There are just a few more days left to visit “Betty Birdwatcher”on the Scarecrow Trail at the Morton Arboretum. You can find Betty just outside the door of the Visitor’s Center, at the beginning of the one-mile path around Meadow Lake, and will recognize her by her Nature Artists’ Guild t-shirt.
Betty, created by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild, will be watching her birds until the end of October, and you can visit the trail between 7 am and sunset.
The 2014 Nature Artists’ Guild desk calendars are hot off the press and will be available for sale at the Guild’s 2013 Holiday Exhibition, running November 8-10 at Thornhill at The Morton Arboretum.
The calendar is a showcase of our members’ work (and also an important fundraiser for the Guild). Guild member Carla Schmakel described the calendar as “an artifact of our collective appreciation for the natural world”, which I think sums it up perfectly.
Many thanks to everyone who submitted artwork for this year’s calendar.
Our wonderful new header shows a detail from a work of fiber art by our Featured Artist of the 2013 Holiday Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum, Sharon Malec. Please click on the “Our Current Featured Artist” tab at the top of this page to read about Sharon and view more examples of her beautiful artwork.
Check back soon for more about the upcoming exhibit, which will take place from November 8 until November 10, 2013.
Graphic Artist, former Nature Artists’ Guild President, and honorary lifetime member Mary Ingels has once again volunteered to design and coordinate our annual Nature Artists’ Guild Desk Calendar. The calendar, which features members’ artwork, is our most popular fund-raising project as well as a wonderful way for members to see their artwork published. Even nice sketches can become lovely calendar pages in Mary’s talented hands. Artwork for this 2014 calendar must be submitted by September 13, 2013.
Nature Artists’ Guild members will soon be receiving full instructions for participating in the calendar project by e-mail or mail, but to get started, please click on this link to see instructions for creating a quality digital copy of your artwork. All artwork must be in high-resolution digital format to be included in the calendar. If you have any questions about the instructions, please do not hesitate to contact Mary. She (now living near Seattle) says she would be happy to hear from you and help ensure that the quality of your digital copy does your artwork justice! You can find Mary’s number and e-mail address in your Quarterly or in the instructions you will be receiving by e-mail or mail.
Thanks to our Nature Artists’ Guild photographer Kathy Wagner, you may have already seen the gorgeous photos from our recent paint-out at Susan and Kenneth Beard’s garden. We thought you might also enjoy a few wonderful sketches and drawings from some of the paint-out participants. Included here are an ink drawing by Nancy Wu, two oil paintings by Linda Skisak, two watercolors by Connie Devendorf, a watercolor by Karen Johnson, a watercolor by Paulette McDermott, and a watercolor by Carol Jean Rogalski. Please click on the thumbnails of the artwork to see larger versions.
Enjoy!
We are so excited to welcome many new members to the Nature Artists’ Guild this year! We just wanted to check in with all our members, the brand new ones, as well as those that have been around a while, to make sure everyone is making the most of their membership.
Remember, your membership entitles you to –
There are also many opportunities for just having fun with your fellow artists, whether by attending a “field trip” to somewhere interesting, helping to create our annual Scarecrow for The Morton Arboretum, volunteering on one of the committees or attending the Holiday Party!
Please check the Important Dates tab above to see our current schedule of events.
Members, please submit your artwork, or articles you have written about art or nature to Evelyn Grala for our quarterly publication, The Nature Artists’ Quarterly. 
Please check your current Quarterly for details, or contact Evelyn at the e-mail address listed in your Yearbook. We look forward to seeing your contributions in the next issue!
In remembrance –
We received word from Evelyn Grala last week of the passing of a longtime and well-loved member of the Nature Artists’ Guild. Calvin Wright was 92 years old, and will be missed by all those who knew him. Carol Jean Rogalski has shared these photos of some of the beautifully carved birds that Cal was known for creating.
All of our artists made it safely back from their “safari” at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum last month. Here are a few photos and drawings you may enjoy (thank you to Evelyn Grala for the photographs and Bob Sunyog and Carol Jean Rogalski for the sketches)!
Nature Artists' Guild 