Mission Statement

The Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists is an open and diverse group of artists, collectors and admirers who share a love for the practice and perpetuation of botanical art and illustration with a fond focus on plants in the Rocky Mountain Region.
We encourage and participate in educational outreach, juried and non-juried exhibits, lectures, workshops and regular chapter meetings. The RMSBA is proud to be the very first chapter affiliation of the international organization, the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Happy Halloween ends this month, Dia de los Muertos starts the next!

The Sun - October 2014 --No foolin'!

Meeting Tomorrow! Members meet October 30 from 1 – 3 pm at the Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Av, Boulder (free parking on Sundays, Library CafĂ© on site). Agenda items:
-Update on current affairs
Selling RARE II catalogs
-Winterlude  - Sharon Eaton and Patti Hearn
-Tagawa Nursery – Patti Hearn
-Cannabis exhibit – Vanessa Martin
-RARE II – Sharon Garrett
-Can Do update 
-Cherokee Ranch and Castle – Vanessa Martin
-ASBA conference highlights by those who showed up
-Shout out congratulations to Susan Fisher! Her "Cabbage" was purchased for the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation permanent collection.
-Rocky Mountain Land Library - Eileen Richardson 
-Accept Winterlude: Botanical Promises artworks and sales materials 
-Members currrent artwork sharing and critique (bring your latest!)
-Sale of gallery frames (16x20 Walnut w/ Plexiglas: $20)

Winterlude artists dropoff. Please bring your artwork, framed in the required Dick Blick frame, ready to hang with wire, etc., and marked on the back with all the particulars about the piece, along with the release form from Gallery Bleu, to our meeting Sunday, October 30 at the Main Boulder Public Library, beginning at 1 pm. If you cannot make the meeting, do arrange to have someone bring and submit your artwork. Patti and Sharon will collect all and transport them to the gallery in Fort Collins, where they and Mary McCauley, the curator, will install the show, beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 4. Following their morning’s labors, their reward will come during the Opening Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Please be there! 

Sales Opportunities. Bring any prints, etc. that you would like to sell to the Oct. 30 meeting. We are getting into the holiday seasons, and patrons will be looking for presents, etc. so be prepared and have your prints, cards, and other outputs available. Patti and Sharon will deliver these as well. Both the opening and the holiday (Dec 2) receptions will coincide with Fort Collins Art Walks.

RMSBA Executive Committee meets Monday, November 7, 11 am - 2 pm, at Hooked on Colfax. If you have business for the Board to consider, please let one of us know.



A “Fresh Air” podcast heard by Susan Fisher may be of interest to members. The interview is with the author of a history of marijuana published on October 25. Check your local library…








Halloween (Oct 31) – All Hallows Eve – is the day before All Saints’ Day (Nov 1) and the next day (Nov 2) is All Souls’ Day, when Catholics pray for the souls of the departed. Dia de los muertos in Mexico remembers the departed, especially one’s ancestors, for whom offerings of food and drink may be presented. Dress up nice and have a good time!



Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Fun weekend ahead

Reminder: RMSBA members Oct 30 meeting 1 - 3 pm at Boulder Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder Co 80302 ( 303-441-3100)

Free parking @ library lot on Sunday!

Seed Library Cafe @ library menu on library site. Boulder Library has good web site to get directions and any further info.

Further Invitation from Eileen Richardson!
“I want to invite you to an event I'm putting on for the Rocky Mountain Land Library at the Puritan Pie Factory in Curtis Park. It's my family’s building and we are so excited to bring new life to the area. I think you will love the space but especially the thousands of amazing books on nature and plants. The event is the evening of October 20th from 5 'till 9 pm at 2612 Champa St. in Denver.

Jeff Lee, the director of RMLL, specifically wanted to connect with RMSBA. He and I are interested to collaborate with the society and potentially host an art show in the future. Feel free to stop by and invite anyone you know who might be interested. Would love to see you there! Don’t worry about the ticket or donation. It's ok to just show up! Hope to see you soon."



Friday, October 7, 2016

First Frost at lower elevations – Save your basil

Open Studio is cancelled for October, as ASBA will be in Pittsburgh. Next opportunity November 10.

