeting. Your RMSBA Board of Directors is meeting on April 6 5. We hope to discuss plans and aspirations, and practical matters, like member meetings and maybe workshops. If you wish to raise an issue or bring up a concern or propose a project, let Our Prez or Exhibits Chairs know about it so it can become an Agenda Item.

Our own Susan Rubin is bringing us “Living Color: Reflections on a gray year” at Spark Gallery, 9^th Av and Sta Fe Dr in Denver, from April 1 – 25, 2021. Openings [in person w/ protocols…] are Saturday April 3, 10-5, and Sunday April 4, 1-4. Susan is featured in a Westword article available here.

Call for Entries. We announce an exhibition for RMSBA members only at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center in Colorado Springs this fall. They loved our exhibition last fall and have invited us back. They typically have over one million visitors to the Center alone. During the recent restricted situation, the Center has worked hard to keep their facility open to the public. Our exhibit of botanical art enhanced their educational mandate and they are eager to continue our partnership. Make a dig through your sketches and photos, start drawing, and plan a trip into the wild to find a subject for this show.

Rocky Mountain Wild!

“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” Henry David Thoreau

This exhibit explores wildflowers and native plants of the Rocky Mountains, including adjacent plains and deserts. Artist depictions of pollinators or small animals related to the plants are encouraged but not required. This exhibit is open only to members of the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists. If you are not a member, you may join here. All entries will be made through Online Juried Shows, where you will find the prospectus. Entries will be accepted from April 1, 2021 through September 10, 2021. Rocky Mountain Wild! opens this fall at the Visitor Center at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. RMSBA is seeking multiple venues for this show; pieces must remain with the exhibit venue(s) until the official closing.

Oh, the Bleak Midwinter

 

Vaccine Eligible? Have you had one yet? Are you on a list? Someday we’d like to gather again…

Winter Activities. Well, the snowshoeing has been pretty good up in Lake County. There has been some loss of life to avalanches in the high country this season, so if you go up there, use utmost caution. The Front Range has been quite sparse until this week. Enjoy your snow!

Happy New Year to all – it’s gonna be an interesting ride

ASBA encourages us to pay our 2021 dues (newly enlarged) on the ASBA web page forthwith and posthaste (by February 10). Remember to check off the box for RMSBA. The MotherShip did send us all mailers in the fall, soliciting contributions to the ASBA General Fund, etc. Our RMSBA Treasurer, Vanessa Martin, might welcome some small gifts to our own General Fund from the occasional member, also tax deductible, which you can do on the same form. You can sign back in if you forgot.

“From Platte to Peak” has been on display at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, and will remain there until February 22. This exhibit has been very popular with visitors, and the Director has decided to keep the Red Rocks Room as a permanent gallery space. Sometime in the Fall, the works will travel to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail. In the meantime, we seek other venues for the exhibit. Please advise our Exhibit Co-Chairs (Dorothy DePaulo & Sharon Garrett) if you have suggestions.

This portrait of our 49^th vice president was rendered in 4H pencil on drafting film by an artist called KTOZ posting online. Pretty good range of values for 4H. I saved it.

Interesting news morsels from the world of science that might be of interest to botanical artists:

An example of plant resistance to continued harvest using plant camouflage.

A tribute to efforts at rare plant conservation, past and present, and women botanists.

The rediscovery of the source of the blue watercolor used in medieval times.

Elena Piscopia 1678

The First Woman PhD. California artist Alyssa Winans shows Elena Cornaro Piscopia 1646-1664), a female scholar from Venice, Italy who in 1678 became the first woman in the world to be awarded a doctorate. She draws Piscopia with her head in a book in a library, hoping to show that Elena was happiest "when she was able to study undisturbed." 

DBG School of Botanical Art & Illustration has a new online newsletter (Jan 2021), with added links and artist calls. You can sign up to get this at the homepage. Speaking of Artist Calls, check if you’re eligible for “Golden Opportunity”, an extravaganza of yellow flowers, fruit, leaves; deadline to enter March 5, 2021.

Labels: ASBA dues, first woman PhD, artist call, From Platte to Peak, medieval blue