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

Last Day of the Lost Year – Say So Long to 2020

 

Celebration this New Year may be less universal than we know, but we all hope for better.

"From Platte to Peak” has been on display at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center through December. Sometime in January, the works will travel to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail.

Lotus McElfish brought this to the party.

Dues Time. Maybe I’m not the last person to send in the ante. Join me for RMSBA and ASBA, and you can pay here. The costs are higher than last year, but then so is everything else. Don’t forget to check that box for RMSBA.

Member Meetings. We do hope to see you in the New Year, and as soon as we feel confident we will schedule some meetings. Please send in suggestions for activities to our Prez Carol Till or to any Board member.

Happy New Year!

 

Election Over, Maybe Art in the White House Again?

 
Now above 250,000. Now, two magic vaccines??

Oh, Alas! Lizzie Sanders of Edinburgh, Scotland, slipped away, in July, from this plane of existence. Her energy and skills were notable. She is missed and we all have suffered a loss.

 “From Platte to Peak” stays on display at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center through December. Visitor interest remains high. On a recent visit, a couple of center employees were meeting in the gallery room, and told your Editor that the Staff loved having this exhibit ongoing. Sometime in January, the works will travel to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail.

So Write the Check. Dues Time Again for RMSBA and ASBA, which you can pay here. The costs are higher than last year, but then so is everything else. Don’t forget to check the box for RMSBA.

What Have You Got That Makes a Mark? While we may been languishing during the pandemic, art teachers have been paddling like mad ducks in turbulent creeks to keep it all going. Full disclosure: your Editor sends financial support to the St. Labre Indian School, Ashland, Montana, which provides K-12 instruction and support to the Northern Cheyenne and Crow children in eastern Montana. Up on the northern plains, few WIFI opportunities are available. Never let it be said that art teachers don’t rise to the occasion. Here’s an article from The Morning Star newsletter.

Encapsulated History. The National Museum of the United States Army has opened in northern Virginia. Free admission; reservations required. If you’re in the area in mid-December, there’s a book talk:

Samhain Today (Halloween! With a Full Moon!), All Saints’ Day Tomorrow, Dia de los Muertos Monday

 

Now above 230,000. Onward and upward? Just wear your mask!

“From Platte to Peak” will remain on the walls at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center through December. Visitor interest has been high, and apparently our education goals are being met for this exhibit. The director considers having the exhibition there “a treasure.” Beginning in January, the lovely pieces will travel to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail. …

Proposals for Future Projects are welcomed by the RMSBA Board of Directors. Please send ideas to any Board member. We are not meeting in person at this time, but we can get an email discussion going… let us know what you’ve got up your sleeve.

40 Years and Growing. The School of Botanical Art & Illustration is celebrating its 40th year. In honor of this milestone, Denver Botanic Gardens has produced a beautiful video to share thoughts from instructors and students. 

40th Anniversary Video

Alas, the exhibition featured in the video, Garden and Haven, was closed early because of public health constraints and will not reopen.

The School of Botanical Art and Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens would like your input on the theme for the annual juried exhibition featuring student work will open in late May next year. This survey is one question long, is completely anonymous and will take no more than a minute of your time. Please submit your vote or suggestion by Monday, November 2nd. Results announced on the School of Botanical Art and Illustration Facebook Page and in the new e-Newsletter; sign up for both.

Click Here to Start the Survey

If you have questions, please email SBAI@botanicgardens.org.

Dues Time Again for RMSBA and ASBA, which you can pay here. The costs are higher than last year, but then so is everything else. Don’t forget to check the box for RMSBA. The Mother Ship has advised us that new membership registration is now open for 2021! If you know of anyone who is considering joining the ASBA, encourage them to do so by November 10. All new ASBA members who join before, or by, November 10 will receive a complimentary issue of the 2020 December journal! Questions? Please email Leanne Kershaw.

 

Labels: Botanical Art Show, From Platte to Peak, RMSBA exhibit, membership, SBAI Survey

 

Aspen Glorious Everywhere, Smoke Horrible and Visibility Limited

Now more than 200,000 lost. We must have been able to do better than this.

“From Platte to Peak” has been well received at Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, and the recently arrived new Director loves it unreservedly. RMSBA is invited to present future exhibits at GofG. Yay, us! Here are some publicity moments you might appreciate. Carol Till, our Prez, gets extra chops for getting’ up and out her door in Wheat Ridge at 0250 hours (that’s 2:50 am) to get down to the exhibit to appear on LIVE TV at 5 am, 5:30 am, 6 am, and 6:30 am on KOAA TV in Colorado Springs.

https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/free-art-exhibit-honors-scientist-who-discovered-plant-species

https://www.facebook.com/GardenOfTheGods/posts/10158619321623781

The exhibit will remain at GofG through October, and then will be moved to the Education Center at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail, where it will be on display through the end of the year, and perhaps later. We are seeking other venues for 2021.

