a pleasing bit of press
"artists follow jefferson's directive"
by david johnson of the lewiston tribune
(orofino) when thomas jefferson dispatched the corps of discovery west two centuries ago, he directed meriwether lewis and william clark to bring back a vision of the flora and fauna found as they explored the louisiana purchase. the animal species were many. but the hundreds of plant specimens that were collected, say historians, offered a more complete image of what lay beyond the western horizon. virtually all of those plant species were gathered by lewis and are preserved at the academy of natural sciences in philadelphia. the specimens have been studied, photographed, and otherwise secured as priceless scientific artifacts.
now, two centuries later, those same plants continue to grow along the lewis and clark trail and have become the focus of 16 people with an artistic bent.
"our interest is that we will present plants of the west in a contemporary artistic way," says leslie exton, a professor at corcoran college of art and design in washington, d.c. exton came here with 15 of her students to photograph, sketch, and eventually create museum-quality drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the plants lewis and clark collected. the artistic works will be assembled as the "botanical treasures of lewis and clark" and displayed next year at the corcoran museum of art to coincide with the smithsonian institution's lewis and clark bicentennial celebration. "we're borrowing prints of the original specimens from the philadelphia academy of natural sciences," exton says. but mostly, she and her students are relying on mother nature's spring display of the flowering plants.
the group, headquartered in the helgeson place hotel suites here, recently spent eight days afield locating plants, making sketches, taking photographs, and in some cases collecting specimens. a smaller group of students did the same last year, exton says. "it was just stunning," jan denton, a 63-year-old lobbyist for the arts in washington, d.c., says of the group's trip to the weippe prairie where blue camas was in full bloom. "we thought it was water," recalls vicki malone, a 56-year-old retired chef from chevy chase, md. all of her students, says exton, are retired or late-career adults who've taken time to tap their considerable artistic talents, satisfy their yen for a little adventure, and learn about lewis and clark through the flora of the region. "each person is working on about five different plants," says exton, who's the chairwoman of the department of drawing and painting at corcoran. elizabeth carter, a 64-year-old professional artist from maryland, has been assigned to capture the beauty of syringa, idaho's state flower. "it's a beautiful thing to paint," carter says. "you're dealing with a white flower that's more than white." syringa was among scores of plants collected by lewis and clark that were new to science.
while the artists are interested in plants all along the route taken by the corps of discovery, exton says idaho is so ripe with specimens they opted to concentrate their efforts here. "the bulk of what we're doing is in clearwater county." neena birch, 62, of potomac, md., says she was overwhelmed by both the plants and the countryside. "this is the best kept secret in the country. I don't know why they talk about idaho potatoes instead of these lush mountains."
many of the students, says exton, have started to draw the plants and some of the sketches have gone a long ways toward becoming finished works. don myer, a 67-year-old architect from washington, d.c., says some of the students have taken pains to either pick or dig up various plants to take home. they pack them in cottage cheese containers, take them aboard their flights, and plan to use them as models once the serious painting begins. in addition to syringa and camas, the students focused on such species as wild ginger, balsamroot, western spring beauty, mountain lady's slipper, thimble berry, purple trillium, and others. finding such plants, say the students, leaves them feeling the kind of excitement members of the corps of discovery undoubtedly experienced. "in a funny way, we're doing what they did," birch says. exton says the idaho association of counties, and especially clearwater county, have helped underwrite the project.
"botanical treasures of lewis and clark" will be exhibited at the corcoran gallery of art from may 19 to june 26, 2006.
by david johnson of the lewiston tribune
(orofino) when thomas jefferson dispatched the corps of discovery west two centuries ago, he directed meriwether lewis and william clark to bring back a vision of the flora and fauna found as they explored the louisiana purchase. the animal species were many. but the hundreds of plant specimens that were collected, say historians, offered a more complete image of what lay beyond the western horizon. virtually all of those plant species were gathered by lewis and are preserved at the academy of natural sciences in philadelphia. the specimens have been studied, photographed, and otherwise secured as priceless scientific artifacts.
now, two centuries later, those same plants continue to grow along the lewis and clark trail and have become the focus of 16 people with an artistic bent.
"our interest is that we will present plants of the west in a contemporary artistic way," says leslie exton, a professor at corcoran college of art and design in washington, d.c. exton came here with 15 of her students to photograph, sketch, and eventually create museum-quality drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the plants lewis and clark collected. the artistic works will be assembled as the "botanical treasures of lewis and clark" and displayed next year at the corcoran museum of art to coincide with the smithsonian institution's lewis and clark bicentennial celebration. "we're borrowing prints of the original specimens from the philadelphia academy of natural sciences," exton says. but mostly, she and her students are relying on mother nature's spring display of the flowering plants.
the group, headquartered in the helgeson place hotel suites here, recently spent eight days afield locating plants, making sketches, taking photographs, and in some cases collecting specimens. a smaller group of students did the same last year, exton says. "it was just stunning," jan denton, a 63-year-old lobbyist for the arts in washington, d.c., says of the group's trip to the weippe prairie where blue camas was in full bloom. "we thought it was water," recalls vicki malone, a 56-year-old retired chef from chevy chase, md. all of her students, says exton, are retired or late-career adults who've taken time to tap their considerable artistic talents, satisfy their yen for a little adventure, and learn about lewis and clark through the flora of the region. "each person is working on about five different plants," says exton, who's the chairwoman of the department of drawing and painting at corcoran. elizabeth carter, a 64-year-old professional artist from maryland, has been assigned to capture the beauty of syringa, idaho's state flower. "it's a beautiful thing to paint," carter says. "you're dealing with a white flower that's more than white." syringa was among scores of plants collected by lewis and clark that were new to science.
while the artists are interested in plants all along the route taken by the corps of discovery, exton says idaho is so ripe with specimens they opted to concentrate their efforts here. "the bulk of what we're doing is in clearwater county." neena birch, 62, of potomac, md., says she was overwhelmed by both the plants and the countryside. "this is the best kept secret in the country. I don't know why they talk about idaho potatoes instead of these lush mountains."
many of the students, says exton, have started to draw the plants and some of the sketches have gone a long ways toward becoming finished works. don myer, a 67-year-old architect from washington, d.c., says some of the students have taken pains to either pick or dig up various plants to take home. they pack them in cottage cheese containers, take them aboard their flights, and plan to use them as models once the serious painting begins. in addition to syringa and camas, the students focused on such species as wild ginger, balsamroot, western spring beauty, mountain lady's slipper, thimble berry, purple trillium, and others. finding such plants, say the students, leaves them feeling the kind of excitement members of the corps of discovery undoubtedly experienced. "in a funny way, we're doing what they did," birch says. exton says the idaho association of counties, and especially clearwater county, have helped underwrite the project.
"botanical treasures of lewis and clark" will be exhibited at the corcoran gallery of art from may 19 to june 26, 2006.