Josh Guge on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at The Morton Arboretum

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On Thursday evening, October 7, 2021, the Nature Artists’ Guild will be sponsoring an in-person presentation by award-winning sculptor Josh Guge. The program begins at 7 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum.

This program is open to all free-of-charge. For more information about attending, please click on this link.

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will also have opportunities to pick up posters or postcards for the 2021 Autumn Art Exhibit, obtain a mini-canvas to be used for creating fund-raising artwork for the exhibit, or choose their volunteer time and position for the exhibit.

Joshua Woods Guge, Winter Wren, copyright 2019, acrylic on tupelo. Image from Exhibition Highlights, Birds in Art 2021, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

Willowbrook Wildlife Center Paint-Out Friday, October 1, 2021

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The weather forecast looks promising for the Nature Artists’ Guild paint-out at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center this Friday, October 1, 2021 beginning at 10 am. Interested members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can contact Linn Eldred with questions or to let her know they’d like to attend. Linn’s email address is in the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Yearbook.

This outdoor paint-out at Willowbrook presents a great opportunity to sketch and photograph some of the region’s most wonderful native wildlife or scenes from the more than 40 acres of restored habitat while enjoying a quiet morning in nature. Please click on one of the highlighted links for more photos and information about the center.

Red Fox at Willowbrook Wildlife Center. Photo credit Willowbrook Wildlife Center.

Willowbrook Wildlife Center doubles as a wildlife rehab center that treats more than 9,000 birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians annually and as a resource for people to learn more about the natural world and how to live harmoniously with diverse, healthy wildlife populations. 

dupageforest.org

Sculptor Joshua Woods Guge at Thornhill on October 7, 2021

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Joshua Woods Guge, Winter Wren, copyright 2019, acrylic on tupelo. Image from Exhibition Highlights, Birds in Art 2021, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

Josh Guge, award-winning sculptor of wood and co-founder of The Guge Institute & Art Studio in Elgin, IL, began learning and practicing his art and earning honors for it at an early age.

Josh’s bird sculptures have been chosen to be included in the prestigious yearly exhibition Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI numerous times. Winter Wren, his sculpture in tupelo with acrylic, joins the work of many of the world’s best contemporary artists in Birds In Art 2021 through November 28.

At the Guge Institute, Josh instructs students in carving, painting, drawing, and other skills related to creating wood sculptures.

The Nature Artists’ Guild will be sponsoring an in-person program featuring Josh and his work at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum on the evening of Thursday, October 7, 2021 beginning at 7 pm. There are also efforts ongoing to possibly make arrangements to share the program live, online, for guild members with that preference. Updates will be shared with members by email. The program will not be recorded.

As always, guests and visitors are welcome to attend by letting the gate attendant know they are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild presentation. There is no charge for entering the arboretum, attending the presentation, or parking for this event. Timed-entry passes will not be required, but all attendees will be required to follow the Ensure a Safe Visit instructions from the arboretum’s Know Before You Go page.

Willowbrook Wildlife Center Paint-Out on October 1, 2021

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There’s a good chance of crisp autumn weather and active wildlife at 10 am on Friday, October 1, 2021 as members of the Nature Artists’ Guild set up to sketch outdoors at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, IL. Willowbrook

Willowbrook Wildlife Center at Willowbrook Forest Preserve in Glen Ellyn is a native wildlife rehabilitation facility that provides care and medical treatment to injured and orphaned wild animals. It also serves as a resource to teach DuPage County’s residents about living in harmony with local wildlife.

dupageforest.org/willowbrook-wildlife-center

Although the indoor Visitor Center and exhibits are currently closed to the public, paint-out participants will be able to browse a trail around outdoor habitats of rescued native wildlife or follow a loop through acres of restored woodland, wetland, prairie, and savanna, discovering on their way a resident sandhill crane!

Willowbrook’s permanent outdoor residents include several raptors, other large birds, and medium-sized mammals. Temporary residents have included fox, bobcats, and waterfowl.

Interested members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are asked to contact Linn Eldred (whose email information is in the guild’s Yearbook) to reserve a spot at the paint-out (and receive any necessary weather-related updates.)

Fox, copyright Jane Kellenberger

Before Autumn Begins

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Summer may be coming to an end soon, but nature artists still have time to enjoy the beautiful weather while beginning to prepare for the colder months. (As always, please click on the highlighted links for more information and important details.)

Links to the prospectus for the Autumn 2021 Exhibit have been emailed to all members. This long-awaited in-person exhibit at The Morton Arboretum in November 2021 will have extended hours to better accommodate artists and visitors. Much more about this exhibit and Featured Artist Jill Adzia will be coming soon.

2021 Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit poster. Artwork by Jill Adzia, poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

A paint-out at the Peck Farm Park is scheduled for Friday, September 10, 2021. The park’s Butterfly House closes soon, so it may be one of the last chances to capture an image of these beauties this year!

Jeanne’s Garden, copyright Linda C. Fairbanks

Tuesday Morning Coffee Club gatherings continue at the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum every week beginning at 9 am. All members are welcome to stop by but will need a timed-entry ticket to enter the arboretum.

Exterior of Ginkgo Restaurant and Cafe facing Meadow Lake at The Morton Arboretum. Photo credit mortonarb.org.

Online workshops by Visiting Artist Betsy Rogers-Knox and one of the guild’s own talented members, Carrie Carlson, are open for registration at The Morton Arboretum. Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will receive an additional discount for the Visiting Artist class if they register by phone and mention their guild membership.

Holiday card in watercolor, copyright Carrie Carlson

Paint-Out at Peck Farm Park on September 10, 2021

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The Butterfly House may be the main attraction at the Peck Farm Park in Geneva, IL for nature artists, but the park is also the site of a museum, gardens, a small lake, pond, creek, prairie, wetlands, and a marsh.

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to meet at the park on Friday, September 10, 2021 at 9 am to experience all that it offers. Those interested are asked to contact Linn Eldred, whose email address can be found in the Nature Artists’ Guild Yearbook or in the paint-out announcement emailed to members on August 27.

More About the Peck Farm Park Butterfly House

Jeanne’s Garden, copyright Linda C. Fairbanks

In Case You Missed It! Seeds of Inspiration

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The presentation of Seeds of Inspiration at the previous Nature Artists’ Guild program was a hit and we’re sharing it here for all those who missed it (or want to see it again.) We aren’t able to share the fun and fascinating narrative and discussion from the program, but the slideshow put together by Terrie McComb using members’ artwork does an excellent job of illustrating the Seeds of Inspiration experience.

There was humor, fascination, frustration, and joy in the sketches, works-in-progress, and finished pieces, but mostly there was a sense of each artist’s appreciation for the wonders and inspirations of nature.

Each piece of art in the presentation is copyrighted by the artist. All rights reserved.

Visions of Nature Exhibit Closes Soon

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Colorful Iris, copyright Linn Eldred

There is still time to enjoy Visions of Nature, an in-person exhibit at the McCord Gallery in Palos Park, IL. The exhibit features approximately thirty works of art by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild. The gallery is open weekdays from 10 am until 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 am until 4 pm and the exhibit will be open until September 5, 2021. The gallery is closed on Sundays.