If you’d like to be a spotlighted artist, please contact us. We’ll send you a questionnaire to fill out and then send back to us. A member of our team writes up info about you and posts some of your work and a photo of yourself here on our website, and on social media, Facebook and Instagram pages, and in our newsletters. You can see our previously spotlighted artists easily by going “here”. We’d love to spotlight you, so get in touch and sign up for our newsletters!
Sophy grew up surrounded by her grandmother's paintings of delicate flowers and exotic plants. She started drawing by attempting to copy her grandmother's work. Eventually, she started to go outside and draw the flowers in her mother's garden. She continued drawing and exploring, eventually picking up a paintbrush and learning to sculpt as well. She went to college for illustration and has been an artist in some form or another ever since.
Sophy has always been deeply inspired by the natural world and all the plants and animals that create the beautiful environments that she's been able to experience. Her favorite ecosystems are the pine and oak forests where she grew up in Central Massachusetts. Having moved around a lot as a child, the forest behind her house became a constant in her life where she could grow and explore and connect with the different plants and animals. Whenever she finds herself in the forest in New England, she feels calm and at home. Sophy tries to donate at least 10% of her income to non-profits and charities that she feels are really making a difference.
She tries to support those who are more directly making an impact in environmental causes. She wishes that more people, especially those with an excessive income, would put their money into causes that would help make the world a
better place for both humans and our fellow creatures.
For full details on Sophy's art pieces, please visit her
website
and check out her
Facebook page as well.
Helping Hand
Cetacean Spiral
Mario
Alma
Give
Space Owls
Art Medium: Poetry, Music
Thomas is a musician, poet, consultant and (according to his family) GrandBear. Mainly he is a writer. His poetry has been published (e.g., Waymark: Voices of the Valley), his songs have been played on the radio and his public service media pieces have been used nationally.
Thomas was inspired by words at a very early age. He could read by the time he was four years old and when his grandfather coaxed him into reading the names of some WW II planes, he realized that if words can describe exciting things like planes, what else could words do? He’s been exploring the question ever since.
When Thomas is creating, he gets inspired when he is writing and somewhere in the middle discovers where he’s going. He says, “It’s less exciting to know in advance”.
Growing up in Ohio, Thomas was always keenly aware of the seasons’ changes. “I know ‘climate and seasons’ aren’t ecosystems, but their impact on plants and animals always brings me into new appreciation for them.”
Whenever possible, Thomas avoids single-use plastic. As we all know, this is a challenge especially when disposable plastic containers and bags are always so “convenient”. He says “I try to snap out of it by remembering a walk I took on a landfill site, researching a monograph about recycling. I saw thousands of tons of big-city waste and how comfortably plastic settled into its new forever home.”
Thomas currently lives in New York City. He is a consultant in strategic planning, resource development and communications. He is responsible for securing major grants, contracts and other funding, from foundations, corporations and government agencies, and he’s had real jobs, leadership positions in the corporate, governmental and nonprofit sectors.
The Space
The space is five stories high
And hundreds of feet from end to end
Benches (pews, really) sit at odd angles
With room all around
One wall is rough concrete with steel fittings
To hold back the earth and water outside
In the center is a column
Covered with names and dates and pictures
It is cool and quiet in that space
And people speak in whispers, if they speak at all
Mostly it is sacred space
At the heart of the world that stopped turning
That September day
The space is enormous and a perfect place
For small prayers
Red Spinnaker
Red spinnaker on a
White-hulled sloop heading out into
Blue bay waters
In our flag red stands for valor and strength
which millions of us have demonstrated
but lately a few of us have abandoned
red-winged blackbird ignored by a
white egret stalking along the
blue cove
in our flag white represents innocence and purity
which our children can teach us
if only we would listen to them
red kayak cutting through
whitecaps under a
blue July afternoon
in our flag blue stands for perseverance and justice
and we will need one if
we ever want the other
Venus
Venus is slipping slowly out of frame
Dropping below the cold iron
Holding the pane holding out
The night
Turn and look again
Earth-bound clouds swallow
The western sky holding the lens
Holding the heavens
At ungodly hours
Just wait
The cloud quilt moves on
And the pane is still gray-black
Holding an icy promise
Holding harsh moonrise
Near dawn
Fall back
The sun wins as it always does
Erasing night’s mysteries
And demanding a day’s embrace
Holding encounters and inquiries
Holding clues and traces
Night will come
Venus will return to show her love
We welcome her
Art Medium: Photographer
As a young girl, Martha loved woods and fields and immersed herself in the land and creatures there. She began drawing and spent time at the Corcoran Gallery School. After high school, she attended Cornell, in Fine Arts, and then on to the San Francisco Art Institute. Much later in life, she got back to art through photography.
Art Inspiration: Martha is very inspired by wildlife and has been able to capture some beautiful shots by wandering quietly in
the wilderness with all of her awareness open.
Conservation Message; Martha has been involved in the restoration of endangered Cohoe salmon since 1998.
Favorite Animal: Martha has found that certain wildlife respond to her. For example, she saved an Osprey from a Bald eagle who still calls and circles when she sees or hears Martha. There is a particular Raven pair and a Crow who appear when she pulls into a parking space at Mt. Tamalpais. Her favorite creature that she has befriended is Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis, who she makes sourdough bread with every week.
