FAREWELL TO YOSEMITE

My summer is winding down and it's time to say farewell to Yosemite National Park.

From 8-day backpacking trips to hikes in search of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep at elevations of over 10,000 feet, and from sorting bugs to tracking spotted owls with telemetry, the experience that the Sierra Nevada Research Institute provided me was unforgettable and invaluable. Not only was it basically a three-month crash course of the nitty gritty world of field biology, it was also an opportunity to enrich my world with new relationships and so many phenomenal people! I loved all of it!

I think one of the most inspiring things about being a science artist is the research that comes with it. I love learning about my subject. One of my favorite weeks in Yosemite was the week I went looking for the very endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep with expert John Wehausen. There is a wonderful documentary called Counting Sheep, and a large portion of it is dedicated to the astounding efforts John has made to restore Sierra Nevada bighorn populations. It was an honor to spend a couple of days out in the field with him.

Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep is the subject of an exciting project of mine called the Migrating Mural. The Migrating Mural highlights an endangered migratory animal through a series of large-scale murals painted along the migration routes of that animal. I've become enamored with bighorns and although they do not travel far distances during migration, their lives depend on a different kind of migration.

Along Highway 395 herds of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep make their homes in high elevation terrain. These federally listed endangered creatures depend on elevational migration to survive harsh winter climates. The purpose of the Migrating Mural is to provide an experience for the general public to enjoy animals that otherwise go unseen and unnoticed. All of the buildings are easily seen while driving along the highway. I'm very excited to see this project through. The projected start date is early 2012. Below are a couple of concept sketches.



Below are two t-shirt designs for the Yosemite Toad Crew and the Invertebrate Crew.


Speaking of t-shirts, Patagonia has a special line of artist t-shirts. Proceeds from sales go back to a specific organization to help fund their project. SNRI is working to get a Yosemite toad shirt in the line. I came up with a few designs for the shirt.


Below is a poster I did for a student in the Yosemite Leadership Program. I then took components of the poster and created several prints for the Yosemite Conservancy auction.



I've finally painted in the conifers and would like to share the finished piece with you.



More caddisfly abstractions...


Well...that about sums it up. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start and end my summer.

MORE PICTURES!

But this time of some work I've done this summer.

T-SHIRT DESIGN FOR THE INVERTEBRATE CREW

The pattern was created with a drawing of a caddisfly larvae. The entire year I was at CSUMB, I never once drew anything using a microscope so I really loved the experience of looking through one to draw this specimen.

POSTER OF FOODS YOSEMITE PIONEERS WOULD HAVE EATEN

CONIFER MEADOW ENCROACHMENT

This painting is still in progress, but I wanted to share it anyway. Conifers are closing in on the meadows not only in Yosemite, but in meadows across the country. This is negatively affecting meadows and research is being conducted to figure out why and how this is happening. I wanted to show that the balance was being thrown off as well as depicting some of the wildlife that depend on healthy meadows. The trees still need to be rendered and they will be painted in gray scale.

SCIENCE NOTES 2010

I don't know if you recall...

In an earlier post, I blogged about one of our final assignments for Science Notes. Science Notes is a sister program at UC Santa Cruz for science journalists. For the past twenty years, the Science Illustration program and Science Notes have collaborated at the end of the year to publish their online journal.

CLICK HERE!

PICTURES!

Okay...pictures from my 8 day backpacking trip as promised...almost a month later. This was by far one of my most memorable experiences. I admire field scientists so much for all the hard work and dedication that goes into each and every one of their trips. I am super grateful to have been a part of it.

I was lucky enough to tag along with the USGS Toad Crew. Our trip started in Sequoia National Park at Florence Lake. From there, we took a ferry to Kings Canyon National Park. The woman who drives the ferry was a complete hoot. As my friend Kelly put it, the odd combination of isolation and subjection to tourists made her a bit crazy. She honestly believes in aliens, yetis and 12 foot rattlesnakes. She is a complete control freak about her boat and tells stories (which she believes to be true) that would give JK Rowling a run for her money.

She did point out a mountain that is called "the chief." It looks like a profile of a chief head and his head dress.

ANOTHER RANGE THAT LOOKS LIKE A PROFILE

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE

Throughout the day, I would hear an incessant pip, pip, pip and finally discovered the source of the call. It was really fun watching them fly, too, because they look like they're drunk.

There were yellow bellied marmots running around and this little fellow let me get close enough to take pictures.

TIGER LILY IN THE MORNING

SAME TIGER LILY LATER THAT DAY

I love that the other bud opened up by the end of the day. :)

I saw these growing all over the alpine terrain. I don't really know why, but I just really like them. They seemed like sea creatures that belong in a tide pool or something.

Of course, one of the perks of being in this landscape are the stunning lakes and swimming holes. For the most part, the water was fresh snow melt. That didn't stop us from jumping in and running right out.

SAY HI TO ALEXA KILLIAN

YELLOW LEGGED FROG TADPOLES

These tads are actually really big, the body is about the size of a quarter.

ADULT YELLOW LEGGED FROG

These frogs are endangered so it was a real treat to see them.

AND...we found what we came to find! The yosemite toad!

YOSEMITE ADULT TOAD

SAY HI TO KELLY SIVY

Below are some pictures of my favorite meadow of the trip and things growing in it.

One of our campsites was at Martha Lake at the base of Mt. Goddard. We were caught in some heavy thunder and lightning storms while camping there. It made me a little nervous (especially when I had to hold my tent up because the wind was squashing it), but it also made the experience that much more memorable.

To be honest, I don't think any of my pictures does justice to the beauty of the landscape, but here are some pictures at different times of the day. The colors were spectacular. I feel like they should make a box of crayons specifically based on colors found in the Sierra Nevada.

AHHHH!!!

So little to do, so much time. Wait. Flip that....

I am very behind on updating my blog, but here is a nutshell version of what's been happening:

-Last week I was on an 8 day backpacking trip with the toad crew. We went to King's Canyon National park to survey meadows for Yosemite toads. More about that in a later post. Pictures and all!

-I have an exciting project that I don't want to jinx and will post about that when I feel like it's a for sure thing.

-Yay! I finally have some illustrations that I can share with you. Be on the look out for that.

-Yesterday was the opening night for a new show that I am in called Everything Never Goes Away. Info can be found here.

So, lots happening...to be continued....