Sharon K Schafer began her Art of Nature project in 2006 in a personal effort to connect the visitors to and residents of southern Nevada to the beauty and diversity of the region’s wilderness and wildland areas. Having worked throughout the region as a wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Land Management she was very aware the region was not a desert “wasteland” but rather a place of diverse landscapes and abundant life.

It has always been, and will always be, a part of Schafer’s journey as an artist to help people connect to the natural world, through her fine art images.

"When one is shown the beauty of an area, they develop an attraction to it at a wordless, purely emotional level. With that deep connection comes a realization of the value of the wildands and a recognition of our place within them. This understanding is a vital part of natural resource conservation."
----Sharon K. Schafer

 

To educate people about the value and beauty of the region Schafer created a series of fine art paintings, sketches, and photographs inspired from her time spent in 9 wilderness areas of Southern Nevada. The subsequent traveling museum exhibit, The Art of Nature: Images from the Wildlands of Southern Nevada, was developed in cooperation with the Nevada State Museum. Her images were combined with interpretive information to create a beautiful yet educational blend of fine art and natural history celebrating the life and landscapes of the region. Nine of the painting for this project have received critical acclaim and have been juried into international shows for wildlife art and illustration. The museum exhibit has traveled to numerous venues and viewed by over 200,000 people.

Schafer has also shares her photos, sketches, fine art, and stories in an entertaining Multimedia Program designed to open eyes and hearts to the regions magnificent wildlands. The multimedia program has been presented to over 5,000 people.

In 2010 Schafer was awarded a contract by the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership, (SNAP), a federal cooperative partnership in southern Nevada between US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service.

With SNAP she continues her wilderness outreach efforts by taking her presentation into the schools and to numerous community groups. Schafer worked with the UNLV Public Lands Institute and the SNAP Wilderness and Education teams to develop curriculum-based educational extensions for the schools as a follow up for her Art of Nature multimedia presentation.

Exhibit Venues
Multimedia Presentation Venues
Fine Art Awards

 

 

 

 

 

All Text and Images © 2011 S.K. Schafer. All rights reserved.