Ceranchia apollina

Hunt Institute Launches Adopt-A-Moth Program

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation needs your assistance in bringing John Cody’s watercolor paintings of silkmoths—his Wings of Paradise exhibition—to Pittsburgh for spring 2009. Please consider adopting one or more moths to place transportation of this exhibition within our budget.

The main subjects of the paintings—members of the large family Saturniidae—are depicted on plants likely to be associated with these moths, which mostly are from the tropics but also are widespread in the American hardwood and coniferous forests and southwest deserts. Cody explains his “odd passion for painting moths” in the belief that they cannot be saved until attention is called to them. And that is what he is doing through his art.

Your tax-deductible contribution of $125 will permit professional packing and delivery of one of Cody’s 46 paintings. Each artwork will be professionally packed and transported in a climate-controlled vehicle from Cody’s home in Hays, Kansas, to the Hunt Institute in Pittsburgh. Donors will receive the name of the moth they are adopting and be invited to a special meeting to be arranged with the artist.

The Hunt Institute hopes to exhibit Wings of Paradise: Watercolors of Silkmoths by John Cody from 26 March to 26 June 2009. Cody, a psychiatrist, also was trained as a medical illustrator. His one-person exhibitions have been held throughout the United States. In June 2008 he taught “Painting Moths with John Cody,” incorporating new watercolor techniques while introducing moths into botanical artwork, 13–15 June 2008, at the Phipps Garden Center in Pittsburgh.

Contributions may be sent to James J. White, Curator of Art, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Fifth Floor, Hunt Library, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213. Please make checks payable to Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. For additional information, call 412-268-2440 or email jw3u@andrew.cmu.edu.

Horse Chestnut by Kathleen Brahney

Congratulations to BASNCR member Kathleen Brahney who has two works accepted into the 10th annual juried botanical art exhibition at Filoli. Located about 30 miles south of San Francisco, Filoli was once the estate of a rich gold "baron." The grounds now include his historic mansion, 600+ acres of land and 16 acres of formal gardens. Filoli also includes a school of botanical art. This year’s exhibition will be displayed in the spectacular Ballroom and includes contemporary works of botanical art alongside a special collection of antique prints, interesting stories and interpretive information on the history of botanical art. Kathleen's two artworks in the show are "Aesculus hippocastanum, Horse Chestnut (watercolor, 19" x 26") and "Maclura pomifera, Osage Oranges" (graphite, 18" x 14.5"). Kathleen will attend the opening reception with her daughter on July 11.

Osage Oranges by Kathleen Brahney

Lee D'zmura with her painting of Porcelainberry, Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, one of three paintings in her series featuring invasive vines.

Congratulations to Lee D’Zmura for receiving her Certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration from the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art. Lee was presented with her certificate by the school director Margaret Saul at a ceremony at Brookside Gardens on June 22, 2008. Lee is the first student to achieve the certificate since the school was started four years ago. To achieve this certificate of proficiency, a student must complete all the necessary course work (totaling 180 credit hours), receive a successful grade on all class projects, and complete a portfolio of work leading up to three large completed paintings, which are then assessed by a panel of three external examiners. We are all very proud of Lee’s achievement!

BASNCR members will demonstrate their art at Family Days in September. All events open to the public: Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD), Children's Day, September 20.

NEW AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM “The Lost Amazon: Photographic Journey of the Legendary Botanist Richard Evans Schultes”, April 16 - Oct. 31, showcasing 38 photographs accompanied by quotes from Schultes and Wade Davis, author of The Lost Amazon that chronicle the 12 years Schultes spent in the Columbian Amazon during the 1940’s and early 1950’s.