I thought 2018 was “my year” as an artist, but this year just started out with a bang…. I have been selected as the 2019 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year! The designation was made by the renowned Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in conjunction with the 69th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This recognition combines two of my greatest passions – painting and spring wildflowers – making it a wonderful personal milestone. I am so elated!
This honor stems from the selection of my wildflower painting “Bloodroot” as the featured image for this year’s Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, which will take place April 23-27, 2019. The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is an annual five-day event in Great Smoky Mountains National Park offering professionally guided programs which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, wildlife, ecology, culture, and natural history through walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.
My painting will appear on the cover of the 25+ page online brochure (downloadable by late February) and on event t-shirts (sold online; I’ll post a link when available). In addition, it will be featured in a solo exhibition of my paintings at the Wolpert Gallery at the Arrowmont School, from March 22 – April 26, 2019, with a reception at the gallery during the Pilgrimage week, on Wednesday, April 24th, from 5-7pm, open to the public.
More information about the Pilgrimage and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is provided below.
I painted more in 2018 than in many previous years, experimenting with new methods and materials. I am humbled to be the recipient of honors such as this. I guess I’ll chalk it up to the wise words of Confucius from about 2000 years ago: “The more you know, the more luck you will have.”
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ABOUT THE PILGRIMAGE
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tuesday, April 23 – Saturday, April 27, 2019
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
From their website:
“The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a 69-year old annual event in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park featuring professionally-guided walks to explore the region’s rich natural and cultural resources. More than 800 pilgrims from more than 32 states and several countries joined us in 2018. Our programs included fungi, ferns, wildflowers, trees and shrubs, medicinal plants, insects (terrestrial and aquatic), salamanders and snakes, birds, mammals (bats to bears), birds, journaling, art and photography, and park history.”
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a sanctuary of plants and animals, and they are fully protected. This superbly organized Pilgrimage includes over 70 guided wildflower walks during 4 days, plus more than 70 other choices of programs. Park Service staff, botanists, naturalists, horticulturists, biologists, artists, birders, photographers, authors, and other experts in their respective fields are among the program leaders. Program participation is usually limited, so registration is necessary (begins online by early March). Hikes vary in distance and location and are described with degree of difficulty, from easy to strenuous. Some require no trail walking. There are morning, afternoon, all-day, and evening sessions. Fees in 2018 were $50 for one day, $75 for two or more days, with student discount and free to those age 15 and under with an adult. The Mills Conference Center at the Gatlinburg (TN) Convention Center serves as the Pilgrimage headquarters, with free van transportation provided when destination trailhead parking is limited.
ABOUT THE ARROWMONT SCHOOL
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is a national art and craft education center located just one mile from the entrance of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Arrowmont offers an opportunity for people of all skill levels to spend a weekend, a week or two weeks immersed in art-making – experimenting, learning new techniques, exploring a variety of media and forms of expression – or simply taking time to be fully focused and present in a creative manner without the distractions of daily life. Courses are taught by national and international practicing studio artists and university faculty. Students work and learn in professionally equipped studios on the stunning 13 acre campus hidden in the heart of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Workshops and classes are offered in ceramics, fiber, metals/jewelry, painting, drawing, photography, warm glass, woodturning, woodworking, mixed media, books, paper and more. Arrowmont always has a full schedule of lectures, art exhibits and special events available to students and visitors. Arrowmont has three dedicated exhibition spaces as well as small displays in the halls and studios and artwork on view throughout the grounds. The galleries are open to the public Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm; Saturdays 10:00am to 4:00pm.
