Drs. John and Dorothy (Casto) Cody, Hays, will celebrate their 60th anniversary March 19th, 2015. They were married in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dorothy attended Duke University Medical School in North Carolina. From 1977 to 1990 she was the college physician at the F.H.S.U. Student Health Center.
The members of the GNSI-Great lakes Chapter invite all GNSI members living in the Great Lakes region to join us for an exhibit this summer.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all current GNSI members living in the Great Lakes region.
SUBJECTS: Plants, animals, habitats, & any natural subjects of Illinois or the Midwest
MEDIUM: Any 2D medium except photography
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 8
EXHIBIT LOCATION: Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park, Route 31 & Harts Road, Ringwood McHenry County, Illinois
I am an Anatomy & Physiology professor, and the author/illustrator of a four-book series called The Visual Analogy Guides with Morton Publishing. These books cover the fields of anatomy, physiology, and chemistry and are sold to college students nationwide. In the publishing world, my books are classified as stand-alone supplements. Think of them as a combined study guide/workbook/coloring book all rolled into one. They are very visual and contain all the useful study tips not found in a typical textbook.
The inspiration for these books was born in the classroom. In the anatomy lab, I used to draw sketches for students comparing anatomical structures to things from everyday life. For example, a thoracic vertebra looks like a giraffe’s head. This comparison allowed the student to superimpose the known (giraffe’s head) on the unknown (thoracic vertebra) to better visualize and learn the anatomical structures. I called these comparisons visual analogies which are based on an effective form of learning called contextualized learning. My students used to joke with me that I should compile all of these visual analogies into a book. Initially, I brushed aside their suggestion, but I took it more seriously when I tried to find a book containing these visual analogies and found nothing. This was the motivation I needed to write and illustrate my own books.
Artist, Entrepreneur & GNSI Member Linda Howard Bittner announces the launch of her new wildlife art & photography travel company Wild Art Safaris, LLC.
This is an exciting opportunity for up to three illustrators/artists to get involved in the daily happenings at Denver Botanic Gardens. Residents will document the day-to-day progress and changes in the Rocky Mountain plant world, interpreting the botanic gardens’ purpose as a place of preservation, conservation, education and diversity into images or works which bring others enjoyment and a deeper understanding of the environment some may never visit. The works completed under this residency contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of our gardens and offer an opportunity to see our activities through the eyes of the contributing residents.
The JNSI editorial staff could use some assistance gathering special topic articles and ongoing help with article collection!
1] SIGNS AND MURALS WRANGLER:
From the moment I could see over the top of my mother’s drawing board, I was captivated by the magic of a blank sheet of paper turning into an image. I saw her hand with pen, pencil or brush create charming animals – often for me. That fascination never left me. All through school, in the Philadelphia suburbs, my interest especially centered on Art and Biology. Just before graduation, my biology teacher told me about medical art schools — information that I stored in my mind.
> Trudy Nicholson at he work desk. Photo © Mike Nicholson
The action-packed week at the Boulder Annual GNSI Conference in July somewhat addled my brain – in a wonderful way, of course! I had forgotten one of the reasons I signed up for this field trip. Imagine my visual delight when our Friday field trip group walked into the Denver Botanical Gardens and I saw the Dale Chihuly artwork exhibit nestled in the plantings.
>2014 GNSI Conference field trip to DBG Greenhouse
GNSI member Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski is leading the charge on a Kickstarter project for the Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration, the location of one of our 2014 conference field trips.
The project is entering the final stretch, and the fundraising effort has been very successful. Now is a great opportunity to score one of the reward items when you donate! The Kickstarter project page is here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/994091899/practice-makes-perfect-a-...
The California Native Plant Society is preparing for the CNPS 2015 Conservation Conference: Celebrating 50 Years of Progress and Promise. The conference will be held January 13-17, 2015, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 2050 Gateway Place, San Jose, CA 95110.
This juried botanical art exhibition will encourage a greater understanding and appreciation of the unique California flora, one of the goals of the conference.
PLAYA is a retreat for creative individuals who are committed and passionate about their work, and who will benefit from time spent in a remote location. PLAYA is a nonprofit organization supporting innovative thinking through work in the arts, literature, natural sciences and other fields of creative inquiry.
Artists, writers, scientists, and more....apply now. September 1 deadline for Winter/Spring 2015 Residency Session at Playa Fellowship Residency Program
The Beehive Collective (http://beehivecollective.org/) is a revolving group of people who have volunteered for decades in combining art, education, and activism.
The Collective approaches their art as the creation of a teaching tool. At the GNSI annual conference, Nicole DeBarber presented on the creation of a poster drawn on an 8 by 4-foot piece of watercolor paper, inked on over a 9 year period by multiple artists, with multiple research trips to Central America to gather the stories of the people and learn about the glories and dangers of living there. The poster tells of the cultural myths/history and the environment, as well as the corporate planning of the future of the region.
Ann's DuBois has launched a Kickstarter project as a method for bringing her next book project to fruition. Ann's goal is to fund top-quality publication of her Plants of Life book, which will feature 38 original paintings of plant life, her personal story about each one, and their historical background.
Ann's project has been selected by Kickstarter as one of their "We Love it" choices!
Some of you may know that GNSI has a Closed Group on Facebook (only members can see content). The GNSI Portugal chapter has one as well, as do several of the USA chapters such as GNSI Northern California. And GNSI Carolinas and GNSI Great Plains have Facebook public pages.
Finally, GNSI, Inc. has started a Facebook page too. Founded on May 21st, within seven days we have almost 350 likes! We will be featuring current news, events, and our member's artwork. If you would like to sign up to be featured on the GNSI Facebook page, fill out this short Jot form and we will put you on the list of possible postings.
The Tesla Project is an all-day extravaganza dedicated to celebrating the genius of Nikola Tesla, a visionary scientist and engineer whose electrical inventions transformed the world.
Inaugurated in 2010, The Tesla Project includes an art exhibition, a line-up of bands, Tesla-Roadsters, computer enrichment activities for children, a film, Tesla coil demos, and how-to-presentations.
The information below is a follow up of the article about the Visionary Digital BK Plus Laboratory System for photographing insect specimens, included in the Journal of Natural Science Illustration 2013 No. 1.
A Connecticut start-up, Macroscopic Solutions, has created a portable insect photography system, using high-quality off-the-shelf components. They also donate one system to schools and non-profit groups for each 10 they sell.
Chugach Arts Council in Seward Alaska is gearing up for its 2nd year of Art of Conservation projects.
Artists of all ages, abilities and mediums are invited to submit art to be included in beautiful books of art to be published this year in connection with National Pollinator Week, Endangered Species Day and World Oceans Day. In addition a book featuring Public Lands & National Wildlife Refuge Projects will be created. Deadline for submissions has been extended to May 26, 2014.
PLAYA, a facility and nonprofit organization near Summer Lake, in Southeast Oregon, offers Residencies to artists, writers, natural scientists, naturalists, and others engaged in creative or interdisciplinary work.
PLAYA has two application deadlines on the following dates: March 1, 2014 (for Fall 2014 sessions running mid-August - December) and September 1, 2014 (for Spring 2015 sessions running January - June). For questions regarding these upcoming residencies or general information please email [email protected].
