Ryerson Woods to showcase artists' work in exhibit through March 12

Botanical art melds art and science, showing the beauty of nature but also with scientific accuracy.

Anne Gilna first began creating botanical art eight years ago to show the form a plant takes as it grows.

"It's soft spoken and causes you to contemplate and appreciate what's growing and what's out there," said Gilna of Lincolnshire.

Gilna is among 15 members of the American Society of Botanical Artists Reed-Turner Group that will present an exhibition titled "Drawn to Nature: Botanical Paintings and Drawings."

The exhibit opens Sunday at Ryerson Woods Conservation Area near Deerfield.

The Friends of Ryerson Woods, along with Lake County Forest Preserves and Lake Forest Garden Club, will present the exhibit that runs through March 12.

Friends of Ryerson Woods will welcome guest Susanne Masi at the opening reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Masi, manager of Regional Floristics and coordinator for the Plants of Concern program at Chicago Botanic Garden, will speak.

The Reed-Turner Group consists of a group of botanical artists, students and former students associated with the botanical art classes of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The group has been in existence for three years and meets at 9 a.m. the last Saturday of each month at the Reed-Turner Preserve in Long Grove.

Derek Norman, who taught at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, gained the love from his mother. She had no formal art training but a passion for botanical art.

"Coming from England, you had green blood in your veins," he said.

There was a charm seeing work done by someone with no instruction but who simply appreciated the beauty of a flower in the garden.

Now creating black and white and sometimes color drawings of native flora, Norman finds himself lost in another world as he draws representations of nature.

"It is a wonderful way to lose yourself, to be out in the prairie or out in the woods and communicate with nature," he said.

Norman knows it can take some time to do each piece, adding it took him two years to do one drawing because the plant's bloom period was so short. But artists take the time to capture the essence of the plant and try to be scientifically accurate.

"The more you know about them, the more appreciative of them you become," he said.

Gilna said it is best to see the plants as she paints even though it may be a challenge due to season. But there are aspects of a plant, such as the way leaves come out from a stem, that you may not notice in a photograph.

"It is like a portrait. You want to depict it as accurately as you can. You want to show all the qualities of the plant," she said.

He said the Midwest features many public lands including forest preserves and prairies where artists can discover rare and endangered species.

"There are a ton of places you can find wildflowers and you can get to them if you know someone who can direct you to them," he said.

Part of the group's focus is to produce works for their own satisfaction. But Norman said the members hope by exhibiting their work to the public such as Ryerson Woods, they can educate the public about botanical art.

While showing its beauty, the art also teaches others about how habitat is changing and species are disappearing. He said 40 percent of all species in northern Illinois are endangered.

"It highlights a need for conservation and an appreciation for many things that are fast disappearing," he said.

Ryerson Woods is on Riverwoods Road, between Half Day Road and Deerfield Road near Deerfield.