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The more I photograph and learn about Monarch butterflies, the more I want! Here are two of my prints of Monarch, available at ARTaboutEDEN, and a few snapshots and facts. Each Monarch butterfly has a complex life cycle; from the egg to the winged butterfly in fours steps. The egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly are the parts of the life cycle of an individual. But it also takes 4 generations of Monarch Butterflies to fly a journey of journey that totals 1,200 to 2,500 miles from Canada or the United States to forests in Mexico. Each generation travels part of the journey, lives only something like 4 to 6 weeks, all except the 4th generation which if they are in the warmer south will live up to 8 months. I have read that an individual can fly up to 80 miles in one day! One 3 to 4 inch butterfly! My shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN
Facebook: https:/www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio_830 I knew about the horrors of poaching in Africa and Asia of Elephant tusks and Rhino horn, but was not aware of the full extent of problem until I started researching our 2011 Africa trip.  Unleash the hounds after the Rhino Leslie Miller © 2013 Since then I produced several series of collage prints based on hunting and poaching, and in 2017 when we went back to Africa I really want to find out more about this tragic international problem. Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and which are used by some cultures for ornamental or traditional medicinal purposes. Right now in East Asia, mostly Vietnam, is the largest market for rhino horns. “People grind up the horns and then consume them believing the dust has therapeutic properties.” (1 ) The rhino horn is made of the same substance as our hair and fingernails and horses hooves! It is keratin, which is a protein. Rhino need them to dig in the ground for food, attract a mate, and if you watch a Rhino cow and calf for a few minutes even, to corral their young around.  Rhino and Calf Leslie Miller @ 2017 The powered horn has been used in traditional herbal medicine, where it is believed to have magical properties, and cure things like arthritis, headaches and cancer. However that is changing rapidly as Rhino horn is now becoming a status symbol for wealthy businessmen in East Asia where they are displaying them as trophies or status symbols. (2) I think we should ban displaying all horn artifacts, elephant, rhino walrus, etc., from our museums and homes, even if they are historical and valuable pieces. NOT DESTROY THEM, BUT NO LONGER SHOW THEM OFF AS OBJECTS OF STATUS. Let them gather dust in a dark storeroom.What do you think? Let me know! The IUCN Red List identifies three of the species OF RHINO as critically endangered. Also see #lastmaleststanding. http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/uploads/assets/uploads/2015/11/OP_Infographic_Updated_2015.pdf Ol Pejeta Conservancy Nanyuki, Kenya May 2017 http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/, where some 90,000 acres of open Savannah grassland and convert it to a national land trust in 2004. One of only several surviving rare Northern White Rhino’s, living behind fences and guarded the rest of their lives Please see my blog at:
http://leslie-miller.com/blog Check Leslie Miller’s art for sale at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist We found the most profound experience of the Kenya trip; a cemetery dedicated to 17 rhinos slain in one reserve by poachers. On one of our first day in the bush we were driving in the savannah in the Ol Pejeta Reserve, in the late afternoon light around 4:00 PM. We noticed a large grouping of stone mounds and headed over to investigate. There we found maybe the most profound experience of the trip, the Ol Pejeta rhinoceros cemetery. The cemetery is dedicated to all the Rhinoceros killed by poachers since 2004 in the Reserve.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy Nanyuki, Kenya May 2017 http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/, where some 90,000 acres of open Savannah grassland and convert it to a national land trust in 2004. Music by ZAP MAMA Composer:A.Daulne,F. Nuyens and M.Daulne.: http://www.zapmama.com/ Check Leslie Miller’s art for sale at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist Check here for a short video about the Giraffe Center, part of African fund Endangered Wildlife in Nairobi Kenya. Part of our June Trip there. Video showing building the digital collage "Three Rabbits Chatting" by artist Leslie Miller for sale on ARTaboutEDEN For more images please see my blog at: https://leslie-miller.com/blog
The shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDENt Instagram Studio_830 https://www.instagram.com/studio_830 Leslie Miller 2017 This is a collage of an otter pup first venturing out of the den after about 8 week of nursing with mother inside the den.  River Otter with Pup © Leslie Miller River otter, Lutra canadensi, pups are born in a den. Mom nurses them and keeps them warm for about eight weeks and then they're big enough to explore the world outside. Although seldom seen, river otters are relatively common throughout The US and costal area in ponds, lakes, rivers, sloughs, estuaries, bays, and in open waters.
