March-April 2009 Arizona Wildlife Views published by The Arizona Game & Fish Dept. featuring the Art Institute
Art Institute Instructors
Dr. Stephen Buchmann is an entomologist specializing in the bees and flowers of the Sonoran Desert, and an ASDM research associate. He is the author of 12 books and a photographer whose images have been published in numerous magazines. Stephen is the international director of the Pollinator Partnership, a tri-national non-profit dedicated to pollinator and plant conservation.
Linda M. Feltner is an artist who specializes in both the aesthetics and science of natural history. Her career has developed through book and magazine illustrations, numerous solo exhibitions, classroom teaching, interpretive consulting and interpretive media design, commissions, and lectures to professional organizations.
Susan T. Fisher is the Director of the Art Institute at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. She created the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program at Denver Botanic Gardens and teaches art classes across the United States. Susan is the immediate past-president of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her B.A. degree includes three years of advanced study in art history at the University of Bordeaux in France.
Janie Gildow is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in art education. She became a full-time professional colored pencil artist in 1996. Janie's art has been published in Best of Colored Pencil, Exploring Color and Creative Colored Pencil as well as American Artist and Artist's Magazine.
Rachel Ivanyi is a freelance natural science illustrator who specializes in reptiles and amphibians. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of California at Davis in 1995, and in 1996, Graduate Certification in Natural Science Illustration from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Her work can be found in a variety of textbooks, science magazines, children's books and field guides.
Richard Lutgen has a B.A. in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. He attended Brooks Institute of Photography, and managed an internationally recognized art photography gallery. An avid photographer, he enjoys working with the elements of visual design, photographing details and the abstract patterns of nature.
Christopher Morgan received his B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and his M.F.A. from Tufts University/The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was a printing assistant for master monotype printer Joel Janowitz for three years. Christopher works in the Graphics Department at the Desert Museum.
Susan Morris graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors Degree in Painting & Drawing. Her art has hung in many galleries and museums and has earned her a generous amount of awards and recognition. Susan has taught portraiture, watercolor, and basic drawing classes for over 12 years.
Catherine Nash received a B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of New Hampshire and graduated from the University of Arizona with an M.F.A. in mixed media. She is an artist-in-residence for the Tucson/Pima Arts Council and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Her work has been shown across the U.S., Japan and Europe.
Kate Nessler has been painting plants for more than twenty-seven years. Her work on vellum is recognized both nationally and internationally. Her work is included in many collections including the Hunt Institute and the Shirley Sherwood Collection.
Peter Allen Nisbet received a Bachelors Degree from the University of North Carolina. In 1980 he moved to the South-west and began painting landscapes. Nisbet has traveled to such remote places as the South Pole and China, but his preferred locale for painting is in the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico. He is represented by the Meyer East Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and the J.N. Bartfield Gallery in New York City.
Jay Pierstorff has designed and taught photography courses through Photo Retailers and The Learning Exchange. Currently he produces computer graphics, audio and video productions, website designs and digital photo restorations. Jay has spent over three decades involved in photographic and computer processes.
Margaret Pope has done commissioned work for Borderlands Tours, Plants for the Southwest, Mary Odette Books and the Arizona Native Plant Society. Her interest in nature inspired her to become a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and to pursue botanical illustration.
Robert Renfrow graduated as Salutatorian of his class from the Kansas City Art Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography/Video in 1988. Renfrow was awarded a merit Graduate Fellowship to attend the University of Arizona, receiving his M.F.A. in Photography in 1991. For 20 years he has conducted workshops both nationally and in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Dr. John P. Schaefer is former President of the University of Arizona and a cofounder with Ansel Adams of the Center for Creative Photography. He is the author of three best-selling books on photographic techniques and has published several books of his own photography. His photographs have appeared in Arizona Highways.
Wes and Rachelle Siegrist are a husband and wife team. Their miniatures are regularly featured in museums and their Signature memberships include the prestigious Society of Animal Artists, the Hilliard Society of England and the only honor society in the world dedicated to the miniature genre: The Miniature Artists of America (MAA).
Rick Wheeler received his B.A. degree in Fine Art from Prescott College. He is best known for his scratchboard work and has won numerous awards including the Addy 'Gold' Award. Rick was selected to "A Century of Sanctuary: The Art of Zion National Park" 2008-09 and he was also invited to participate in the "Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Modern Masters Invitational" in 2009.
Nicholas Wilson has been a wildlife artist for 45 years. His work is in permanent collections at The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Leigh Yawkey Woodsen Art Museum in WI, the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OK, The Booth Western Art Museum in GA and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
