In this page…
- Seasons of the Schulenberg (below)
- Annual Nature Photography Exhibit
- Forest Homes Exhibit
- Capturing Nature Photography Exhibit
“Seasons of the Schulenberg” Photography Exhibit (October)
MAPS members helped to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Schulenberg Prairie with a photographic tribute, “Seasons of the Schulenberg”, at the Sterling Morton Library from October 12th -16th, 2022. All the photographs were captured by MAPS members, whose special 60th Anniversary Project this year has been to highlight the beauty and transformation of the Schulenberg Prairie in every season with their photographs.
The MAPS exhibit featured 50 matted photographic prints of the Schulenberg Prairie (including images of the proscribed burn in April), native wildlife, bloom succession, plants, flowers, the savanna, Willoway Brook and trees throughout all four seasons. A slide show of several additional prairie images were continuously displayed on a large monitor in the library.
The exhibit was a huge success with over 1500 visitors! It was so nice to see so many members and catch up with you in person. We hope you were able to attend this wonderful event.
Click here to view all 125 fine art images submitted by MAPS members as well as some interesting historical information about the Schulenberg Prairie.
Annual Nature Photography Exhibit (April)
The Morton Arboretum Photographic Society (MAPS) had a wonderful exhibit April 29 thru May 1 in the Cudahy Room at The Morton Arboretum. Forty-three artists exhibited 107 beautiful pieces of fine art photography over the course of the 3-day exhibit.
Despite cold, rainy weather and the vestiges of COVID still lurking, 636 people attended the exhibit. Many of the visitors took time to let us know that the photography was exceptional and very impressive. One person signed up on the spot for a MAPS membership, and others took literature with the intention of joining at some point. The beautiful raffle baskets brought in $739 this year and were very popular.
A highlight of the weekend for many MAPS members was the opportunity to see each other again in a social gathering. It was terrific to catch up, talk photography and enjoy each other’s company in person. There are many more chances to do that again, now that MAPS is back meeting at Thornhill at 7:00 pm on the second Monday of the month. Meetings will also continue virtually at least for the rest of this year.
Visitors expressed interest in purchasing over 10% of the artwork that was displayed this year and one member sold all three of his pieces. In addition, artists sold many cards, coasters, plaques and books. The bin art area was very busy, and attendees had a hard time choosing between the many pieces of matted artwork.
It takes a lot of people to make the annual exhibit happen. Many thanks to the amazing volunteers who donated their time to make this such a successful exhibit. A shout out goes to our webmasters who kept all the website details up to date and the wonderful Wednesday drop off crew whose efforts helped that process run so well. Other club members tirelessly sold raffle tickets, welcomed visitors at the front table, and efficiently put the Cudahy room and all the MAPS exhibit supplies safely back into their containers so that they would ready to use for the next exhibit. The experienced crew of exhibit assemblers/hangers did a superb job ensuring that every piece of art was exhibited perfectly. Many of the 24 volunteers performed multiple assignments on multiple days and their efforts are truly appreciated. Four beautiful flower arrangements were exhibited again this year by Arboretum volunteers, Emmy Lou John and E-Ling, whose work always adds beauty and artistry to our exhibit.
Finally, we also appreciate the efforts of the Arboretum staff and The Morton Arboretum’s MAPS liaison, Megan Dunning, for all the coordination work between multiple departments that she conducted for the exhibit.
If you have any comments about how we can make next year’s Annual Exhibit even better, or comments about this year’s exhibit, please contact Mary Mehl or Dulcey Lima with your feedback.
Respectfully submitted
Mary and Dulcey
CLICK HERE to see the photos in the 2022 Exhibit.
Forest Homes Exhibit (Spring through January 2023)
The folks at the Children’s Garden asked MAPS members to submit images that showed animals in their natural forest homes to be displayed in the Children’s Garden this spring. They had to make a very difficult decision as to which images best suited the “Forest Homes” theme as they only had room for five images. Those accepted are below. They were displayed in the Morton Arboretum’s Children’s Garden from Spring 2022 through January 2023.
Dulcey Lima – The Promise of Robins
Jim Rendant – On the Edge of the Woods
Jim Bodkin – Fuzzy Owlets and Mom
Kim Stines – The Monarch’s Summer
Chong Wu – The Frog Prince
Congratulations to those who had images selected! Thanks to all 20 artists that participated and submitted images for this exhibit.
Capturing Nature Photography Exhibit (January & February)
After months of preparation, the MAPS Capturing Nature Photography Exhibit opened January 22 and our members’ artwork looked magnificent in the Tall Grass Art Gallery.
The exhibit ran through Saturday, February 26, in the beautiful Gallery of the Tall Grass Arts Association, located at 367 Artists Walk, Park Forest, IL 60466. Some photos of opening day:
