Smokies Wildlife

I saw many elk in Smoky Mountain National Park last week, and because they had little fear of humans I got to see them up very close. Here is a sampling of other creatures I saw on my hikes and drives.

Some sort of golden bee



A mama wild turkey and her 8 babies


A very big Daddy Long Leg

The squirrels didn't fear people, either. This one hangs out at the Alum Caves Bluff Overlook.

Saw this huge beetle in the parking lot of a nearby gas station. 

Best of show: this massive elk only a few feet away when I was hiking. I was not supposed to be this close, according to the rangers, so I scooted (after taking a bunch of photos.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creek Village Painting

Image
"Italwas"   48" x 60"  2009 I painted this image of a Creek Indian Village as a commission for a collector. He lived on a hill above a bend in a creek where a Creek Village reportedly existed long ago, and he wanted a historically accurate representation of what the village might have looked like from his house. His home is near Talladega, Alabama.  I did months of research. With the help of the now late Miriam Fowler who worked at the Birmingham Museum of Art, I pulled together the image with references to the customs, culture, and village layout. I also used as a reference "Bartram's Travels" written by William Bartram, a detailed description of encounters with Native Americans in 1791. It is one of the very few bits of info about the lives of the Creeks back then. (As noted in Wikipedia, the original title to Bartram's book is:  Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive...
Read more

Featured Artist at the ALCC: Chris Gryder

Image
The Alabama Clay Conference , to be held in February, 2012 in Birmingham (and hosted by my husband, ceramic artist Scott Bennett) will feature three well-known ceramic artists who will give all-day demonstrations and exhibit their work.  Here is the work of Chris Gryder, one of the featured artists. I've included an article below about his work, a piece I wrote for Ceramics Monthly magazine, November 2006. I'll blog about the other two artists in the next couple days.  Negative Impact The Work of Chris Gryder Chris Gryder began his exploration of art by studying architecture. A sincere and dedicated commitment to the subject led to his acquaintance with artists, methods, and concepts that later became the inspiration for his work in sculpture and clay. From the visionary designs of Antonio Gaudi and the philosophy of Louis Sullivan to experimental work in mold-making for architectural pieces, Gryder pieced together a singular aesthetic...
Read more