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Sami's Art has evolved from many years of varied experiences and experimentation in different forms of art.

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Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly

crocus_4165This week we have gone from temperatures in the 30s to the 60s and my poor little crocuses are blooming with snow coming in the next few days. But it made me think of spring and I remembered my photos of monarch butterflies in Maine. The shots were actually in the Fall, but the daisies were still blooming in the warm sunshine.

Butterflies on the coast of Maine getting ready to migrate south.

According to the Waterblog of the National Aquarium, the Monarch Butterflies inherently knows how, when and where to migrate across continents. On this beautiful day on the coast of Maine there were hundreds of butterflies. They were everywhere getting ready to migrate south.

About 60 million to 1 billion  migrate from eastern North America to the Sierra Madre Mountains of central Mexico. These remarkable butterflies sometimes fly about 80 miles a day, spreading out their journey across two months.

Unfortunately, in the last 20 years, the Monarch butterfly populSolo monarch butterfly_5017ation has dropped by 90%. Part of the problem lies in the lack of milkweed. A perennial flowering plant, milkweed is critical to the butterflies’ survival. It provides nectar along the migration route and is the only plant on which these insects can lay their eggs. It is quickly disappearing from the Midwest as farmers cultivate more land for agricultural use. We can help by planting milkweed in our gardens. I got milkweed balls last fall from Amazon, Common Milkweed Seed Balls for Fall Planting Updated Fall 2015 Recipe (Asclepias syriaca) (50)   I also got Milkweed Seed Packet Assortment (6 Individual Seed Packets) Non-GMO Seeds by Seed Needs     As we get warm days, I look forward butterflybreakoutto helping these beautiful butterflies and enjoying them in my garden.  I hope you enjoy.  Safe journeys until we meet next week.

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I reside in Northeast Ohio after traveling from coast to coast and living in both rural and metropolitan areas from Los Angeles to New York and of course the Midwest. I am a third generation artist and have been painting since the early 1960s. I have always cared deeply about animals, both domestic and wild, and the preservation of endangered species, has always been a concern as well. Most recently, I was involved in animal rescue work, finding homes for over 11,000 dogs and cats over the previous 12 years. It's only natural then, that I am drawn to animals and nature for my art subjects. I have also explored the metaphysical including creative imagination, Reiki, crystal healing, tai chi, feng shui and yoga and feel they add depth to my art as well. By creating an emotional connection for the viewer I hope my artwork will create concern and compassion for our natural world and its wild inhabitants, and help stimulate conservation efforts. My love of historic buildings and their conservation led me to doing the house portraits and my architectural works
Website: https://www.samisart.com