This past summer was the second time I have had the pleasure of teaching a GNSI Summer Workshop at the Humboldt Institute. I'm sure any Guild member who has had an opportunity to experience a Summer Workshop, either as a participant or an instructor, will agree that it is a wonderful time for learning, for sharing knowledge and camaraderie, and for rejuvenating one's creative abilities. This past Workshop was no exception.

Typically, the GNSI Summer Workshop takes place over a two-week time period with one instructor teaching all week for each week. This year Carol Woodin and myself split a single week at the end of June. I was busy teaching the morning sessions, and Carol filled the afternoons with her wonderfully skillful and easygoing teaching style. The response to this Workshop was greater then either of us anticipated. We had a full house of amazingly talented artists, all eager to absorb what we had to offer. The weekdays were filled with butterflies, botanicals, and hands-on presentations by both Carol and myself. As to be expected, many attendees are experts in their own right, and their willingness to share freely was very exciting. One morning during my session, Mark Klingler presented his impressive knowledge of insect anatomy, adding a charming bit of humor to the morning!

Field trips are also an important part of the GNSI summer workshop, although the relentless rain during our stay made it next to impossible to truly take advantage of all there is to see. We did manage to escape on one somewhat drier morning to visit a magnificent bog filled with low bush blueberry, high bush blueberry, pitcher plants, sundew and Dragon's Mouth (Arenthusa bulbosa) in bloom. Additionally, participants took advantage of hiking the grounds of the Institute for exercise and inspiration. Many of them added trail-blazing to their list of abilities after negotiating some of the more mysterious trails to be traversed!

This year we shared the week with a Humboldt Institute workshop that focused on the study of arachnids. Our participating artists and their "spider people" found time to socialize during the frequent and sumptuous meals and during evening revelry in the community room of the main hall. As it turns out, our arachnid scientist friends were quite musically inclined. Days filled with deep concentration and hard work generally ended with a lighter note as new friends took the opportunity to play music, dance, and sing. The "Shrew-cicle Rag" became the rage of the week. Thankfully no photos are to be had! The week came to a close much too quickly. An informal show of a week’s worth of artistic endeavors and arachnid study were displayed in the large lab for all to see after dinner. Following the show, all members met in the community room to say farewell. Carol, some new-found friends, some old dear friends, and myself combined forces to write a little song as a parting gift to each and every person who was at Eagle Hill during our stay. No person or animal was spared during our "roast." It’s safe to say that this was the first farewell of its kind. Joerg and Ingrid were very tolerant of our silliness.


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Take part in the fun and learning! Be sure to take a look at the information on the upcoming 2007 GNSI Summer Workshop.

Strawberry. © Nick Mayer

  Dolores demonstrating "pinning" a butterfly.
  © Carol Woodin 
   Graphium. © Nick Mayer

   Butterfly Study (in progress).Watercolor and
   watercolor pencil on vellum. © Dolores R.
   Santoliquido

   Charaxes pollux pollux . © Margaret Hallam

   Monarch Butterfly. © Cheryl Corr

   Pseudacrea. © Nick Mayer

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