featured artists - Karen A. Chase

Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark: Animals Near Extinction

January 15, 2024 By Karen A. Chase

This week we attended a Richmond Forum lecture with Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark project, in collaboration with National Geographic. As someone who cherishes the art of photography, I am inspired by Joel Sartore’s mission. He’s striving capture the essence of 15,000+ insects, creatures and animals near extinction. Why did Joel kick off this incredible project? View some of the photos below, and read on about the impact Joel hopes to make. 📸✨

What is the Photo Ark project?

Sartore initiated the Photo Ark project out of a deep concern for the accelerating loss of species around the world. Too many animals are near extinction. Witnessing the devastating impact of habitat destruction, climate change, and other human-induced threats on wildlife, he felt a compelling need to take action. The project started in 2005, aiming to photograph 15,000 species that are on the brink of extinction—those with the smallest numbers and/or protected in captivity. His goal is not merely to create a stunning visual archive but to raise awareness about the precarious state of these creatures—both great and small.

Joel Sartore’s photo of Kindu, a Schmidt’s red-tailed guenon (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti). Kindu was hand raised at the Houston Zoo. During bottle feedings, Kindu was given a surrogate stuffed animal that he still loves.

What do Joel Sartore’s Photos capture?

The captivating photos captured by Sartore span a wide array of species, from the tiniest of insects to the most majestic mammals (like this elephant and her baby). His lens doesn’t discriminate, encompassing the beauty and fragility of life in its myriad forms. Each image tells a story of a species fighting for survival, serving as a poignant reminder of our shared responsibility to protect the intricate web of life on Earth. On simple black or white backgrounds, the creature’s eyes are clear and vivid, and if possible, they’re looking directly into the camera. That kind of eye-contact resonates with us humans, and increases our empathy.

A federally endangered three-year-old cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) named Hasari at White Oak Conservation Center.

Why the Photo Ark images are important?

Through the Photo Ark, Joel Sartore hopes to evoke a sense of urgency and empathy among the global audience. By showcasing the incredible diversity of life facing extinction, he aims to kindle a collective commitment to conservation. Sartore’s believes awareness and education will inspire us to take action to safeguard these species and their habitats.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered hatchling green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

What you can do to help animals near extinction.

We can lend a hand to these awesome creatures, too. Joel’s friendly advice is to begin right in your backyard (or patio or front stoop). Instead of a lawn we douse in chemicals, Joel recommends planting native plants and grasses. It will reduce pollution of the waterways. And pollinators will have more food to thrive. Don’t have a yard? Pick one creature—insect, bird, buffalo—and give them the voice, funding, and support they need.

If you want to delve deeper into the magical world of the Photo Ark, hop on over to his website to run through the gallery of Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark. There, you can immerse yourself in the beauty and fragility of our planet’s incredible biodiversity.

Let’s be the superheroes these creatures need. Support conservation groups, volunteer for wildlife causes, or just spread the word. (Ahem, share this blog.) Let’s make sure that the Photo Ark isn’t just a gallery of memories. Let’s make it a call to action for a better, wilder world.

A brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) at the PanAmerican Conservation Association in Gamboa, Panama.

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Traveling Light for Food

October 3, 2019 By Karen A. Chase

Whenever I embark on a trip, like the one I’m about to take to Greece (more on that in another post), I look for tips on how to pack light but smart. Enter the traveler and author, Karen McCann, who recently traveled just for food! Don’t you love her for this idea alone? While she was just beginning her tour, she sent these notes along.

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A Guest Post by Author Karen McCann:

How to Pack for Four Months of Eating Mediterranean Comfort Food

“Four months on the road eating Mediterranean comfort food?” a friend asked, when she heard of my latest project as a travel writer: The Mediterranean Comfort Food Tour. “Do you expect to double your body weight?”

I certainly hope not. Many people assume that comfort food means a diet of French fries and ice cream, when in fact, a lot of the traditional recipes I’m exploring are actually quite healthy.

