Carolyn Rutgers Clark brings nature to art in watercolor, drawing, and fabric collage. We don’t often get to see such birds and butterflies, such mammals prickly and smooth, in the course of a typical day.

This artist, however, knows the critters who share our planet from experience – as a teacher and environmental educator, in her work with nature centers and museums, as a preschool director who can walk through the forest at night and navigate a kayak through the shoals of a barrier island.

Once a year, she sends out a very special holiday card, each one reflecting love, awareness, and hope for a more joyous and peaceful world. Here’s the good word from Ms. Clark:

“These pictures are from a series of Christmas cards that I have been making for the past twenty-five years. They have become a special part of my celebration, and I wait each year for inspiration to get them completed in time.

“I usually make about eighty of them, and while the main drawing is photocopied, each card is embellished … a touch of watercolor, fabric, a ribbon or feather. The inside message always reflects the sentiment of the picture in some way, and sometimes I have dedicated a card to special people in my life.

“It’s amazing how personal they have become and how many friends and family have kept every one they have received! Now, I really need to get started on this year’s card.”

In the meanwhile, I am very happy to introduce Ms. Clark’s whimsical, elegant, astonishing creatures to Guest Spot. In order of their appearance: Hairstreak Butterfly, European Hedgehog, American Avocet, Saw-Whet Owl, Dragonfly, Chickadee, White-Tailed Deer, Yellow-Throated Flicker, and the Egret (at sunrise).

The artwork in this post is by Carolyn Rutgers Clark © 2011