LET'S FUND THE WHOLE PROJECT!!!

WEEK ONE was incredible thanks to everyone who donated, tweeted, posted, emailed and talked about the project. Thank you to the media, which has embraced the Migrating Mural. And thank you to the community of Kickstarter!

My goal for the Kickstarter was to fund the very first mural of a series of four, and I didn't anticipate that I'd meet that goal in the first week of the campaign. 

Now there is a real opportunity to FUND the ENTIRE PROJECT!!!

If the Migrating Mural can find $2250 worth of backing each day for the next 20 days, ALL FOUR MURALS WILL BE FUNDED!

If you are in the Bay Area, please join me in a celebration at The Bone Room Presents for an art opening called The Art of Conservation by Jane Kim. Read about the show in a recent post by 7x7 Magazine.

There is a very special piece in the exhibit called "Disappearance Reappearance." Though bighorns remain endangered, their rebound in recent decades will be celebrated through a display of 11 bighorn skulls, representing the 11 sheep in the recently-discovered fledgling Esha Peak herd.

Photo courtesy of Andy Isaacson

Also on display are studies, sketches, new work and old to help fund the Migrating Mural: Chapter One - Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep.

KEEP SPREADING THE WORD!!! I'll even make it easy for you. Because I know that we are all very busy, you can cut and paste below:

FB: Public Art + Conservation = The Migrating Mural!!! Check it out and become a backer, too! http://kck.st/Tnff5H 

Twitter: Public Art + Conservation + @inkdwell = #MigratingMural! Check it out and become a backer, too! http://kck.st/Tnff5H 

THANK YOU AND HAVE A WONDERFUL REST OF YOUR WEEK! 

With love,

jane

I'M BLOGGING AGAIN!

Hello! After having been in the dark for a year. I've decided it's time to be active again!

I'm not quite sure how to catch everyone up in one post, but if you're dying to know what I've been up to, check out my FB page HERE.

The most current news is that I'm finally ready to launch the Migrating Mural. For those of you who have been following my posts, you know that I have been developing and researching this project for over two years.

I'm so excited to kick off this project with Kickstarter. I've heard about this platform and know many projects have been successfully funded through it, but no one ever talks about the feeling one gets from public support! I always felt that the Migrating Mural was important to wildlife conservation, but knowing that people want to be a part of that makes the project even more special! This has been an unexpected personal reward and I'm grateful!

Have a look...

CHECK OUT THE MIGRATING MURAL

PICKING OUT THE PERFECT OUTFIT

So for the last few days, I've been updating my websites and my online presence. It sort of feels like I'm trying to pick out the perfect outfit and I've changed a million times.

The funny thing is, I sort of always come back to the same feel. That's sort of comforting, you know? It's like showing up in something that you feel confident no one else is wearing yet you still look like you.

So here I am: www.ink-dwell.com

From there, you can stay connected to me via Facebook, website, or blog. The cool thing is that you can see all of these different media outlets from one page!

Utilizing Social Media

After long, serious consideration, I've decided to join Facebook.

It's time to build Ink-Dwell!

You can also follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/inkdwelljanekim AND my FB Page HERE.

HIGHLIGHTS

Here are some highlights at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (not in any particular order):

Learning how to skin and stuff...







Observing many birds raising their young - Great Blue Herons, Canadian Geese, American Crows...


The afternoon I was fortunate enough to meet world renowned cinematographer/photographer, Neil Rettig and his astounding Harpy Eagle...seriously amazing...




Going out in the field to survey Tree Swallow nest boxes....

HAS IT REALLY BEEN TWO MONTHS?

Wow! I think this may be a record for me.

Lesson learned. There is so much that has happened that now I don't even know where to begin.

I suppose I'll start with a gallery of images showcasing my most recent work and news! Hopefully in the not too distant future, I'll post again and give you guys a recap on my time in Ithaca, NY.

BIRD CONSERVATION: Po'ouli | Palila | Akiapola'au

POPULATION BIOLOGY

BREEDING BIOLOGY

I officially finished 3 full-color paintings for use in the third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology. If all goes according to plan, these paintings will open each of the 15 chapters in the book. I had set a goal of getting at least 3 of the 15 finished during my internship and I'm proud to have me that goal! The chapters that I covered are BIRD CONSERVATION, POPULATION BIOLOGY and BREEDING BIOLOGY.