Starting the trip in Crete, I’ve been chowing down on fresh fish, artichokes, and snails. For the record, a portion of snails contains just 76 calories and one gram of fat, and when they’re cooked in olive oil and rosemary, they are spectacular. I can see why kohli bourbouristi has been a family favorite around here for generations.

Packing as a Semi-Minimalist

Packing for this trip, I followed my usual semi-minimalist approach. My luggage consists of one small roll-aboard suitcase and one shoulder purse, so I can get from town to town without much fuss.

A multi-pocket travel vest lets me keep my phone and wallet safely hidden away on my person, so I don’t have to be hyper-vigilant about my purse when I’m shooting video in a kitchen or sidewalk café.
Footwear (which fills up a suitcase fast) is just two pairs of good walking shoes, one of which is reasonably “nice” for doing interviews, plus slippers for downtime.
Trousers have to be comfy enough for sitting on a train or ferry for many hours. In my case, that means some stretch in the waist, which will come in handy if I do gain any weight along the way.
All clothes must be hand-washable, quick-drying, and wrinkle-resistant, so I can remove gravy stains from a shirt in the hotel sink after dinner and have it ready to wear the next day.
One iron-clad rule: if I want to buy anything, I have to throw away something of equal weight. It’s maddening not to be able to collect olive oil, recipe books, and local wines, but I’d have to ditch the laptop to do it, and that’s not going to happen.

Why Traveling Light Matters

Traveling light means more freedom and mobility on any journey. As travel guru Rick Steves observed, “You’ll never meet a traveler who, after five trips, brags ‘Every year I pack heavier.’” And that goes double for food writers.

It’s easy to resist shopping in the souvenir stalls and even local markets when you know you’re coming home with once-in-a-lifetime photos and videos, and the kind of mouthwatering recipes that will, I hope, put dishes like kohli bourbouristi on the world’s list of favorite comfort foods.

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Karen McCann is the author of three Amazon bestselling travel books and a popular travel blog. She and her husband embarked on a trip around the Mediterranean rim sampling traditional comfort food; yes, a book project is in the works. To learn more about their journey and details of how they packed for it, see her blog, Enjoy Living Abroad.

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For more information, and to download your passport, visit the Valentine History’s Museum’s Website. Or call 804-649-0711 for more information.

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For more history nerd posts like these, subscribe to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

Native American Storytellers

November 19, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

StorytellersFilmFest4_KarenAChase

November is National Native American History month. This past weekend was Richmond’s Native American Storytellers Film Festival, Pocahontas Reframed. As evidenced by the events and films showcased this weekend, the festival, “stems from a passion and desire for indigenous languages, cultures, and societies to thrive.”

Themes from the Storytellers Film Festival

From a film by Edward S. Curtis from 1914 that has been remastered, through shorts films, to full-length feature films––all focus was on sharing insights into the Indian experience (both past and present). A few themes stood out. A history shared is a history embraced. Storytelling is a human experience that we need to nurture, not suppress. All voices matter if we are to progress.

Enabling Authentic Storytelling

To help these themes become reality, it means empowering those who can tell their stories authentically. It means allowing room for other voices on the page, behind the camera, or at the microphone. It means providing funding. And education. Pamela Pierce, CEO of Silver Bullet Productions is doing all three. Her organization provides workshops for tribal students to teach them film-making, production, and storytelling. All the equipment––cameras, laptops, and more––are provided and then given to the students so they can then create using their voices.

As Adrian Baker states in his film INJUNUITY, “In a world searching for answers it is time we turned to Native wisdom for guidance.”

What Native wisdom or story guides you? Or do you seek more?

One of the dancers from the opening night social event.

Michael Horse, Emcee of the film festival. Artist, actor, and activist, he’s appeared in several films and television shows, including Twin Peaks, and the CBC Canadian series, North of 60.

The panel discussion that was part of the opening night, held at Richmond’s Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

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Two Words

August 15, 2014 By Karen A. Chase

There were a couple things that I was inspired to seek out in this life because of two legends.

Laughter: The ability to see the absurdity of life and laugh anyway.
Love: A connection with one other that was mesmerizingly ours.

Gratefully I found both.
Thank you and goodnight, Lauren and Robin.

