Countdown to the Petrified Forest!

Used under Creative Commons license from the Petrified Forest Ranger's photostream on Flikr

You may have read about me in today's Juneau Empire. But if it doesn't deliver in your neck of the woods, here's an article about the Voice of the Wilderness program, with some nonsense by me mixed in. Yes, that is me in the tres chic headnet.

Speaking of artist residencies, the countdown has begun for my latest in the Petrified Forest National Park, and boy, could I use a dose of southwest right about now. Not that I really have time to disappear into the desert for two weeks, what with the Bioblitz and associated art exhibit coming up in a few months. Seeing that I'm the curator of said exhibit. And am giving presentations on the Bioblitz Art Team and the Chugach Artist in Residence Program. And cannot manage public speaking without lots of visual aides to hide behind. And of course, have to finish half a dozen painting of Alaska for the exhibit.

I'm also still tempted to apply for another Alaska residency this year. I know it's greedy, and it would make me thoroughly frantic for the rest of the year, but now that I know how I want to work with the imagery, I could use another dose. If I don't do it again in 2012, I am definitely going to try for it in 2013.  Of course I've also applied for a Grand Canyon residency for 2013, so maybe the government should just appoint me Official AIR for our parks and forests and I can quit my job and travel around the country living in these beautiful places, painting, exploring and teaching. And then I could win the lottery or get a genius grant. And then I could wake up one morning 20 years younger, surrounded by kittens! Too far? OK, I'll dial it back....it would be great if I ever get to return to Alaska...and I'm so LUCKY to be going to the Petrified Forest.  

Oh entomology, where is thy sting?

So this is my first attempt at entomological illustration, and I think I'm hooked. I'm just debating on whether I should invest in a basic compound dissecting microscope. It's awfully tempting, since it would open up a whole new world of visual exploration. But on the other hand I can't keep up with what I can already see! I guess I'll try a few more specimens and see how it goes....

click for sharper version

This little study is one I did years ago, and even after my microscopic study of the hornet, I think it stands up pretty well. Well, not exactly stands, I didn't know the technique of relaxing and pinning the specimen back then, but he curls up nicely anyway...

I'm starting to organize the art team for this year's Bioblitz on Jamestown, where there will be tons of creepy crawly things to draw. Maybe I can bum some surplus bugs to bring home and draw. If not, my windowsill is a good place to find insects who have met their maker.

Painting Alaska

Surprise, oil/canvas, 20x30, 2012 • CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW

This is the first oil painting I've finished from my Alaska artist residency, a kayak's eye view of Surprise Glacier. I'm working on getting several finished in time for the show in June at the Warwick Museum.

Return of the Bioblitz Art Team

Science Central during the 2011 Bioblitz in Scituate

Once again this year the fine folks at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey  are inviting an Artist Team to join the naturalists and scientists during their Bioblitz survey of all manner of species, plants, animals, bugs, birds, etc. found in a specific area during a 24 hour period. The 2012 Bioblitz will be held on the lovely island of Jamestown and will take place from noon on June 8th to noon on the 9th. If there are any artists out there who want to join the art team this year let me know, or go to our Facebook page and "like" it and I'll keep you informed.

Last year we had a great team, camping and exploring in the meadows and woodlands of the Scituate Reservoir property.  (To read about it, click here). We teamed up for the first time with the RISD Nature Lab, and hope to do so again this year. We also have an exhibit of artwork created as a result of the Bioblitz at the Warwick Art Museum from June 19-30, featuring work from previous Bioblitz's. In fact, since work won't have to be delivered until about a week after this year's blitz, if you work fast your 2012 work could part of the exhibit too.

In addition to work inspired by our own "backyard" the exhibit will include work from artists who have done residencies in our National Park as part of the Artist in Residence program. If you have done one of these residencies and want to exhibit, please get in touch with me. If you want to know more about the program,  I'm planning to give a talk about the AIR program in the National Parks and my Alaska residency in particular as part of the exhibit.

So even though it might seem cold and dreary outside, life will be stirring before we know it, and we'll be there to count it!

last year's biobltiz

Back to work

January studio

Yesterday John and I purged the house of the vestiges of Christmas passed. It could have been the wind, but I thought I heard the house breath a sigh of relief when everything was back in place. Or maybe that was me.

And, it was touch and go there for awhile, but I did get some studio time in this weekend too. It felt good, but of course getting revved up on my new series does make me pretty antsy come Monday in my cubicle. It's good though, I just hope life will allow me to keep up the momentum.

