2007 flyway journeys wildlife art camp
fellowship took flight

Two selected students were given a week long opportunity to study wildlife and art in Canada, courtesy of California Waterfowl (CWA) and Delta Waterfowl Foundation. 

The fellows were awed as they arrived at the Delta Marsh Field Station in Manitoba.  “The station was beautiful and comfortable,” said Sophia Han.  “It was a great first time experience living so close to nature.”  With 50,000 acres of wetlands, the station provided the perfect location to be immersed with wildlife and to create art.

The Flyways Journeys Wildlife Art Fellowship was initiated in 2003 by CWA to expose a high school Junior Duck Stamp winner and a college student to a broader perspective of conservation and hands-on experiences in wildlife artistry.  “Through the program, CWA hopes to inspire youth to conserve our natural resources and express its beauty through art to inspire others to conserve,” explained Jennifer Tolman, CWA education coordinator.

High school student Sophia Han from San Jose, who placed first in the 2007 Junior Duck Stamp competition, and college student Jaclyn Lazier of Sacramento, who will graduate in December 2007 with a BS in Biological Science from Sacramento State University, were this year’s Flyways Journeys Wildlife Art Fellowship recipients. 

The students were instructed by professional artist and wildlife biologist Jim Rataczak.  Jim introduced the fellows to materials and techniques for field sketching, and taught an old method for improving their knowledge of bird anatomy and topography…sketching dead birds!  This technique assisted the students in producing a more accurate portrayal of their wildlife subjects. 

Jim also worked with Sophia and Jaclyn in evaluating their portfolios and future career plans.  Jaclyn was especially impressed with Jim’s expertise, “It is really inspirational to find out my two passions, wildlife and art, can offer a career that I can enjoy.”  All of Jim’s free time was dedicated to working with the fellows first-hand in the wetlands and fine-tuning their observational skills to express what they see on paper.  

Additional perspectives and approaches to wildlife art were learned during a day spent with world renowned artist Peter Ward and decoy carver Russell Ward.  A personal tour of Peter's studio along with good advice for creating wildlife art offered a peek inside the professional world of art.  Much like Jim, Peter encouraged the fellows to draw from life.  “I can always tell when a piece of art is drawn straight from a photograph.  It losses all life and looks, well, like a photograph.”

In the midst of all the artwork being produced, the fellows found time to take a trip up to Riding Mountain National Park and to attend a barbecue at the Minnedosa Delta Field Station.  At the barbecue, the fellows were greeted by several friendly locals who were very interested in their artwork.  This was the perfect opportunity for the fellows to show off their newly acquired skills and all of their hard work.

With the sun setting after 10:00 pm, many late nights were spent on the porch overlooking the wetland, sketching and painting or observing wildlife from a canoe on beautiful Lake Manitoba.  “It is beautiful in Canada.  I think [the Flyways Journeys Wildlife Art Fellowship] is a wonderful program, and Canada is the perfect place to learn about wildlife, conduct research, and produce art,” said Jaclyn.

This unique opportunity is available to two students each year.  For application information on CWA’s Flyways Journeys Wildlife Art Fellowship, please visit www.caljrduckstamp.org or contact cwaeducation@calwaterfowl.org, (916) 648-1406.