RobinLaughs — Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images

Looking for Light

July 12, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

In an effort to get out of my writing chair, I recently began taking an impressionist painting course with local artist, Mark Hierholzer. Each week I have joined two friends, and I have stood before a canvas, trying to paint light. Not color. Not scenes. Not objects. Light.

The approach for this type of impressionist painting goes something like this: (see the images below)

Step one: look for light in terms of shapes. When you squint, where are the tones or shadows melding together? Paint those–just four to six shapes total.

Step two: now where is the next layer of light? Or the next division of light and shadow? The sides of the shrubs? In the grass or trees? Paint that.

Step three: (which also might happen four or five more times), add detail lighting. The blue path, the foreground trees. Always searching for what the light is doing. Where it is. Where it isn’t.

While my painting skills have a long way to go, I put the emphasis on the word light, because after each three hour class, what I end up feeling is light. All my hours of sitting and writing and worry slide away. We listen to classical music. Drink wine or coffee. Laugh. And we focus on the light. In life, I think I will choose to make this my focus, too. And so, painting leaves a great impression.

(Sorry, could not resist the pun. Nor could I resist the subject of my first landscape painting. These are the necessaries–outhouses–at the Wythe House in Williamsburg.)

Wythe_Privies1 — The original photo I took.

Step Four (through however many it takes): Add more lighting details in layer upon layer until done.

Bonjour 40 Korbella Giveaway

February 1, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

Imagine it. You could wear an actual piece of the Eiffel Tower! Korbella is my First Friday artist–a darling company that has lovingly crafted pieces of old Eiffel Tower stairway into gorgeous silver and vermeil charms.

BONJOUR 40 KORBELLA GIVEAWAY
Beginning today and running through February 8th, next Friday, Korbella is helping me give away a necklace to one lucky reader. Korbella’s Charmes de Paris necklace has a retail value of $525. This sterling silver necklace is hand-finished, with a heart-shaped Swarovski CZ drop, a charm in the shape of Paris’ famous landmark, and an actual piece from the original Eiffel Tower! And you can wear it while reading a free, signed copy of Bonjour 40.

How Korbella Created The Pieces
The line of stunning jewelry came into being after its founder, Paul Michael Bedell, and his wife, Janel, and their nine-year-old daughter, Samantha, traveled to Paris in 2011 and were inspired. Soon after, Paul acquired a section of the original spiral staircase that had been removed back in the 1980s, when it was cut into twenty-four elements, auctioned off, and scattered across the globe. Then, they went on to design the collection. (See below for pictures of Paul on the stairs, and the Eiffel Tower pieces.)

As the company says, Korbella’s Eiffel Tower Forever collection “draws inspiration from the strong architectural cues of the Tower… a nod to the Tower’s Art Nouveau roots—and its world-renowned latticework.” And part of the design is a rustic artifact from the spiral staircase.

I’m thrilled to bring you a chance to wear your own little piece of Paris, with love to all my readers. Enter to win here and have a sweet and charming Valentine’s Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 72 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email!

Dear Abby

January 18, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

Dear Abby,

I have a problem. Pauline Phillips who founded your column in 1956 has died. She was 94. She picked up a pen and began a job that spanned a lifetime. “It never occurred to me that I’d have any kind of career,” Mrs. Phillips told The Los Angeles Times in 1986. “But after I was married, I thought, ‘There has to be something more to life than mah-jongg.’ ”

Her sass, and her determination to help people see the good in situations and themselves, was inspiring. What’s the best way to honor her? Yes, I think a few of her best comments are the most fitting. Thanks for the words, Pauline.

KAC in Virginia.

If you’d like to read a full story about her, the New York Times did a great job. Let me know if any of you ever wrote her…

Dear Abby Quotes:

“You could move.” Her response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood.

“If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.”

“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.”

And a letter…

Dear Abby: I have always wanted to have my family history traced, but I can’t afford to spend a lot of money to do it. Have you any suggestions? — M.J.B. in Oakland, Calif.

Dear M.J.B.: Yes. Run for a public office.