Ongoing exhibits. Boulder: Shakespeare’s Bouquet shows for one more week in CU Norlin Libraries N-345 (‘till 10/14). RARE II: Imperiled Plants of Colorado is now at the CU Museum of Natural History. Aurora: Poisons, Potions, and Panaceas graces the Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities on the Anschutz Medical Campus (‘till10/28).

Members meeting October 30, 2016, will at the Boulder Public Library, 1 – 4 pm. If you have any suggestion for the upcoming agenda, send an e-mail to Vanessa Martin, our Prez. Plan a little trip with a friend… 

Friday, September 30, 2016

Great leaf colors everywhere this season!

Along Cimarron Ridge near Montrose
A Small Good Thing Reception Tonight. Join us today, September 30, 5:30 – 7 pm at the Cherokee Ranch and Castle for the Artist Reception and fundraiser for the Can Do Foundation.  Mini castle tours before the film. Come and enjoy art work by RMSBA members. Items for purchase donated by the artists include prints and other goodies; all proceeds donated to the Can Do Foundation. Tickets $25.


Winterlude: Botanical Promises has a deadline date of October 1. That’s Saturday. Get those 12x12 entries submitted to https://onlinejuriedshows.com/ at the last possible minute.

RARE II: Imperiled Plants of Colorado hangs now in Boulder at the CU Museum of Natural History, while Shakespeare’s Bouquet hangs in CU Norlin Libraries N-345 until October 14. Get on up there and see them.















Poisons, Potions, and Panaceas hangs at the Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora until October 28. Several members have lovely works in this exhibit, all of which are worthy to be seen together.













Reminder: Open Studio is now the second Thursday of each month, next opportunity October 13, 9 am – 12 n. Come join us at Valkarie Gallery, 445 S. Saulsbury St, Lakewood, CO.







Pie Factory Pop-up Celebration for Rocky Mountain Land Library. Come to the Puritan Pie Factory (2612 Champa Street, Denver, CO) and learn more about the Headwaters to Plains Network, a trio of library/learning centers along the South Platte River, from the headwaters in South Park to the Puritan Pie Factory -- new inner-city home of a library focused on nature in the city! Find food, drink, and pie aplenty, along with music and a Silent Auction full of art and inspiration. Hear about upcoming plans and programs at the Pie Factory, and all the ways you can make the Land Library your own. Denver Water is sponsoring this event, Thursday, October 20, 2016, 5 – 9 pm. Suggested donation $25 for tickets.


Tagawa Gardens 2017. For the very long-range planners out there,
mark Saturday, July 22, 2017 on your calendars. Our show and sale will coincide with the well-attended Gardens Lavender Fields Forever event. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Autumnal Equinox on horizon; Get ready for more darkness than light

Winterlude: Botanical Promises has a fast-approaching deadline date of October 1. Get those entries submitted to OnlineJuriedShows at https://onlinejuriedshows.com/ any day now. Remember the 12x12 frame requirements, and make the Square of the Day.

Friday is Mexico’s Independence Day, which in 1821 celebrated a bigger place:
after events from 1823 – 1853, territory took on its present shape:
Happy 195th Birthday, neighbors!



Friday, September 2, 2016

Labor Day Weekend approaches at light speed; Taste of Colorado occupies Civic Center

Open Studio is moving to the second Thursday of each month, starting September 8, 9 am – 12 n. Come join us at Valkarie Gallery, 445 S. Saulsbury St, Lakewood, CO. Bring your problem piece, your presentation work, your media or surface challenges, your new tool, your latest project. Also your ideas and observations. See you Thursday!

About the Printmaking Workshop at Open Press. We still have seats available. This is a great opportunity for both beginners and those who have had some experience with Solarplate. Classes will meet 1 - 5 pm Tuesdays, September 6, 13, 20, and 27. This workshop is open to both beginners and those with some experience who want to learn more advanced techniques. Bring a piece of your art and make an original print! Materials provided; cost is $300.00. Only 8 participants can be accomodated, so act quickly! Contact Vanessa Martin at martin.vanessa655@gmail.com.

Less than 30 days to submit your work to Winterlude: Botanical Promises, the RMSBA Winter 2016 Show. For this juried exhibit, the entries deadline is October 1. Visit Online Juried Shows at https://onlinejuriedshows.com/ for the full Prospectus and critical dates. 