There are some interesting things to look forward to in 2012 as well. In the spring I'm going to do another artist residency, this time in the Petrified Forest National Park. I was supposed to have done the residency last year, soon after I returned from Alaska, but at that time I couldn't leave my father's bedside. They were nice enough to let me postpone and I just got confirmation on the dates, I'll be going around the end of April. I could REALLY use some time out west.

I'm also looking forward to this year's Bioblitz in June, when I'll be heading up the artist team again. I am also organizing an exhibit of last year's Bioblitz artists at the Warwick Art Museum around the same time.

But all this takes a back seat to actually getting some real work done, that will have to be my priority now...it has been far too long.

Back from Bioblitz 2011

 

Dateline June 10-11, Scituate, RI

I'm happy to report that the Rhode Island Natural History Survey Bioblitz 2011 Art Team  (or, as we affectionately call it - RINHSB2011AT) was a huge success. Thanks go out to Katy Dika from the RISD Nature Lab for bringing fabulous microscopes and art supplies for our fans to use. Young students Central Falls High School were inspired by watching artists Francis Topping and Katie Bertsche, natural science illustrators, and sat down with colored pencils to produce some impressive work themselves in the dry shelter of the tent. That's right, we woke up to the sound of rain hitting the tent again this year, but didn't, as they say, dampen the enthusiasm.

Students from Central Falls High School

We had a great and diverse group of about a dozen official Bioblitz artists, the aforementioned natural science illustrators, painters, printmakers, photographers and textile artists.The interaction with the naturalists was fantastic (they are so happy to share their extensive knowledge, and many naturalists are not too shabby in the art department themselves).

The first day was dry and gave all the opportunity to spread out, join teams and explore. Since I'm still in rehab for my sore knee, I headed a short distance to draw in the silent pine grove I had explored earlier. It was silent no longer though, the sounds of discovery rang out through the woods on every side. I started a pastel drawing of lichen (ashamed to say I don't know the species or genus) covered tree and was once again humbled in the face of nature.

The woods grew darker as the rainy front came in so I headed over to Science Central where they were serving a great al fresco meal. Specimens were trickling in: bugs were being pinned, buckets held little slimy things, feathers and mosses were arranged like still lives on the tables.

After dinner I gave a talk and slideshow to the artists and other interested folks on the Artist In Residence Program in the National Parks and my experiences with it. (I have great news about a new residency for my next blog post!!)  I posted the photos from the slideshow on Flikr and you can see them here without all my gabbing.

Then it was on to more exploration. As darkness fell we were treated to an incredible display of fireflies in all directions. I headed off through a long field with flashing lights dancing over the grass to find the bat team. I could dimly make out a rim of trees on the horizon so headed that way. Someone must have heard my footsteps because a flashlight shone out for a second. I headed towards it. As I got closer I heard voices so I called out "Are you the Bat People?" Sure enough, I had found them. We sat on fallen logs chatting while waiting to check the traps, which looked like volley-ball nets, but deeper and finer. Bats can sense the nets with their radar but often are careless or on the chase so do get caught. But not tonight. We brought in the traps and headed back with a detour to see the Moth People, who had much better luck with their spotlit white sheets.

By this time my knee was achy so I headed for the tent but before I could settle in I heard of a chance to join an owl walk. Too bad the owls didn't hear the invite, although our ipod was hooting in their lingo. Owls were heard earlier though, so we know they were in the area.

Kathy Hodge gives a presentation on the National Park Artist in Residence Program. Photo/Mary Grady

We finally turned in, falling asleep to the voices of the untiring naturalists still bringing specimens back to Science Central, which is where I spent the the next day resting my knee. But that's not to say I missed anything, there were all sorts of fascinating things to look at through the microscopes, things that we pass every time we are in any area with a minimal amount of nature.  Bees that shimmered like Christmas trees, lichen and moss like fairy tale worlds. In the other tent moths were being pinned in neat rows, crawfish and salamanders trying to crawl out of trays, and beetles and spiders were lining up for inspection. A student was carefully guarding a little white footed mouse huddling in the corner of a live trap, waiting for the Mammal Guy to come in from the field to document it before setting it free.

Fiber artist Ann Lilley works with children in making prints from natural textures. Photo/Mary Grady.

Frances Topping works from specimens. Photo/Mary Grady.

