Spring is just around the corner. Vibrant colors are in bloom. Birds are chirping their morning wake-up calls. Butterflies will soon make their grand entrance into the season. The beauty of nature is all around, from sight to sound, and it is natural wonders like these that inspired Lutcher Stark to not only create Shangri-La Botanical Gardens in the 1940s, but also to amass a large collection of nature-inspired art.
His two passions come together this week with Saturday’s opening of the Stark Museum of Art's Celebrate Shangri La exhibition, which will feature artistic representations of the flora and fauna found in Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, which opened to the public March 11.
This exhibition is an excellent complement to your Shangri La experience. By viewing the works on display, you will gain an appreciation of the plants, animals, and birds you will see in Shangri La. The exhibition will also help you identify flora and fauna as you tour Shangri La, resulting in a more enlightened experience. If you visit Shangri La before viewing the exhibition, you will learn how artists were inspired by the same elements of nature you experienced in the Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Perhaps you saw things the same way they did. Maybe you interpreted things differently. You’ll have to go to find out.
So what can you expect to see in the exhibition? For starters, you will see naturalist John James Audubon’s impressive manuscript, The Birds of America. It is a double elephant folio (approximately 26 1/2 x 39 inches) that features illustrations of the birds of North America. It belonged to Audubon himself, and now it belongs to the Stark Museum of Art.
You will also see works from Dorothy Doughty’s porcelain American Bird Series, prints by early naturalists who created some of the first records of America’s natural history, the first American book on entomology, a watercolor piece depicting the amaryllis named in honor of Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark, and much more.
You don’t have drive to a big city to see these incredible works of art. They are right here in Orange, and you can see them for free. The exhibition opens Saturday, March 15 and runs until June 28. Also, from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, you are invited to attend a free reception celebrating the opening of the exhibition.
The exhibition and opening day reception, along with the opening of Shangri La, are a perfect opportunity to celebrate the arrival of the spring season and the natural wonders that inspired Lutcher Stark years ago. However, these are just some of the many exciting Orange in Bloom spring events. Visit www.WatchOrangeGrow.com to learn more about upcoming activities and how you can continue to show your support for the growth of Orange. With your help, it will surely be a beautiful spring season in Orange.
This message was also printed in the March 12, 2008, issue of The Orange Leader by guest columnist Nikki Sumrow. You can read a new column each Wednesday in The Orange Leader discussing the latest Orange events and activities. If you would like to suggest a topic for a future column, please contact me at nikki.sumrow@imaginuity.com.
www.imaginuity.com
stark