A common myth about River Otters is that they only eat fish and compete with hobby fishermen for fish. This is not true. "Crayfish make up a large portion of an otter’s diet for most of the year, but during winter otters feed almost exclusively on fish. Other foods include mussels, frogs, turtles, aquatic insects, and other small animals." Missouri Department of Conservaton, North American River Otter, https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/north-american-river-otter Please see this collage online at my shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN There you can see about 50 collages that are available for custom printing. There is no inventory, I print on demand for my customers at various sizes and will do custom colors. My Facebook Page at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist Instagram - Studio_830 https://www.instagram.com/studio_830 https://www.pinterest.com/ARTaboutEden  David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the drama of the keepers diary  Young Elephants at David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust © Leslie Miller The Sheldrick Trust has many conservation aspects, among them anti-poaching units, Community Outreach Programs and Mobile Veterinary Units in the area national parks. But The Orphans’ Project, the fostering of Rhino and elephants, is maybe at the heart of the Trust. The orphan elephant show that they put on every day from 11:00 to 12:00 p.m., is a must see if you are spending time in Nairobi area. It is touristy, but the Trust is doing important work and you will mostly likely never get so close to elephants in your life. You can count the individual eyelashes on their eyes sometimes. One very interesting aspect to me is to read the Keepers Diary’s about the various units’ struggles to integrate the orphans back into the wild. It is addicting real life adventure! I am following the Itumba Unit to get to know them and it is sort of wild kingdom soap opera. http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/keepers_diary.asp Or else checkout my shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook Page at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist https://www.pinterest.com/ARTaboutEden Mares of the Night, The moon shines down on a wild night landscape out of a dream or a nightmare.  Mares of the Night by © Leslie Miller The moon shines down on a wild night landscape out of a dream or a nightmare, with a horse, lotus plant and flower and a cabin with Cock crowing on a fence. A wild jumble tangled in phone wires and laboratory experiments, cooked up on a late night myself no doubt! Wonderful old illustrations and my own drawings made on asphalt roofing material, paper and. The rough tooth of the roofing material and Plexiglas is a wonderful surface for pastels, as it becomes a flat, reusable layer with a beautiful ground. I drew with pen and pencil on the surface with good results. After scanning all those images into the computer, I have a stack of images layers to work with and then the fun begins, until I have something I just can’t tamper with any longer. I can make a custom print to order from this original collage file.. Or else check the shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook Page at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist https://www.pinterest.com/ARTaboutEden Day one Nairobi National Park, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Ltd.  Map of Area around Nairobi Kenya and my Safari trip Leslie Miller @ 2017
My next blog will be about the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (Kenya) Ltd. Or else check the shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook Page at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist This is one of my favorite quotes; it is a great description of one the best ways to be productive as an artist… “To have original, extraordinary and perhaps even immortal ideas, one has but to isolate oneself from the world for a few moments so completely that the most commonplace happenings appear to be new and unfamiliar and in this way reveal their true essence.” Schopenhauer, 1851: Parerga und Paralipomena. (1.) It is sort of a description of a state that I have always readily been able to fall into even as a kid. I remember riding in our family’s 1957 Ford Galaxy (which I later learned to drive on), which was black with a black and white interior. The ceiling of the car was white with tiny black dots. I remember riding in the car, laying on the long bench back seat (no seat belts then) on a long vacation, bored and staring at nothing. Gradually I noticed that black dots had floated off of the white background and were floating around the space of the car some inches forward and back to the ceiling and I could manipulate it to some degree by squinting. This was my first memory of falling into this state of daydreaming, reverie, meditation, guided imagery; or whatever you want to call it. I am sure that this is a state that many recognize themselves, and in fact it is been written about extensively. Another favorite artist of mine, Linda Barry has done a great job of this, with her children’s book, What it is, Drawn and Quarterly; 1st edition (May 13, 2008). (2).  Linda Barry’s children’s book What it is published byDrawn and Quarterly photo by Leslie Miller This wonderfully illustrated book is about Linda’s way of being creative and how anyone adult or child can draw on her ideas to jump-start their own creative world. She speaks about being both “ there and not there” to get in the active creative mode. Check it out of your library; it is wonderful.
So this mode of there and not there, isolating yourself from the world, daydreaming, or runners high, is a state many people strive for. Artists, craftsmen, athletes, scientists, inventors, musicians, and nature lovers are some examples I imagine. The important aspect for everyone is to strive is to cultivate the habit. It is a wonderful space to inhabit, especially if you are using your hands or your mind. But you can’t think about it, or ask yourself about it, then it’s all over. It has to slip in naturally and that takes practice. This place is not only in your head but also in your body. I find you need to be physically comfortable. Temperature is critical for me for example. I can’t be hot or chilly, but that is me. Noise is hard for some, but not so much for me, I just focus on letting the noise surround me and define the outside space but not intrude inside my head. I also find if my hands are doing a repetitive task it is so much easier. This is a great time to brainstorm or actually do work like walk, draw or photograph. Mentally I find several things. One is I don’t have to be mentally calm, focused but not calm, just physically calm. Often if I am jazzed by an idea or a place or music or a piece I am working on that can trigger the whole process. Other times, the mood comes first; I focus on the calm mental state and then find a project. But I try almost every day to find this place. Or else check the shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARTaboutEDEN My Facebook Page at: www.facebookpage/LeslieMillerArtist https://www.pinterest.com/ARTaboutEden Leslie Miller 2017 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parerga_and_Paralipomena 2. https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/author/lynda-barry http://www.artnews.com/2014/06/05/comics-artist-lynda-barry-on-teaching-non-artists-to-draw/ |
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