Proposals for Future Projects are welcomed by the RMSBA Board of Directors. Please send ideas to any Board member. We are not meeting in person at this time, but we can get an email discussion going… let us know what you’ve got up your sleeve.

Board Vacancy. Judy Vanderbosch has decided to step down as Program Director. She may be going off to retirementLand, and 2020 certainly was not kind to her, trashing out programs right and left. So we are incredibly grateful for her work and efforts over the last several years and will miss her terribly when she leaves the area, but recognize that she hasn’t left yet. We encourage some inspired member (maybe you!) to take her place in that position in RMSBA.

40^th Anniversary of Botanical Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens. The exhibit Garden and Haven is on display at the new classroom and herbaria building at DBG. Some of our members have work showing. Drop in and check it out. No in-person classes to make it easy and painless, so just drag yourself in there.

Preakness Stakes. This Saturday will note the running of the Preakness Thoroughbred horse race in Pimlico, MD, delayed since late May or early June. Horses are lovely, jockey silks are colorful, motion is amazing. Watch, even if all your Brown-eyed-Susans have gone to compost.

Peak-to-Peak Highway. Well, this may be the last weekend to get the total benefit of the Aspen turning from Peridot to Citrine. Last week was all about Guanella Pass and Kenosha Pass. Owl Creek Pass got passing mention on the News. Next week you’re gonna have to haul it down to Southern Colorado and catch it there.

Fire Spell. In Estes Park (and RMNP) the smoke and ash from the Cameron Peak fire in Larimer County and the Wendell [?] fire in Wyoming are borne on the wind in incredible layered waves. The Sun is red in the West and the rising full moon is tinged red in the East. It’s kind of hard to breathe, and must be so for the elk and beaver and bird life. Great beauty and great peril.

5 September – Scorch Today, Freeze after Labor Day

 “From Platte to Peak” is on the walls at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center on September 2. Participation was good: 39 works representing 28 species collected by Dr. Edwin James on the 1820 Stephen H. Long scientific expedition to the west. Thank you to all the artists. Do drop in for a visit and see the exhibit. Do keep in mind if you need your pain meds that Douglas and El Paso counties are Green Deserts…

Too much smoke, but a few cooler days at last

 
Congratulations to Heidi Snyder, who has been appointed an artist instructor in graphite and colored pencil for the School of Botanical Art and Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens. May your classes fill!

“From Platte to Peak” will hang at Garden of the Gods Visitor Center on September 2. Participation was good: 41 works representing 29 species collected by Dr. Edwin James on the 1820 Stephen H. Long scientific expedition to the west. Thank you to all the artists. Do drop in for a visit and see the exhibit.

Echo Lake Lodge on Mt. Evans is open, as is Echo Lake Park. While you can’t drive up to Mt. Goliath, you can have a nice hike or stroll and lunch (inside or out) at the Lodge.

It’s Officially the Last Minute: Only 4 Days Left

 

“Platte to Peak” Deadline Approaching at Warp Speed. Round ‘em up, scan ‘em, get ‘em submitted, Saturday, August 15, at OnlineJuriedShows by 11:59 pm. We are excited to see the outcome! If you have been unable to get the prescribed frames, check with Teresa Burkert or Judy Vanderbosch, who have a couple extras and will sell at cost. Any blonde wood or bamboo frame will cut it, but get your artworks submitted now.

Member August meeting may be what we get when turning in works for FP2P. Maybe the Board will space-meet… Watch this space for possible further details. I myself miss everybody, but will wave and air-hug from a safe distance until whenever.

Exhibit Deadline Looms; Full Moon Monday

Words Still Fail. Keep track at this site. Professionals gathered and prepared this information.

Guanella Pass - Mt Bierstadt. Take the drive from Georgetown and have a view of the amazing alpine flowers in the meadows and along the roadway. It’s gorgeous.

…And the Long Expedition Passes Out of Colorado. On July 17, a section of the party camped at now-Canon City, having ascended Beaver Creek into the Canon City Embayment and the Royal Gorge. Descending the Arkansas River to the now-Rocky Ford area, camping there July 21 – 23, after which the expedition spilt into two parties, one following the Arkansas into Kansas, and the main body led by Long crossing the river into then-New Spain. On July 28 the party passed beneath Black Mesa and into now-New Mexico.

“From Platte to Peak” entry deadline looms on the horizon in 15 days! The Call for Entry is at Online Juried Shows, and closes August 15, 2020. Martha Narey is the contact for the James Plant List and supporting materials. We expect the exhibit to hang on September 2 in Colorado Springs at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center. Send in your pieces!