Art Medium: Painter, Poet, Musician, Photographer
Polly is a musician, poet, and photographer who has written poetry her entire life and has taken photographs of the environment from a very early age. She feels it’s always been easier for her to express her creativity quietly, rather than publicly, although her work as a conservationist and naturalist has enabled her to engage more openly with others in schools and public venues.
Art Inspiration: Polly states it takes very little to inspire her to write or create visual work. She is always overwhelmed by the beauty of the natural world and its creatures and plants and the movement of the seasons.
Conservation Message: Polly is a lifelong educator, having worked with students of all ages from young children, all school aged children, adults and elders. People love what they understand and only then can comprehend what needs to happen to sustain other creatures and plants in order to preserve our fragile world. She believes the most important way to conserve our world and its inhabitants is to educate all segments of the population, everywhere.
Favorite Animals: Polly is a lover of birds and mammals above all else. She is a self - proclaimed "plant addict," and has worked as an odd and rare plant propagator and is often thrilled by new and unknown habitats whenever she finds herself in a new ecosystem.
Full Moon
The moon wakes me
but I'm afraid to go greet her
thinking I'll disturb the bear
I call and call for
my sleepy sweet dog
to come with me
so the moon thinks I am a coward
and now she hides
behind the cloud
my camera cannot find her
the moon is proud
all light and wisdom
tonight but I will never love her
the way I love the bear.
Polly Pattison
Jake is an architect as well as an artist. He is a lover of Fantastical natural landscapes, wild places and animals, and ancient and otherworldly architecture.
Art Inspiration: Jake loved painting and drawing since he was a kid. He got back into it after college and during the pandemic, sending little pieces to friends and family to stay in touch. He is inspired by fantastical natural landscapes, wild places, animals, ancient and otherworldly archetecture.
Favorite Animals: Jake's favorite animals are the sea turtles of tropical coral reefs. He feels the reefs are nature's underwater metropolises, and the see turtles go from one to another just passing through.
Jake's conservation action of choice is helping rehab local injured and/or orphaned wildlife. He feels we should always look out for our wild neighbors , whether that's making a little more space for them, providing wild areas, even if it's just a patch of our back yard, for them to have a space to live and thrive, to making sure we vote for representatives that will support protection and policies that view nature as an asset and not a resource to be exploited.
John started writing his book because of a life changing moment and an opportunity for a new direction. He's already got more in the works! We can't wait to read them!
Favorite Animals: Zebras and Giraffes because of their beauty and unmistakable presence.
Conservation Message: Save the rainforest and plant more tress!
Art Medium: Graphic Design, Illustration, Educational Content
Facebook: querkuscreative
Instagram: @querkuscreative
YouTube: @querkuscreative
Spencer was raised in a home that valued and encouraged creativity and the love of the outdoors, with his mom being a clothes designer and dad being an avid hunter and fisherman.
His current art style, reflecting of printmaking techniques such as woodblock prints, started in early college when he used to paint birds with gouache.
Inspiration: Knowing his work will teach someone about a new species of plant or animal.
So much biodiversity can be found in our own backyards, like his own in Michigan. Spencer wants to motivate others to help protect our beautiful natural communities.
Favorite Ecosystem: "Peatlands! I think it's because the soil takes so long to form that they feel ancient and wise in a way I really can't describe". (Plus all the wildlife peatlands support!)".
Conservation Message:
Plant a native garden in your yard!
Art Medium: Jazz pianist, composer, painter
Facebook: JennyWilsonTrio
Instagram: @JennyWilsonJazz
YouTube: Jenny Wilson
Raised by musical and artistic parents in New York, Jenny spent a lot of time in museums and concerts including Leonard Bernstein's Concerts for Young People and Alvin Ailey Dance.
Art Inspiration: Jenny loves her art materials: the paint, paper, brushes and canvas. Her paintings are inspired by nature, trees, plants and the ocean.
Musical Passions: Jenny loves playing the piano and working on classical music. She loves taking classics and giving them a jazzy arrangement!
Favorite Ecosystem: All of nature! "It is hard to say what what my favorite is because to me it is all beautiful and necessary. Recently I got to swim in some cenotes in the Yucatan. That was amazing."
Conservation Message:
- Be less wasteful
- Don't Litter
- Walk more, drive less
Born with a natural talent into an artistic family on her mother's side, Vian graduated from Corcoran College of Art and Design George Washington University, D.C. An artist of 20 years, educator in fine arts, writer, and award winning poet, she's been an inspiration to budding artists!
Art Inspiration: Vian is inspired by nature as well as her garden, especially her lavender and rosemary plants.
She writes on the importance of nature in one's life, how much nature provides to us, and living a sustainable lifestyle.
Favorite Animal: Birds have been Vian's love since childhood. Hearing them sing joyfully in the morning and watching them fly from tree to tree brings a cheerfulness to her heart.
Conservation Message:
Kindness. The world is in desperate need of it. "If we practice at least one act of "kindness", especially to stranger once a day, I believe the world will be a better place".
