LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1221978
48 Spring 2020 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Once again the Adirondacks offer in- spiration. Saratoga award-winning artist and instructor Takeyce Walter spent the month of Februar y creating a beautiful painting each day. The project is called Creative Februar y and began in 2014 when Takeyce made the decision to give herself the gift of time to create art ev- er y day during her birthday month. Walter recently joined the board at The Nature Conser vancy's (TNC) Adiron- dack Chapter. Through this she started to learn more about the land TNC has worked to protect and to see these ar- eas through an artist's palette and an ecological standpoint. The connection between these beautiful tracks of land and art were a natural progression for Takeyce. She met with Peg Olsen, direc- tor The Conser vancy's Adirondack Chap- ter, and discussed the idea of using her Creative Februar y project to help tell the stor y of conser vation in the Adiron- dacks. She would paint a different piece of preser ved land each day to help high- light the important and impactful work of TNC . "I'm just in awe of this landscape that's been around for millennia," she said. "I paint it because I want to share that reverence with others. I want them to realize we're the stewards of this. We need to take care of it. And we need to have our children and their children be able to come and experience this." The Nature Conser vancy is delight- ed to have Walter's creative project bring an artistic kind of awareness to their work. "All our work is guided by facts and data—whether we're guard- ing against invasive species on land and water, working to reduce flood risk in communities by improving road-stream crossings, or by using conser vation tools to ensure wildlife can move freely as cli- mate change alters habitats," said Olsen. "Telling our stor y through art makes an equally strong case for why these places need to be protected. They're beautiful and irreplaceable, and deser ve all the at- tention we can give, and we're so thank- ful for Takeyce's work using art to show- case the importance of conser vation." To enjoy the 29 different paintings, you can visit www.takeyceart.com as well as her Instagram account, @takeycewalter