May has seeped into the streets of Ithaca once again. Tulips are in full bloom, the sweet aroma of flowering trees permeates the air, and the temperature is consistently above 50℉ (finally!). Inside the gallery, the art is reflective of this hopeful season with the new show “Wings, Petals, and Leaves”. Bright colors and extraordinary critters are explored in exquisite detail in this one of a kind trio show, on view from May 5-29th. 

The digital artist and photographer of the group, Margy Nelson has been persuading Carla Elizabeth DeMello to join her as a guest in the gallery for years. The two women are a part of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, and have crossed paths many times through different art openings and Guild events. They joined Diana Ozolins for this springtime show and found an effortless theme amongst their collective subject of choice- nature. 

Margy, a former research scientist, has been studying insects for much of her adult life. A few years ago, she was photographing the goldenrod plants growing alongside her driveway when she realized how many insects were living on them. In the words of her husband, she became obsessed with the goldenrod, taking more and more pictures, delving further and further into the incredible and complex world that buzzes around this essential plant. She would take pictures of the creatures she saw, then use different online guide websites and Ithaca colleagues and friends to help identify the insects. A distinct challenge in creating this series was allowing her artistic influences to take over, and turning off the scientific side of her brain that requires every image to be scienfically accurate. The graphic designs currently on view are the result of a four year long goldenrod fueled exploration.

Carla’s chosen medium has always been sculpture. Previously a potter, she transitioned to working with paper when she no longer had the specialized equipment to work with clay. She has found paper to be infinitely shapeable and wonderful to work with, and the possibilities for color and texture are limitless. She has been honing this art form for the last 30+ years, and this is the biggest show she’s done yet. Many pieces are from her private collection, pieces she has sold or gifted and borrowed to display, or made specifically for the show. Like Margy, Carla is interested in the little creatures that are often unnoticed by passers by. Birds, fish, insects, and most recently snails are her primary subjects.

Diana, on the other hand, feels that she started observing nature later on in life. She was 18 when she remembers it first piquing her interest, though Margy reminds her of her childhood in New York City observing the ants on the fire escape, cockroaches on the bannister (though luckily not inside her apartment), and flower pot gardens on the roof of her building. Even in a city not particularly known for its wildlife, Diana still found herself connected to nature. An oil painter, she sets up her easel outdoors and paints the beautiful landscapes and sunlight she finds. Often with the aid of a bug net and sunblock while outdoors, she adds additional detail and finishing touches in her studio. 

Describing the way she paints, Diana explains how she works in multiple layers, sometimes scraping back down to the shadows of the first rough sketch before finally getting things to look just how she sees them in her mind. Carla and Margy relate to these parts of Diana’s process, as they both work in layers as well. Often, Carla will decide that a sculptural element isn’t quite working, and she’ll find herself cutting and recutting paper to create a multitude of complex designs that coalesce into one seamless piece. Margy loves the ease of working in layers on a computer, allowing her to save different versions of images and come back to them at later times. She has a giant folder of Adobe Illustrator files from her goldenrod series, as she saves every step of her thought process.

Upon hanging the show, Diana suggested that the art be hung all together, as opposed to separating it by artist. This creates an effortless flow through the Gallery. The different mediums complement each other gracefully, and are married by both color and theme. There is an almost accidental Ithaca motif moving throughout the collection. Diana paints landscapes of the surrounding Ithaca area, Margy’s insects are local to Ithaca goldenrod, and some of Carla’s creatures, such as the ladybug and great blue heron, are native to the area as well. Paired with in depth descriptions, viewers can learn more about the mimicry in the insect community, the history of land use in Ithaca, and literary allusions to the connection between humans and nature.

Carla’s views “Wings, Petals, and Leaves” as an invitation to come closer and look at nature with a different eye. Notice what is easily overlooked, and think about your place in the world. Diana wants people to know that there are really beautiful settings all around us, and many things we can do as individuals to give back to the land that gives so much to us. In Ithaca, we are fortunate to have many land trusts and organizations, such as the Cayuga Bird Club, that work to keep these places preserved. It is also thanks to the generosity of people such as Robert J. Treman and Roy H. Park that many of our gorges are protected, and this generosity is ever present in our community today. Margy hopes visitors will leave this show and look more closely at what’s around them, realizing how beautiful and complex the natural world really is. Diana concludes by sharing her vision of people going out with a lighter heart than they came in with. After talking with these three extraordinary women, I feel immensely lighter myself. And ready for a hike.