Artists of the Season: Spring 2005
JEAN LITERATEEdison Arts Society is pleased to honor fine artist Jean Literate as Spring 2005 "Artist of the Season". Jean has been an active fundraiser and supporter of EAS, seeking out and securing new sponsors for our growing "Gardens of the Garden State" Art and Photography Exhibit at Menlo Park Mall. She has also extensively promoted our Edison Symphony Orchestra, is a volunteer on our "Gardens" committee, and has had her artwork juried two years in a row and on display in our "Gardens" exhibit. Jean is a graduate of Woodbridge High School and a resident of Iselin, NJ. She graduated from F.I.T. where she majored in Fashion Buying and Merchandising. She was a department manager for Ohrbach's in Newark. Cartoons for a company newsletter, calligraphy, and publicity materials for local organizations have been some of her many activities. Along with art classes at F.I.T., she studied oil painting with Eleanor Baginski and Dayahn Klee. Through the Edison Arts Society, she has taken realistic drawing and watercolors classes with Ray Skibinski and botanical watercolors with Linda Trella. Jean's first juried exhibit was with the Edison Arts Society's "Gardens of the Garden State" in the Center Court of Menlo Park Mall, April 2004. She also exhibited her works at the Metuchen YMCA Art Show and the Barron Art Center Evergreen Senior Exhibit. Her photograph of daylilies was one of the "Most Inspirational Photos" for the 2005 Gardens Exhibit.
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ROBIN A. JESSBorn in the farmlands of southern New Jersey, Robin A. Jess has always enjoyed studying and growing plants. As a child, her birthday plans often included a visit to Longwood Gardens. Robin always loved to draw, so it was only natural that eventually those two interests would be combined. At the University of Delaware, Robin took a course in botany that influenced the rest of her life. She majored in Art and minored in Botany. After graduating, she began to do freelance illustration work for the New York Botanical Garden, first for Dr. Noel Holmgren and then for 15 years, primarily for Dr. Arthur Cronquist until his death. Robin was a collaborator on the award-winning book Illustrated Companion to Gleason & Cronquist's Manual. Robin also received a Master's in Fine Art degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Robin has received two fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, including 1990's Distinguished Artist Fellowship. With funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Robin produced forty illustrations of flora of her beloved New Jersey Pine Barrens. That exhibition toured most of the major museums in New Jersey. She also designed the Pine Barrens auto license plate. Robin developed the Botanical Illustration Certificate program at NYBG, and still occasionally teaches there. She conducts workshops and gives lectures throughout New Jersey, including Duke Farms, Somerset Art Association, and the Rutgers Gardens. In addition to being a botanical artist, Robin has held several administrative positions in the art field. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the American Society of Botanical Artists, based in New York City. Prints available for purchase at www.RobinAJessBotanicalArt.com
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