Spring Wildflowers: Hepatica

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Spring is finally upon us on Washington Island and it is a welcome sight. We have set upon a journey to search out the gems of the forest, or wildflowers. We begin with the sweetness of the Hepatica.

Hepatica Wildfower by Patti Cauldwell
Hepatica Wildfower by Patti Cauldwell
 

Hepatica, Anemone Acutiloba

Among the brown winter leaves and fading drifts of snow the first flowers to make their appearance are the Hepatica or more commonly known on the Island as, Mayflowers. The sepals may be pink, purple, blue or white and are found growing in clumps about 3" to 6" tall. The leaves are three-lobed that come to a point. Green leaves emerge after the plant flowers which darken with patterns of brown and purple as they mature. The flowers have a delicate fresh scent.

Hepatica Wildfower by Patti Cauldwell
Hepatica Wildfower by Patti Cauldwell
 

Some interesting facts about Hepatica:

  • - They are a member of the Buttercup family
  • - Hepatica, or Liverwort received it's name from it's leaves which resemble the human liver and was used as a medicinal herb to treat liver disorders.
  • - Butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles are known pollinators.

For more information, check out Door County's Wildflowers: A Field Guide For The Curious by Frances M. Burton and Aurelia M. Stampp.

Artist Profile: Katherine Evans

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katherine_evans_photostrip
katherine_evans_photostrip
 

First Featured Artist at the Washington Island Art and Nature Center

Katherine Evans, an accomplished Illustrator was highlighted in the very first show at the Art and Nature Center in 1965. She is well known as the Illustrator of the children's book, "The Littlest Angel" which has become the fifteenth best-selling children's book of all time, including it's numerous editions.

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Katherine Floyd Evans, born in Sedalia, MO in 1899, was multi-talented, fearless yet ladylike, whimsical, and a keenly intelligent artist who came to the Island with her family for the summers in the early 1900's. Her parents came up to the Island from Missouri on the Goodrich boats, leaving from Chicago and arriving in Washington Harbor. In the early days, they stayed at the White House but then bought a home on Detroit Harbor that is still owned by the family.

She studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, in the Art Colony in Provincetown, and at the Chicago Art Institute.

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She was always an artist . . . drawing, painting, sculpting . . . but when her husband died she made a living for herself and her two children as a children's book writer and illustrator. Traveling the world for up close and personal views of Mexicans, Ethiopians, Parisians, West Africans, and others, she illustrated more than 75 books for children and used many of those experiences to inspire her paintings and her life.

She passed away in her summer home on Detroit Harbor in 1964 surrounded by the natural beauty that meant so much to her.

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Many Thanks to Katie West and David Evans for sharing their history, photos and illustrations. If you are interested, check out your local library where many of her books are still available.

Introducing The New ANC Website

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Welcome to the new website of the Art and Nature Center. We hope you will find it a great resource on the ANC and what it has to offer. Here’s a little tour of what we’ve been working on.

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Our HOME page will guide you to exactly what you are looking for. Are you researching your trip to the Island and want to visit us? Want to sign your kids up for a class?  This is the place to start. The bottom is where the latest blog posts are and a sneak peak at some of the featured works.

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Did you know that from 1904 to 1964, the building housing the ANC was a schoolhouse? If you want to learn more, check out the ABOUT page.  Are you interested in joining or you'd just like to donate? Our membership page will soon have a Paypal button so you can donate online. If you are looking to make some summer plans, check out the links under the EVENTStab. Not only is our blog located there, but special pages for classes, calendar and photos and info about past and upcoming shows.

We have a special link to our membership page with our DONATE button.  We are so grateful to our community and beyond for all your memberships, donations and volunteers. We really appreciate your continued support.

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You’ve probably noticed that on most of the pages, we have a list of the latest tweets. Yes, we are on Twitter! (@the_wianc) This is a great way to update you on our latest events, news, etc. and you can see it all without leaving our site. Our photo gallery images will always be changing because we have linked them up to our photo-sharing site, Flickr. Oh, and we can’t leave this train until we mention our Facebook page as well. We think this is a fabulous place to share photos, info on events, and see what you all have to say and we look forward to seeing you there. (www.facebook.com/wiartandnaturecenter)

If you are planning your trip and need a map, check out the CONTACT page. And if you have any questions, please use our contact form. We’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments on our new site or the ANC, feel free to leave them below.

See you soon!