Meanwhile, the art team was painting and printing the pastoral view from the tent and from gathered specimens, and all were learning from each other till the whistle went off at 3pm to signal the end of Bioblitz 2011. Even though I ended up with soaked camping equipment, sleep deprivation, an aching knee, no artwork to speak of, and what looked like the remnants of a turkey massacre in the back of my truck I had only one thought. Wait'll next year!

RINHS Facebook page

Bioblitz Art Team Facebook Page

My photos from Bioblitz

Mary Grady's (Art Team Leader Emeritus) photos 

Mary Grady's story on ECO RI

A video of the event from projo.com

Bioblitz 2010 on Block Island 

Supermoon

 

Funny, in my two weeks of unexpected time off work with my knee surgery I somehow didn't have the urge to blog much. Was it the lack of coffee shop sitting? The possibility of doing things in three dimensions? Maybe, but I think the real reason was that I didn't find the need to toss out my little messages-in-a-bottle from my upholstered island of a cubicle. I was rowing my own humble boat, bad knee and all... Now I'm back, all too soon, and am scribbling another message by the light of buzzing fluorescents. 

The horseshoe crabs have finished their debauch, leaving the casualties belly up on the shore. I brought a recently expired one back to my house, but not before putting it in the water for a bit and pulling on its legs to make sure it was really dead. I set it up on a low table in my backyard (a dead horseshoe crab is not something that you want indoors) and started a drawing of it. A storm was coming up so I left it to finish the next day but when I went out to finish it, it was gone. After a short search I found it under a bush, legs eaten off. According to google, both raccoons and fox eat horseshoe crabs, and we have both. My husband was kind enough to fetch another one for me, but the drawing never really amounted to much. Hopefully the studying of HC anatomy will help when one inevitably appears in a painting.

It was only at the end of my leave that I could stand for a decent amount of time, but I did manage to finish this painting. It's called Supermoon. Tomorrow I'm off for my second Bioblitz, this time I'm in charge of the art team. Should be interesting (and hopefully not as rainy as last year!)

Here I sit, broken and rejected.

Ok...repaired and rejected. My torn menicus (go ahead, ask me about knee anatomy) has been neatened up and my knee should be unwrapped and crutches tossed aside soon, but I'm still not going to Juneau Alaska this year to climb glaciers and hang out with the rangers as artist in residence. I know, I've already got the AIR in Petrified National Forest this September, but now I'm getting greedy and want TWO residencies a year. And the Tongass National Forest residency sounded really awesome.

But there's always next year to try again, and my rejection letter was one of the more thoughtful ones I've received. It actually referred specifically to my application, which feels better than the generic rejections that tell "Dear  artist " how tough the decision was and how many wonderful artists applied. So I will try again, even though I already have an application in for 2012 at Grand Canyon National Park. But I can do two a year, can't I?


So, I can concentrate on looking forward to the incredible color and cool rock formations of the Painted Desert even though September seems so far away. As any New Englander knows though, our precious summer goes by in a flash, and while I wait to go to Arizona I'm gearing up for a more local exploration at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey's Bioblitz. We've got a great response from artists of all media, and are teaming up with RISD's nature lab to offer things like microscopes and flower presses just for the artists, as well as expertise in specimen gathering. We also have some members of RISDs natural science illustration program, so it should be very interesting to meet this year's team. And next year we have an exhibit scheduled at the Warwick Art Museum to showcase the work of the 2011 Bioblitz artists. 

Once I can stand at my easel again I'm close to finishing some paintings I've been working on in the studio as part of my next series which I hope to post soon. Until then, I may just hobble into my backyard to take advantage of the first dry spring day we've had in about 2 weeks and do a little "plane ear" painting.

How I would like to spend my summer vacation

Will I be hiking over a glacier, or over hot desert sand this summer? Or both? Or just over the same little streets of Providence? And when will I know? Will I get an email, a phone call, or an envelope in my mailbox? These are the questions I think of as I look out my grimy work window to the wall of buildings across the street,  grateful for the little sliver of sky I can see.

I've applied for two residencies this summer, both should be letting me know any day now.  In the meantime I've been organizing an artist team to explore a little piece of our very own environment. The area we are exploring is not the vast open space of the west, but a little plot of land near the reservoir—from the birds in the sky to the microscopic, bugs and fungus, leaves and amphibians. For the second year, artists are joining the Natural History Survey's Bioblitz. It's a great reminder that you don't have to travel great distances to be awed by nature. There are amazing things going on, literally, in your own backyard. If you think that sounds cool, check out the facebook page and join us!

A good day for frogs.

 

Frogs-in-progress caught during last summer's Bioblitz.