Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center

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Integrating the Arts and Natural Sciences

Community Projects

Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center has a it’s mission is to continue offering this diverse and beautiful ecological site for emerging and established practitioners in the arts and natural sciences, also to educate and inspire the surrounding communities in this rural area of the value, complexity, joy and importance of the residencies in the Arts as a resource for them and their families. Mariposa Sentner, above, speaks to a small group of invited community members, in the working studio of her collage inspiration from a friend, “Singing the Land” at Willowtail.

Crystal Hartman, left, at speaks to Veryl Goodnight, at a large gathering of over 150 people from the surrounding community visiting Willowtail at a summer open house. Five residents working, demonstrating and selling work to benefit the residencies were part of this celebration. Crystal, a well known expert of lost wax casting, spent two weeks observing the wild bees in the Willowtail forest. The result was a series of exquisite 25′ scrolls of these gorgeous, amazing and endangered creatures in their unusually wild habitat. Several natural science experts and a professor from the college were fascinated with her project and with the existence of the wild bee trees.

Elizabeth Ferrill, head of both Printmaking and Painting at Anderson Ranch in Colorado, demonstrates her work to one of the smaller community groups. The subject depicts the border crossing between Mexico and Arizona. Her grasp and skill of pochoir printmaking plus her own intelligent sensitivity and subtle handling of the medium, with brings new conversation, even new understanding, to an obviously controversial political issue.