For BIRD CONSERVATION, I was asked to paint three Hawaiian species that are critically endangered, one possibly extinct (Po'ouli). Although they are all from Hawaii, they are found on different islands and at different elevations. One of the beauties of art--you can create worlds that don't exist. The bird in middle is called a Palila and relies solely on the Mamane tree to survive. The brilliant yellow flowers belong to the Mamane. The tree in the background is a Koa and the yellow Honeycreeper at the bottom likes to creep along these trees in search of insects. They are sort of the woodpeckers of Hawaii. The Po'ouli at the very top is believed to be extinct. It searches through mosses and lichens for food and is also distant relatives of Honeycreepers.

POPULATION BIOLOGY is represented through several shorebirds. I guess every time I, personally, think of bird population, images of hundreds and hundreds of shorebirds come to mind. I wanted to capture the feeling of seeing birds scattered across a sandy beach bank. This painting consists of Red Knots, Laughing Gulls, a lone Herring Gull, and some Ruddy Turnstones.

So I already posted the painting for the BREEDING BIOLOGY chapter, but I'm posting it again, because at one point, I looked at the finished painting and decided to redo the background and add a few more Tree Swallows flying around the landscape. It was one of those difficult decisions that everyone makes. It's the kind where you know you're not entirely happy with the final result. Changing it is quite a large commitment and time consuming. Do you really want to do it or are you going to settle? I've never said to myself at the end of the day, "Boy am I glad I settled." So, I tackled the daunting task of repainting a piece I had called finished. I can't even tell you how happy I am that I did. Now this is maybe one of my favorites of the work I did for Cornell.

BIRDS FOR BIRDSCOPE

BirdScope is a quarterly publication put out by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. It covers all sorts of bird news in a very accessible way. The centerfold is the main attraction with a full-color spread. Usually, one of the Bartels interns will create work for the centerfold and I was asked to create illustrations for the upcoming summer issue. These birds are a little sneak peak into a much larger composition. I'm not sure if I can post the layout draft before it's been published. From left to right: Black-backed Woodpecker, Golden-winged Warbler, Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Magpie, Stilt Sandpiper.

SCREENSHOT FROM THE SURFRIDER STORE

Recently, Surfrider used my knobby starfish drawing to print on bamboo fiber tanks. They are now available for purchase through their online store! I love the way they came out and the tanks are super comfortable.

You can purchase them HERE.

Well, I think this concludes my most recent work. I'm now heading back west to CALIFORNIA!!!! While all of my adventures have been unique and invaluable, I'm certainly ready to wipe my feet on the familiar and very much missed "Home Sweet Home" doormat.

Once I organize my photos, I'd love to share highlights of Ithaca, NY and the Lab with everyone. I will warn you, a lot of it may be written. I was admittedly terrible at taking photos these past 4 months.

Stay tuned!!!

UPDATE

TREE SWALLOWS and FEATHER FIGHT

One of my projects at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology is to paint frontis pieces for the revision of the Handbook of Bird Biology. There are 15 chapters and they would like a full color painting to open each chapter. I can't tell you how excited I was to get this project and I hope I blow them away.

The above piece is for a chapter called "Breeding Biology. " I worked with an Ornithologists who studies tree swallows. During the nesting season, these birds collect feathers to line their nests. This behavior is known to be an important part of reproductive success and consequently, they compete for feathers.

Wow, tree swallows are beautiful. I love the way they look when they fly and their metallic blue coloring is stunning. Depending on how the lights hits them, their color ranges anywhere from dark grey to electric blue! They are very elegant birds.

One of my most favorite things about working here, is the opportunity to work with experts who really refine the accuracy of my bird art. They just know their subjects sooo well, that they can see even the slightest misrepresentation of form. I love it!


These next two illustrations were for Yosemite National Park. Currently, they are working very hard on the Merced River Plan and these two pieces were used in reports and presentations.

OXBOW FORMATION and INVERTEBRATES THAT LIVE IN THEM

RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM of YOSEMITE VALLEY

SEED is a Bay Area branding agency. Their passions and purpose is to honor the burgeoning environmental and social shifts through good design. The clientele are typically in the artisanal and pure foods industry.

Below is a screen shot from their website showcasing one of their clients -- County Line Harvest.

County Line Harvest is an organic farm specializing in unique greens. They have farms in both Northern and Southern California. SEED asked me to create pen & ink drawings for their logos. Pen & ink is one of my favorite mediums so this was definitely a fun project. I loved the way it came out!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by! The support is more than appreciated!!!

:)