RARE II: Rare and Imperiled Plants of Colorado opens next week in Boulder at CU’s Museum of Natural History! The Artists’ Reception will be September 23, in conjunction with the meetings of the Rare Plant Conservation Initiative folks. Go visit that and, while you’re on campus, see the Shakespeare’s Bouquet exhibit in Norlin Libraries N-345.

Reminder: Evergreen Open Door Studio Tour coming up on September 17 & 18 – you can visit 34 studios and quiz captive artists! Go to http://www.evergreenopendoorstudios.com/ for more details.

Members meeting October 30, 2016, will at the Boulder Library. Plan a little trip with a friend… 

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Very Interesting Weather We’re Having

Evergreen Open Door Studio Tour coming up on September 17th & 18th – you can check out all these studios and their captive artists!


About the Printmaking Workshop. We still have several seats available. This is a great opportunity for both beginners and those who have had some experience with Solarplate.

At Open Press, instructor Mark Lunning will teach us to use Solarplate, a simple approach and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing. The first class begins on Tuesday September 6th from 1-5 pm, second class is September 13th 1-5 pm, third class is September 20th 1-5 pm, and the last class is September 27th from 1-5 pm. This workshop is open to both beginners and those who have experience with solarplates but want to learn more advanced techniques. Bring a piece of art you have and like and make an original print!

All material will be provided; everyone will have two 4” x 5” and one 8” x 10” solarplates and three 22” x 30” sheets of 100% cotton printing paper; cost is $300.00. The maximum number of participants is 8, so please act quickly to secure a spot. If you are interested please contact Vanessa Martin at martin.vanessa655@gmail.com to sign up.


Winterlude: Botanical Promises. We have another opportunity for members to show their artistic talents. RMSBA has been invited to stage a small works exhibit at Gallery Bleu this November and December. Gallery Bleu is located in the Bas Bleu Theatre, 401 Pine Street, Fort Collins. The theme of the exhibit is Winterlude: Botanical Promises. This will be a juried exhibit; entries deadline is October 1. Online Juried Shows at https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/ for the full Prospectus and critical dates.  

Saturday, August 27, 2016

More warm weather to come

Members meeting August 28, 1-3 pm at the Eloise May Library, 1471 S. Parker Rd., Denver, CO. This library lacks on-site cafe services so please bring your own drinks and snacks if you so desire.
The agenda: updates on ongoing projects and an open panel discussion by the Executive Committee of the results of the recent survey. If there’s time, we will view the documentary “Alan at Highgrove” as the Prince of Wales takes Alan Titchmarsh on a tour of Highgrove House.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

They promised some rain… all we got were Japanese beetles

Executive Board meeting at 11, Monday, August 8, at Hooked on Colfax. If you have items for the Board to consider, contact any committee member or show up. 

Open Studio Tuesday, August 9, Valkarie Gallery, 445 S Saulsbury, Lakewood.

RARE II is in Salida until the end of August. Plan a little trip.

Shakespeare’s Bouquet is in Boulder. Some of our members have pieces in the Denver Botanic Gardens – University of Colorado exhibit of plants from Shakespeare’s plays. A First Folio from the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC will be on display during the last two weeks in August.

Member meeting coming up on August 28 at Eloise May Library. Details forthcoming.


Run for RMSBA Board. Consider serving on the RMSBA Executive Committee. Positions open for 2017-2018: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a couple other choice opportunities. Give it some serious thought: service to friends and fellow artists.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Temperature tops century-mark, Coors Field melts down

Bastille Day is Thursday, July 14, France fans! Happy revolution anniversary.

Reminder for Meininger marker party event hosted by Winsor & Newton, featuring their new product, the Pigment Marker. The party, with music, food and swag bags, is on Thursday, July 14, 6:30 - 9:00 pm. Check your received email for the details for RMSBA.

RARE II: Imperiled Plants of Colorado is now on exhibit at Steamplant Event Center - Paquette Gallery in Salida, Colorado. Check out this link at http://salidasteamplant.com/current-art-showing-in-paquette-gallery/. The Artist Reception was July 9, with beer, wine and appetizers. Jan Boyd Haring says she saw about a dozen members (with groupies!).
 

The 20th Annual Colorado Brewers Festival and Salida's Art  Festival was also going on.

