Week of August 1, 2005
Aussie Jane Davenport brings
International exhibit to Put-in-Bay's new Butterfly House
She bills herself as the world’s only “artomologist” and her passion
for photography and the environment are truely matchless.
Australian photographer Jane Davenport will spend a full week, July 28
through August 4, at the Butterfly House at Put-in-Bay with her
showcase photo exhibit, The Ladybird Chronicles.
Australian “lady birds” is the equivalent to
America’s lady
bugs.
This outdoor photo exhibit of 30 large-scale color photographs depict
Davenport’s “garden fairies” the beetles, bugs and butterflies that
live and play all around us.
“My work invites people to stop and smell the roses and to look for the
magic that lives in their own backyard,” Davenport said.
The Ladybird Chronicles
is currently on an international tour through 2006. The exhibit –
which was conceived at the Wollongong Botanical Gardens in Australia in
2003 during Davenport’s year as its inaugural Artist in Residence --
travels to butterfly houses, botanical gardens and zoos across the
world.
During her residency she created more than 3,000 images from the garden
and from that body of work Davenport
crafted The Ladybird Chronicles. The multi-talented artist
also wrote a book by the same name to accompany the exhibit.
“I
want people to come away from enjoying my work and charge down to
the nearest nursery to stock up on wonderful plants to create homes
for the menagerie of creatures waiting to be invited into their
gardens,” Davenport said.
Davenport’s
mission to inspire more people – especially young children – to garden and
to live environmentally friendly lives has touched more than 500,000
Australians who have viewed the exhibit.
The exhibits popularity earned Davenport an
invitation to speak at the World Botanical Gardens Congress in
Barcelona.
There she received an invitation from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in
Austin, TX and the international tour was underway.
“I have always wanted to do a road trip across America,” said Davenport,
“and what a better way than with the Ladybirds.”
Davenport
is touring in a motor home and will camp at the
South Bass
Island
State Park
during her stay on the island.
“We believe this exhibit is important and will be a nice addition to the
Butterfly House,” said Dianne Duggan, owner of Perry’s
Cave and the Put-in-Bay Butterfly House.
The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at the Butterfly
House during its seven day visit. Admission is $2 for
adults and $1 for children ages 4 to 12. Children age 3
and under are admitted free.
One hundred percent of the admission fee will be given to The American
Cancer Society. Duggan’s father is battling cancer.
Davenport’s
photography career began after her mother – Australian
fashion icon Liz Davenport – visited her daughter in
England
several years ago. Davenport’s mother purchased a new
camera and too many shoes during her visit. There wasn’t
room for both in her luggage and so she left the camera
in London for her daughter to return on a future visit
home.
Davenport’s
website,
www.janedavenport.com
says that
Davenport
took the camera and bluffed her way into a fashion show
in
London.
She wanted to experience whether or not the models were
as beautiful in person as they were in their glossy
photographs. She discovered she loved photography.
Following her mother’s lead in fashion, Davenport developed her own
clothing line 12 years ago and was photographing a
bouquet of flowers she had received for her birthday for
a fabric design when a “ladybird” landed on one of the
petals. The resulting image re-ignited
Davenport’s
childhood fascination with insects and her life as an
“artomologist” began.
Davenport
has won many awards for her images and has been featured
on Australian television and in magazines, including
Burke’s Backyard in which she has a monthly page called
“Sects in the City.”
Jane Davenport's Website
Perry's Cave Website
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