I fell in love with the work of Gene Bauer through a recent article in the LA Times. I'm a sucker for fine prints and I love the beautiful yet authentic imagery.
"Botanical Serigraphs: The Gene Bauer Collection."
Bauer started making her botanical serigraphs in 1972, when she became the native flora chairwoman of California Garden Clubs Inc. She was the first person to hold this position, and her main job was to help educate other members of the club about the native plants of California.
A normal person might have simply sent an occasional letter or postcard to leaders of the 26 districts in the club, just as a normal person might plant three dozen daffodils behind her house instead of hundreds of thousands.
Bauer skipped postcards and created a series of monthly booklets, each dedicated to one flower that inspired her during trips to arboretums and botanical gardens around the state. When she came across a plant that caught her eye, she would draw a picture of it with colored pencils, then she hand-screened that image onto thick cover stock. She screened another depiction of the plant on tissue paper, and a simpler drawing — often just a leaf detail — went on an oversized envelope. The serigraphs were steeped in '70s colors but still have a graphic freshness 40 years later.
LA Times
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