- Elizabeth Morales, Marla Coppolino, Carla DeMello, Lucy Gagliardo, and Annie Zygarowicz
Journal of Natural Science Illustrators Volume 54, No. 2: Abstracts
GNSI 2021 Special Projects Award: Joel Floyd
Presented by GNSI President Kalliopi Monoyios at the All-Member Open Board Meeting on August 4th, 2021
For the most part, scientific illustration is a comparatively conservative field. Perhaps the most basic definition of scientific illustration is “images created to help facilitate communication among scientists.” If this were the sole definition, then accuracy, clarity, and an understanding of what scientists need and want might be the only “givens” to consider. However, almost since “true” scientific illustration emerged during the Renaissance, it is not scientists alone who were the recipients of the information that can be conveyed by drawings of scientific subject matter. Today, audiences for scientific illustration include children, adult members of the general public and students of all ages and levels, as well as scientists (natural, physical and social).
There are few instructional books that are dedicated to the use of traditional pen and ink materials in natural history illustration. Those interested in developing those skills now have a new reference thanks to GNSI member, Sarah Morrish, who has written Natural History Illustration in Pen and Ink. The beautifully illustrated book provides instruction for both the beginner and the experienced illustrator who is looking for inspiration or new ways to combine media. Morrish is an illustrator for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine and has produced work for the Natural History Museum in London.
In this age of information with instant messaging and “fingertouch” communication, it’s sometimes hard to imagine a world where the best ways to connect with distant relatives, friends and colleagues was by mailed letters and long-distance phone calls. One of the reasons why the Guild came into existence was to provide easier communication among members and to give them a venue to hone skills, share experiences and strengthen friendships. Probably the best way to achieve this goal is participation in the annual conference.
Despite advances in technology that allow for faster, more effective communication, there is no substitute for face-to-face interactions. This is especially obvious to those of us who have been most profoundly affected by the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it’s true that social and professional network sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. are somewhat effective substitutes for real-time, in-person interactions, and our recent conferences have offered chances for those who cannot travel to connect on a personal level to a degree, there is something special about being able to occupy the same space as those with whom you are socializing.
Guild conferences have always provided members with numerous opportunities to connect – with friends and colleagues who really understand what scientific illustration is about and are familiar with the joys and concerns experienced by those of us who are not exactly scientists and not exactly fine artists (though there are those who are both and those who are neither). It has been said that in order to advance in the world it’s important to cultivate relationships – it’s “who you know” that is most important. While this might sound somewhat cynical, the truth is that at Guild conferences this kind of networking requires no effort. Friendship, mentorship, collegiality and comradeship are givens. The past two years have alerted us to the value of personal interaction – whether in person or online. Let’s continue to connect through our local chapter and group meetings and especially events like annual conferences!
GNSI Local Chapters: https://www.gnsi.org/local-chapters
Edward Lear (1812–1888) is best known for his witty limericks and nonsense verse. But the celebrated author of The Owl and the Pussy-Cat also created some of the most stunning paintings of birds and mammals during an age when many species were just being discovered and brought to private menageries and zoos throughout Europe. In the Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition, author Robert McCracken Peck, an authority on ornithological illustration in the United States, sheds light on Lear’s creativity, productivity, attention to natural science detail, and success as an artist. Through Peck’s extensive 20-year research in the Houghton Library at Harvard University, this book contains more than 200 of Lear’s beautiful and detailed illustrations of animals, plants, and landscapes.
- Anthony James Gustafson
Our ancient ancestors told stories of great prehistoric beasts in the form of drawings on the walls of caves. These animals played a significant role in their daily lives, and they clearly felt their stories were worth telling. And whether they realized it or not, the stories themselves would long outlive those who wrote them. So, in effect, they’ve been able to tell those stories to us thousands of years later.
When considering my circuitous career path toward botanical and nature art over the past 40 years, I clearly see that—apart from quantum leaps, serendipities, and sheer determination along the way, the seed was well and truly planted during my time living in the Galápagos Islands. Witnessing first-hand the extraordinary forms, colors, and sizes that the flora and fauna evolved into—ensuring survival on these inhospitable islands 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador—engraved on my soul a powerful respect and awe for them. My view of the world we live in and our humble place as human beings was changed forever. Growing up, I was always “arty” and influenced by my father and grandmother, spending creative summers painting or building projects and tasting raw nature in rural Vermont. I went on to pursue Fine Art and a stint of Graphic Art before making my way to London for my semester abroad. I felt I had come home in England’s green and pleasant land. After nearly three years, my visa expired and I never finished at the university... but I knew I would return...somehow.
< The endemic mangrove finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) on the Galapagos Islands.
Learn a New Skill, Make New Connections, Renew Your Passion!
Core Conference: July 17–18, 2021; Workshops: July 24–25, 2021
Written by Donald B. Sayner and Gladys Bennett Menhennet. Edited by Lana Koepke Johnson and Jeanette R. O’Hare, foreword by Paul Mirocha.
— Reviewed by Joel Floyd
- Reviewed by Camille Werther
GNSI Past President, Dr. Dick Rauh, has written an invaluable reference book for those who love flowers, those who teach scientific and botanical illustration, and artists who want to deepen their knowledge of how plants work. The author is both an artist and a scientist, having earned a PhD in Plant Sciences at CUNY, and brings his knowledge of both disciplines to the format of the book.
Review by Theophilus Britt Griswold
Product Review: Stonehenge Aqua Black
by Gail Guth and Camille Werther
Casting our minds back 51 years, we find two young natural science illustrators at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Carolyn Bartlett Gast and Elaine R. S. Hodges had noticed the lack of connection among staff illustrators and had become the prime movers to bridge the gap. In order to do that, Carolyn planned illustrators’ luncheons with programs related to the media that would be helpful to these previously isolated artists. This served as a means to introduce illustrators to one another and for them to recognize the benefits of coming together. Carolyn found Elaine to be a willing ally and, as Carolyn saw it, Elaine had enthusiasm for the project as well as access to a typewriter—and could type. With that skill they produced elegant invitations and descriptions of the programs. Their success in this endeavor led to the founding of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators on December 2, 1968, and the connection among natural science illustrators that we’ve all enjoyed for 51 years. Thus began a lifelong effort by Elaine to bring together people who specialized in the art of seeing—the art of perceiving an object, not just looking at it. All of this in the service of science. (Above: Elaine in her office, 1987.)
What GNSI Conference Planning Is About
by Britt Griswold
It all starts with an urge to give your GNSI friends a place to gather. Then you remember all the cool things you could show them. Then you remember the connections you have to your local institutions and suddenly you think “my friends and I could do this!” Fortunately, the Guild has developed a sophisticated set of tools to help you plan and organize talks, workshops and field trips, along with the celebration of the Guild family gathering each year.
