Vera draws life from nature. Her drawings, watercolors, and cut paper creations, featuring native plants, animals, habitats and ecosystems, reflect her interests, background and education in biology (Swarthmore College, PA) as well as art (University of Minnesota).
As a natural science illustrator, she collaborates with writers or editors to show biological diversity, relationships or processes of native plants, animals and fungi. As an artist, she strives to bring wildness into galleries, and reveal under-recognized natural wonders through intriguing 2- and 3-dimensional forms and images. As an educator, she combines art techniques with biological exploration to help students both discover and express their own insights. In all her realms of endeavor, Vera aims to illuminate the intrinsic value and ecological importance of native species; to incite curiosity in viewers and participants; and to inspire them to explore and respect nature wherever they are.
Vera’s illustrations appear in numerous books and magazines, including Minnesota’s Endangered Flora & Fauna; North Woods Wildlife: A Watcher’s Guide to Habitats; Orchids of Minnesota, North Shore, Minnesota’s Superior Coast; and Minnesota DNR’s Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Magazine.
Vera exhibits primarily with Project Art for Nature, a consortium of artists committed to inspiring conservation of nature through art, which she founded in 2001 and continues to lead. She is also a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators; the artists’ group What We Need Is Here; and the Guild of American Papercutters. Her work at Cedar Creek has focused primarily on watercolor sketches of our bogs and swamps, highlighting the plants, animals, landscapes and perspectives these complex areas contain.
