Member Spotlight: Mary Ellen Taylor

When considering my circuitous career path toward botanical and nature art over the past 40 years, I clearly see that—apart from quantum leaps, serendipities, and sheer determination along the way, the seed was well and truly planted during my time living in the Galápagos Islands. Witnessing first-hand the extraordinary forms, colors, and sizes that the flora and fauna evolved into—ensuring survival on these inhospitable islands 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador—engraved on my soul a powerful respect and awe for them. My view of the world we live in and our humble place as human beings was changed forever. Growing up, I was always “arty” and influenced by my father and grandmother, spending creative summers painting or building projects and tasting raw nature in rural Vermont. I went on to pursue Fine Art and a stint of Graphic Art before making my way to London for my semester abroad. I felt I had come home in England’s green and pleasant land. After nearly three years, my visa expired and I never finished at the university... but I knew I would return...somehow.

< The endemic mangrove finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) on the Galapagos Islands.

Learn a New Skill, Make New Connections, Renew Your Passion! 

Core Conference: July 17–18, 2021; Workshops: July 24–25, 2021 

The Geography of the GNSI

What GNSI Conference Planning Is About
by Britt Griswold

It all starts with an urge to give your GNSI friends a place to gather. Then you remember all the cool things you could show them. Then you remember the connections you have to your local institutions and suddenly you think “my friends and I could do this!” Fortunately, the Guild has developed a sophisticated set of tools to help you plan and organize talks, workshops and field trips, along with the celebration of the Guild family gathering each year.

The 2019 GNSI and AMBI Members' Digital Exhibit: Rendering Science - Clarity and Concepts, is now available to view in the GNSI website image galleries. This excellent exhibit combined GNSI and AIMBI member’s work, showcasing traditional and digital illustration, photography and animation entries. From July 1 - July 7, the exhibit displayed across 5 projection panels in the main entrance of the Queensland Museum, and also in the auditorium adjacent to the main entrance.

The evening of the exhibit opening started with a water taxi tour on the Brisbane River, from Women’s College to downtown Brisbane. Walking to the museum from the water taxi stop included a look at the pelican bronzes by Leonard and Kathleen Shillam, an inner-city beach and lagoon, and a treetop squabble between a ring-tailed possum and a fruit bat! The exhibit reception was a highlight of our exceptional conference experience in Australia.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM, H. Marks Hall, Women's College. 

The annual GNSI auction is always a conference highlight, full of anticipation, suspense, and excitement!  The 2019 auction will be no different, although there will be some important things to take into consideration this year. Due to the greater distances traveled by many attendees, we will not be able to transport medium to large auction items. Instead, we will focus on small items that fit easily into luggage, AND a whole new suite of non-tangible items this year!  Start thinking about experiences that you might like to offer, such as:

The Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Program is hosting the 2019 Ocean Awareness Contest, for young artists, thinkers, and activists (ages 11-18). The program is seeking entries with the theme of Presence of the Future.

Applicants are asked to create a piece about a coastal/marine species, place, or system that will be threatened, altered, or lost due to climate change. Submissions accepted include visual art, poetry, prose, film, and music. Deadline for submission - June 17th, 2019.

The blog Love in the Time of Chasmosaurus is conducting a survey of paleoartists to understand how paleoartists practice their craft: how they research their work, what they charge their clients, how they work towards scientific rigor and avoid repeating errors in existing work. The anonymous survey can be found here.

The Art of Planetary Science is an annual art exhibition run by the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory that celebrates the beauty and elegance of space science and related science fields.

Submissions for fine art and data art are accepted through August 2nd, 2019. The exhibit will be held from November 15th through 17th at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Find out more information and submission instructions here.

The GNSI and AMBI Members' Digital Exhibit - Call for Entries is Open!

Rendering Science - Clarity and Concepts

GNSI is excited to join with the AIMBI (Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration) for our 2019 Conference Exhibit, digitally displayed at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, opening reception July 1, 2019, at 7 pm.

Two organizations - (1) the American Society of Illustrators Partnership, Inc. (ASIP),
teamed with Artist Rights Society (ARS), and, more-recently formed, (2) The American
Society for Collective Rights Licensing, Inc. (ASCRL) - are promoting distributions of
European reprographic royalties. The GNSI Board has been asked to give their formal
endorsement to or assessment of these organizations.
 
The GNSI Board of Directors, on behalf of GNSI, Inc., cannot endorse any organization
involved with royalty distribution nor advise members on their personal financial
decisions related to those organizations.
 
The GNSI Board of Directors acts according to our mission: “GNSI connects professionals
who promote, educate, and celebrate the visual communication of science”. 
 
If a member wishes to understand the future directions of these reprographic rights and
royalties organizations, they can contact ASIP and ASCRL directly.
 
Most sincerely,
Sara L. Taliaferro, GNSI President

BioImages is an annual visual media competition that showcases the finest still, graphics and motion media work in the life sciences and medicine.

Early this winter, you will be surprised with all the new and improved features at your same trusted URL of many years: www.gnsi.org. We are so proud about the upcoming GNSI website that we wanted to tell you all about it!

It’s interesting to recall that our online presence began in 1998 with a one-page static website created and maintained by GNSI member and webmaster Heike Blum. Step back in time and take a look. We have archived this legacy website to preserve the institutional memory and history: wayback.archive-it.org/10600/20180822190052/https://legacy.gnsi.org/.

GROW YOUR SKILLS. EXPAND YOUR NETWORK. INSPIRE CURIOSITY.

Each summer, the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators hosts a fun-filled week for artists, scientists, and educators from across the nation. The GNSI Annual Conference offers endless opportunities for brainstorming, professional development, and sharing local attractions alongside some of the brightest individuals in our field.  

With 160–200 attendees, every event provides enough diversity to catalyze great conversations and address different skill levels and interests while ensuring a comfortable environment for interacting and networking.

Dearest GNSI Members,

As we navigate through a season that in North America includes the winter solstice and day with the shortest span of daylight in our calendar year, I am in a reflective mood. Since accepting the honor of serving as President of the Guild this summer, I have enjoyed the challenges and rewards inherent in collaborating with the diverse and rich leadership and expertise that all of you bring to this organization. My every meeting and correspondence has deepened my respect for each of you and broadened my hope for what we are and what we can become.

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators has three awards with which it can recognize the dedication and long-time efforts of its members. These are:

The Distinguished Service Award (DS): Established in 1994, this award is given to long-term dedicated workers, those who have put in countless hours and have usually served both on the Board and have coordinated conferences or portions of conferences. The award is given after several years of ongoing service on the part of the member.