Papermaking Workshop reminder. Judy Vanderbosch is teaching a 3-Day Paper Making Workshop on August 24, 25 and 26 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), at her home at 6585 E Colorado Dr., Denver. During three days of working with pulp (wet mixture you create to make paper), you will prepare finished paper for printing, painting, writing and molding. You will learn how to prepare fiber to make pulp and also where to get commercially-made pulp for special paper. All supplies included, except the items mentioned in the email (check your received emails). R

Reservations and payment must be made by August 1, 2016, so supplies can be ordered. Check now to see if you can still get in!
Please email Judy Vanderbosch to secure your spot at redbudart@gmail.com, then mail your check for $100 (made out to RMSBA) to Judy Vanderbosch at 6585 E Colorado Dr, Denver, Co 80224. Her telephone number is (303) 375-7718.

The Denver Hospice Mask Project 2016 opening is September 12. RMSBA members who participated in the project are mentioned at http://www.themaskproject.org/about-the-masks/the-artists/. Congratulations go to Susan Fisher and Mary Clark, who have their masks featured on the preview page at http://www.themaskproject.org/about-the-masks/the-masks/
Starting September 12, 2016, a month-long gallery in the Kaiser Permanente Grand Court of Cherry Creek Shopping Center will showcase 500 decorated masks. This year marks the 18th anniversary of the founding of The Mask Project and the 10th year of the gallery and auction. The biennial internationally-known fundraiser features hand-painted works from fine artists, musicians, athletes, celebrities, business leaders and more. An online auction is featured, and best-selling author Mitch Albom will speak at a special luncheon on September 28. Luncheon tickets and unique sponsorship opportunities are available now, but they’re going fast!

To date, The Mask Project has raised more than $4.5 million to assist The Denver Hospice to care for all people in metro Denver. Please join TDH this year — as an artist, a volunteer, a bidder, a benefactor or a luncheon attendee — to help create better end-of-life experiences for our Colorado community. For tickets and sponsorships. Go to www.TheMaskProject.org.


Thursday, June 30, 2016

“Wildflower explosion in Golden Gate Canyon State Park”

That’s what the Ranger said and she was right! Shooting Stars, Calypso (Fairy Slipper) orchids, Golden Banner, Penstemons, Loco-weeds, all the usual suspects, and a few new ones. Go to the mountains, around the 7700-foot elevation. About anywhere up there will be all color all day.


Women in Art are getting some face-time in Denver. The Denver Art Museum has the Women in Abstract Expressionism show and Valkarie Gallery has Realist Women:


Happy Birthday on Monday, Us! Get the brats and the beer ready, get out your old Army T-shirt (OK, Navy, USMC, Air Force, Coast Guard, Forest Service, etc.) and celebrate Independence Day!



Sunday, June 19, 2016

Last Days of Spring

Summer Solstice Monday, June 20. At 1:00 pm MDT, the shadows of objects will be at their shortest lengths, making plants, and all else, more difficult to draw en plein air than when the sun angle is lower.

Summer BBBQ (backyard Bar-Be-Que) will be at Vanessa Martin’s house on Sunday, June 26. Mark your calendars now and start dreaming up scrumptious side dishes and whatnot. Copious details will follow in a few days. Bring your spouse, bring a prospective member, bring fun!

New Product Event! Meininger's is providing the venue for an (invitation only) event hosted by manufacturer Winsor & Newton featuring their new product, the Pigment Marker. The party, with music, food, and swag bags, is set for Thursday, July 14, 6:30-9:00 pm (that’s Bastille Day, French Revolution buffs!). The hosts are inviting interested members of the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists. Please use the link to the Winsor-Newton Pigment Marker (www.winsornewton.com/na/pigment-marker) to clue you in on this product, if you haven't heard about it yet. Please note you must RSVP prior to July 6th to party@meininger.com.

RMSBA Board. Consider serving on the RMSBA Executive Committee. Positions open for 2017-2018: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a couple other choice opportunities. Give it some serious thought: service to friends and fellow artists.



Monday, May 30, 2016

Pool’s open!

Remembering those who lost their lives in defense of their nations

Sequoia High School, Redwood City, California

Open Studio Tuesday, June 14, 9am - 12n at Valkarie Gallery, 445 S Saulsbury, Lakewood.

Summer BBBQ (backyard Bar-Be-Que) will be at Vanessa Martin’s house on Sunday, June 26. Mark your calendars now and start dreaming up scrumptious side dishes and whatnot. Copious details will follow in a few days. Bring your spouse, bring a prospective member, bring fun!

RARE II is dark during June, and will open in Salida on July 9. Plan a little trip.

Hey there. Your Grillmaster is calling you. Go have a brat (or a kale rib…). Enjoy the Official Start to summer.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

…and at last the Sun shone upon the Land…

Graduation Congratulations go out to the proud parents, aunts and uncles (and Grands and Greats) supporting various forms of student life this high school and college commencement season. Your persistence has paid off, and another generation has moved a tassel from right to left. Next stop: the Twilight Zone (better than your basement).

Helen Byers wants us to come to New Mexico to play and draw! She has recently joined our organization, and offers some opportunities for formal instruction in northern New Mexico.


RARE II is now receiving visitors at the Raton Museum (108 South 2nd Street, Raton, NM) through the end of the month. Go catch the show and the wildflowers.

Tryptich Gallery, Norlin Library (N345) at CU Boulder. The Shakespeare’s Bouquet exhibit is hung in this lovely space adjacent to the Rare Books Room. A life-size Flat Will is the thorn between a sweet Rosa rugosa portrait (his right hand) and an aggressive Rosa alba-Rosa gallica group portrait (his left). Do find time to visit this joint CU-SBAI event, which in August will accompany the First Folio during its stay in Boulder.

Open Studio was lots of fun. We had a little carbon dust demonstration, a trio of pears in colored pencil, lovely birds, and pencil dust generally filled the air. A quartet for lunch – a lovely second Tuesday. Join us in June. 

ArtBag Reminder. Here’s the ad. Just get one. (or two, if you need different sizes)

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Happy Mothers’ Day

Shakespeare’s Bouquet in Boulder. Some of our members have pieces in the Denver Botanic Gardens – University of Colorado exhibit of plants from Shakespeare’s plays.
A copy of the First Folio from the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC will be on display in this 400th anniversary year of the Bard’s death. The Artists Reception is at the Norlin Library on Saturday, May 14, 2 – 4 pm.


Open Studio Resumes Tuesday, May 10, 9 am – 1 pm, Valkarie Gallery, 445 S Saulsbury St, Lakewood.
Gathering of the Guilds. We all had a great time on April 24 at Boettcher Mansion on Lookout Mountain in Golden. Beautiful weather this year. We enticed a sale or two, reacquainted with friends in other guilds, swapped business cards, sampled the fragrant 
offerings of Golden Moon Distillery, and made a few select purchases from among the available wares from bath salts to wooden tables. Looking forward to next year!

April Members Meeting on April 23 was very interesting. James Holmes from the Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation informed us about the cultural and natural heritage of the CRC, and reminded us about public tours beginning at 11 am Tuesdays through Sundays. For various upcoming activities available at CCR, including monthly exhibits by local artists, plein air paint-outs, and birding projects, visit the CRC website. There also find access to sign-up for the Arts Afield sketching opportunities we have as Artists in Residence. Our Vanessa Martin and Jan Boyd Haring are on the Art Committee for CCR (lucky us!).

Lucky, too, because guest speaker Susan Panjabi from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University advised us of additional illustration opportunities. A new list of rare plants next up on CNHP’s radar is available and we will post it around here. Artwork is always welcome in those identification guides. Susan advises us the check for field trip opportunities with the Colorado Native Plant Society at the CNPS website.

RARE II: Springtime in the Rockies. On Saturday, April 30, having observed weather and road conditions for two days, your intrepid Editor set forth to travel I25 south to Raton, New Mexico, for the RARE II Opening Reception at the Raton Museum, 108 S. 2nd Ave. The highway was wet in Douglas County but clear and dry all the way to Raton – and back next day. 



Kathy McQueary and the Staff put on a lovely Artist Reception spread including four varieties of wine, fresh vegetables and sweets, and truly excellent meatballs. 
Your Editor gave a brief presentation about our process and techniques to the gathered wildflower followers and other guests. 

A Silent Auction offered bids on a number of lovely antiques and artifacts accompanying our artworks. Your Editor tried to respond coherently to questions from the local on-line paper that serves the area from Walsenburg, CO to Las Vegas, NM, but was unable to catch the journal’s title.
The second floor gallery space is a treat! Skylight passage for the first floor! 