First Friday: Caaalvin

January 4, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

It’s a First Friday. The first Friday of the month when I’m supposed to feature an artist. But as I’m writing this it’s 8:45 on Thursday night, and I’m already behind with no clue about what to do for my first post of the year. Did I procrastinate? Uhm… Maybe I put it off a little. “But I was having such a nice holiday,” she whined.

The first half was a whirlwind Manhattan day, then mostly Italian dinners and sitting in traffic, but the last half was sitting with friends, in movie theaters, over coffee, and having a lovely time taking a break.

So alas, I’m sitting here at the beginning of 2013 resolving to accomplish great things while I am falling behind (and yet hopefully giving off the appearance of being completely organized). I’m only four days in. Geesh. Good grief. Deep breath. Sigh…

Actually that’s my best resolution idea yet. Let’s all take a deep breath. No lofty unattainable goals. No distressing resolutions. Maybe just a deep breath and the willingness to give everyone, including myself, a break. A chance to begin anew (that includes you, too, Congress). A little change will do us all a little good, and that starts by taking a deep breath. Yes, Calvin, even you.

So here’s to you Bill Watterson, the creator of my favorite comic strip. My year begins with a big thank you to you as Calvin and Hobbes remind me to stretch, give a good tummy rub and breathe.

First Friday: Greg Osterhaus

October 5, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

barn.over.gold.36x48 — “Barn Over Gold” ~ A 36″ x 48″ original Greg Osterhaus oil painting.

I met Greg Osterhaus when he was a graphic designer, painting part-time in his basement next to the washer and dryer, while he and his wife raised three kids. That was thirteen years ago. Since then some things have changed.

He paints full-time now, and his work is in both corporate and private collections. He paints gorgeous, oil-based landscapes with brush strokes that capture the scenery, the grasses and even the wind so they feel like they’re moving on the canvas. He has found a niche painting incredibly soulful portraits of cows that make viewers long to own his pieces (and consider cattle as pets).

Many artists wait for the muse goddess to strike, but Greg is the first artist I’ve met who strictly schedules two to four solo exhibitions per year. Yet what seems to inspire him most is simply his own curiosity.

“For me, painting is about much more than the obvious subject matter. It is also an essay in color, in composition, a comparison of light versus dark, grays versus hues, soft and hard, yin and yang, this and that. So there’s always another corner to turn. It is my hope that this something extra will be enough to keep the eye and mind engaged for years to come.”

The result? Canvases that he hopes will keep the eye engaged, no matter how often they’re viewed, and regardless of the fact they still come from his studio in the basement next to the wash, fluff and fold.

To view more of his works, visit Osterhaus Art.

DSCF3080 — Greg in his basement space with a larger-than-life cow portrait.

greg osterhaus1 — Some artists need pot to keep them inspired. Greg took up pottery. For nine years he’s taken classes and grown in his ability to throw at the wheel.

First Friday: Niki Sebastino, Design Geek{ess}

September 7, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

I first met Niki over ten years ago while we were both at a small agency in Southwest Virginia. A designer and production artist, I recall her being two things: funny and curious. Ten years later, she’s not just a designer, but has also taught herself to become a programmer, and so she has shown me a fine example of someone who built a new life for herself.

She is about to begin a new job with a major corporation in their IT development department, and she has her own freelance web programming company, Design Geek{ess}. Although she developed herself in new ways, some things haven’t changed.

We have worked together on several projects, and those two traits I originally saw in Niki are better than ever. Her curiosity drove her to learn new skills, and it has allowed her to reach out for more information–either to online chat groups, other programmers, clients, or online resources–when the work requires it.

Her sense of humor, evident in any conversation, makes her really accessible and small hiccups in projects easily overcome. She is the first to admit she’s a total geek, and she plays with jquery, analytics, new plug-ins and widgets like a kid with a new puppy.

As the lead programmer on my new project, 224Pages, Niki quite frankly steals the show. The design might be mine, but it’s the magic of her programming that allows the site to read like a book.

Below is an image of Niki’s own site, self-programmed of course. Her “What?” section contains a portfolio of her great websites.