PhytoFireworks Penstemon Display Amazes at Empire Cemetery This Week

Words Still Fail. Keep track at this site. Professionals gathered and prepared this information.

July Celebrations.

July 1 -- Go, Canada! Canada Day.

July 4 -- Hey, Hey, USA! Independence Day.

 

July 14 – Vive la France! Bastille Day.

Continuing with the Long Expedition. On July 5, explore the lower reaches of Clear Creek up to about Ralston Creek, and camp just above the confluence with the South Platte. Very busy on July 6 and 7, visit the “Chasm of the Platte” (now Waterton Canyon), camping at Kassler. Pass east of the Dakota Hogback to ascend West Plum Creek past the Buttes and check out the Bear Creek – Perry Park area for a couple days.

Palmer Lake was a landscape feature in Long’s day. Descend Monument Creek and camp at the Air Force Academy and find your Columbine on July 10, cross Fountain Creek on July 11 to continue southwest and camp at Rock Creek, then set up for a few days just below now-Fountain. Enter the mountain front at now-Manitou Springs, and ascend Ruxton Creek to approach Pikes Peak, making the summit on July 14; spend the night on the trail, hurry southwestward to the confluence of Turkey Creek and the Arkansas River. Look across the river into then-New Spain and set up housekeeping for a couple days here. Be sure to keep track of your collected mineral and plant specimens…

These sites occupy diverse ecosystems: Lowland Riparian, Plains Grassland, Foothills Shrublands, Mpuntain Riparian, Mountain Grasslands, Lower and Upper Montane Forests, Subalpine Forest, Alpine Tundra, and Pinon-Juniper Woodland.

“From Platte to Peak”. Illustrate type plant specimens collected by Dr. Edwin James during the first actual scientific expedition to the western High Plains, led by Major Stephen H. Long, during the summer of 1820. Many plants are familiar and widely dispersed, and you may already have some finished pieces that fit the size limits. The Call for Entry is at Online Juried Shows, open now and closing August 15, 2020. Martha Narey is the contact for the James Plant List and supporting materials. We expect the exhibit to hang on September 2 in Colorado Springs at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center.

Midseason Wildflowers Now Appearing

Words Fail. Perhaps a look at this site. Professionals gathered this information.

 

Member Meeting. You may have noticed that the June meeting and workshop for RMSBA was cancelled. Hope to see you in September. Check this space for any announcements.

Art Supply. In support of all our efforts, we do need supplies and materials. Dick Blick and Utrecht are still shipping, as is Jerry’s Art-a-rama, if your Editor’s email inbox is an accurate indicator. Check the Guiry’s in your area for hours and access; most stores are open now but some have restrictions. Meiningers in Denver and Colorado Springs open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm. If shopping in person in any store, expect limited numbers of customers and wear your mask.

Now’s the Time. The Long Expedition entered what would become Colorado on June 26, 1820, and departed to now-New Mexico on July 28, 1820. Now is the Field Season of the James Plant Collection, so if you want to follow along, start on US-6 just north of now-Julesburg last Friday and follow the South Platte upstream; by tonight you should be camping on the right bank [east side] of the South Platte just below the mouth of Bijou Creek. On July 2, cut overland from now-Kuner to now-Evans, and then spend the night of Independence Day just south of now-Brighton! All these sites are in Lowland Riparian and Plains Grassland ecosystems -- next up, Foothills Shrublands.

Northern Colorado Counties

“From Platte to Peak”. Illustrate type plant specimens collected by Dr. Edwin James during the first actual scientific expedition to the western High Plains, led by Major Stephen H. Long, during the summer of 1820. Many plants are familiar and widely dispersed, and you may already have some finished pieces that fit the size limits. The Call for Entry is at Online Juried Shows, open now and closing August 15, 2020. Martha Narey is the contact for the James Plant List and supporting materials. We expect the exhibit to hang on September 2 in Colorado Springs at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center.

Herbarium Access seems to be severely limited everywhere for personal visits, so we recommend that you find out ahead which herbarium sheets you might want to examine and try to set up an appointment with that particular collection. Start at the Consortium of Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria website and select the indicated collections.

Enter the location info and the scientific name of a plant and display the list. Much information is offered by clicking on that name within the list: many photos and the botanical descriptions. Clicking on the Large Image offers a closeup view of the herbarium sheet and great structural detail.

A Loss Indeed. On March 10, 2020, Jack L Carter, Botanist and Professor Emeritus of The Colorado College and for whom the Herbarium at CC is named, walked on at age 91. His work and publications are familiar to most botanical artists in RMSBA, and he will be particularly missed by Marj Leggitt and Susan Rubin, to whom he was mentor and teacher.