Serendipty

"The universe is always speaking to us...sending us little messages, causing coincidences and serendipities, reminding us to stop, to look around, to believe in something else, something more." Nancy Thayer

When I came to the end of my botanical distance learning course I felt quite lost. Where to go from here? So I knew how to study plants and how to portray them but where was I going to use this information and how was I going to grow it and share it?

One of my favorite assignments of the 27 month course was Working in the Field.

For my assignment I had chosen to study an area of land in a preservation area on Whidbey Island (where I live) called Ebey’s Landing comprising of 17,572 acres. Ebey’s Landing is unique in America. It is a Reserve that contains 3 prairies, historic farms & a preserved seaport town and is a National Park unit. It is where the first white man, Colonel Isaac Neff Ebey came to Whidbey Island in the 1850’s and before that was occupied by Coastal Salish Native Americans called the Skagit.

 

 

 

I discovered that 3 universities are responsible for studying the prairies and for keeping data. I went to meet up with a couple of the representatives to find out more and found that there are no actual drawings of plants on Ebey, only a herbarium, and a list of plants which I used to verify the plants that I found. Today 90% of the Reserve is privately owned and there are laws in place to protect the land. It is extremely beautiful and on one side there is the ocean, and saltmarsh plants and on the other side of the road are wetland marshes. My study took place on the beach on Keystone Spit looking out to Admiralty Bay. You can find out more about the reserve and see a map at www.nps.gov/ebla

I was spoilt for choice of plants as 235 have been documented in the area. I chose to study some of the main plants that dominated the landscape.

 

During working on my studies I found that people enjoyed my sketchbook pages as much as the finished pieces, and they also enjoyed reading my notes along side the drawings.

 

 

I strongly felt that I should continue with the plant studies and maybe combine them into a book but how to start? I put it on the back burner thinking maybe, one day.

 

Then a few weeks ago I attended the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) annual conference in Miami. it was the first time I had attended the conference even though I had been a member for a couple of years. I was looking forward to learning more about the society and to also attending a couple of classes. Browsing through the itinerary I saw a session entitled Portfolio Sharing. Sounds good I thought and went along not sure what to expect. It was beyond my expectations.  Not only were there portfolios, amazing ongoing commission work of well known botanical artists, great opportunities to buy prints and cards but a table piled with books caught my eye. The 2 authors of the books turned out to be Heidi Snyder and Dorothy DePaulo and the books were copies of Wild in the City (Fauna & Flora of Colorado Urban Spaces), also available on Amazon. The artistic images were produced in colored pencil and also included reference photographs. It is a true labor of love and shows their passion for promoting the understanding of nature in urban spaces.

 

How was I to know that a giant arrow highlighting my artistic path was to hit me at that moment? Imagine my surprise when Heidi mentioned that she knew Whidbey Island and the Reserve well and had often visited. I tentatively mentioned my idea and her enthusiasm overwhelmed me. Of course, she said, you must do more studies and produce a book! I couldn't sleep that night for ideas racing through my mind. Since then Heidi's generosity has been amazing including being willing to help me understand the applying for grants procedure.

 

So how could I ignore this sign? I have decided to give it a go. I hope my project will appeal to both artists and conservationists and will help promote interest in the Reserve.

 

If you can't reach me in the studio you know where I will be for the next couple of years! I'll keep you updated on my progress.