Quite nice textile banners and portraits of the New Mexico wildflowers from the museum collection decorated the walls along with our 40 plant portraits, 5 posters, 2 maps, and our acknowledgements. The RARE II banner is in the street level front window. 

This is a very lovely hanging, and it would be a shame if only the one RMSBA member got to see it. Go down to Raton this month and see what a great job they did.

RMSBA Board. Consider serving on the RMSBA Executive Committee. Positions open for 2017-2018: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a couple other choice opportunities. Give it some serious thought: service to friends and fellow artists.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

What was that cloud yesterday?

Reminder – Members meeting Saturday at Koelbel Library from 11-1 pm, April 23, 2016.  Besides membership updates, we have guest speaker Susan Panjabi from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program to discuss additional illustration opportunities. Also, we have a guest speaker from Cherokee Ranch and Castle for discussion of upcoming events and a chance to ask questions.

Reminder -- Gathering of the Guilds. The event is Sunday, April 24, 10-4 pm at the Boettcher Mansion on Lookout Mountain in Golden. Attendance is free; just tell them you are a participating member. This event is a lot of fun, and worth the drive on a lovely Sunday.


RARE II opens in Raton, New Mexico.

Pack your bags, artists! The Reception is April 30, 3 – 5 pm, 108 South Second Street, Raton, NM. The exhibit will show until May 28, 2016. You folks from south of Monument Pass do have a much shorter drive so go visit the neighbors. Among the local attractions is Climax Canyon Park, where there is an exposure of the Iridium layer marking the K-T boundary and demarcating the extinction of the dinosaurs.



Folsom, NM, homeplace of the Folsom Point (and its culture) and Sugarite State Park are off to the northeast, while Capulin National Volcanic Monument is a few miles east. 


Sunday, April 10, 2016

A Little Catching Up

Executive Committee/Board meets Monday, April 11, 11 am – 2 pm, Hooked on Colfax.

Open Studio Tuesday, April 12, 9 am – 1 pm, Valkarie Gallery, 465 S Saulsbury, Lakewood.

We Love Publicity! A message from Teresa Burkert:


If you have not yet seen it, on page 5 of the April 2016 issue of Colorado Gardener (free at garden centers) there is a very nice paragraph about RARE II under the heading Exhibitions! I am not sure whom to thank or congratulate for getting this information in there so I am sending this for the Blog. Happy Spring!!

Friday, April 1, 2016

It’s April Already, No Foolin’

Arts Afield: This just in from Jan Boyd-Haring.

Hi. I promised Vanessa I would create a fantastic masterpiece from this road grader sitting behind the corrals at Cherokee Castle and Ranch. We thought we could entice other artists to partake in the adventures awaiting them at Cherokee.  

It turns out this machine has a story: An Austin-Western from the 1950s, it has Green Mountain Falls Municipal stickers on each side. I showed this to a friend who owns heavy equipment and is local to Green Mountain Falls. He says his dad, who also ran heavy equipment, sold it to Green Mountain Falls years ago; GMF rolled it and crushed the cab. Our friend, who is 60, was not old enough to remember, but he does remember pictures of the unfortunate mishap hanging in the fire station. This explains the red machine with a sky blue cab. So pretty I had to paint it!

Thanks, Jan. Nothing could be prettier on April Fools’ Day.

Executive Committee Meeting Reminder: Monday, April 11, at Hooked on Colfax, 11 am.

A Link from GNSI: Check out the pollinator portrait by Vladimir Nabokov, Butterfly Illustrator at http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/vladimir-nabokov-butterfly-illustrator. Who knew there was a book out called Nabokov’s Butterflies?!?

Call for Entries: Smithtown Township Arts Council seeks entries for juried fine art exhibition “Of a Botanical Nature” at the Mills Pond Gallery. A call for original artwork that reflects the beauty and uniqueness of flora (realistic or representational style). Plants and all aspects of plant development such as seed pods, leaves, fruits, and flowers are appropriate. All media considered except photography and computer generated art. Entry deadline May 12, 2016. Exhibit dates June 18 –July 20, 2016. Juror: Wendy Hollender. Open to local and national artists. Prospectus at http://www.stacarts.org/exhibits or email gallery@stacarts.org.  660 Route 25A, St. James, NY 11780.  (631) 862-6575. gallery@stacarts.org  $45/3 entries. Cash Awards 1st, 2nd place.