Beauty and Science Merge in Illustrators' Exhibit at NCSU Libraries

From the NCSU Libraries News:

The best in the world of science illustration will be hosted in a beautiful display featured in the D. H. Hill Library Special Collections Exhibit Gallery at North Carolina State University from June 14 through the first week in August. The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI), founded at the Smithsonian Institution in 1968, is working with the NCSU Libraries to present "The Art in Science: Annual Exhibit of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators." Ranging from pen and ink drawings to the latest digital animations, the juried exhibit is a great chance to see some of the most exciting work being done by today's science illustrators.

"We are delighted and honored to host this event," explains Susan Nutter, Vice Provost and Director of Libraries. "NC State, of course, has a national reputation in the animal sciences, entomology, natural resources, and other natural sciences--and our design school is among the nation's best. This is a great opportunity for our students, faculty, and the public to see these disciplines combined into a unique blend of artistic aesthetic with the communication of scientific principles."

The GNSI, which has thousands of members throughout the globe, provides a forum to celebrate and advance the work of the artists who illustrate the textbooks, journals, media, and other learning materials that permeate the academic and scientific worlds.

While the works chosen by the GNSI jury to be displayed at the NCSU Libraries serve mainly to make scientific principles easily to understand and enjoy, they are in themselves beautiful works of design and art. The exhibit will be particularly inspirational for students who are thinking about a career in science illustration, faculty looking for ways to enhance their teaching, and anyone who loves nature and good design.

The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular hours at the D. H. Hill Library on the NC State campus. Hours can be found on the Libraries' web site.

Bios of scheduled speakers:

KATURA REYNOLDS coordinated the GNSI Annual Members Exhibit in coordination with group's 2010 summer conference in Raleigh. A resident of Eugene, Oregon, Katura attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, earning a BA in art in 1997, and a graduate certificate in science illustration in 2002. Her own illustration work has been used at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History, at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, and in a variety of other publications and museum exhibits.

GAIL GUTH is a freelance artist and principal and owner of the firm Guth Illustration & Design, specializing in natural science illustration and graphic design. Her clients include local firms, national publishers, and individual researchers. She also teaches workshops in drawing and sketching and watercolor landscapes. Her work combines traditional techniques with computer graphics, and ranges from small design projects to exhibit graphics, academic publications and book illustrations.

PATRICIA SAVAGE is a North Carolinian who has been a full-time fine artist since 1989. Several of Patricia's botanical paintings are featured in Today's Botanical Artists. The Pastel Journals' 6th Annual Pastel 100 Competition awarded Patricia with Best in Wildlife and Honorable Mention in Wildlife. She served as Artist in-Residence in Denali National Park and joined Smith College and PBS The 1899 Harriman Expedition Retraced: A Century of Change. Her work has appeared in The Best in Wildlife Art 1 and 2, Focus Magazine (Italy), US Art, Wildlife Art, and Wildlife in North Carolina. She has exhibited at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, the Bell Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Society, the U. S. Botanic Gardens, and Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom.