Wes & Rachelle Siegrist

"Tiny Treasures of the Natural World"

Monthly Newsletters

PAINTINGS: African Birds Birds of Prey Butterflies Florals Gamebirds Landscapes Mammals Portraits Reptiles Songbirds Reproductions HIGHLIGHTS: Biography Exhibits Statements Resumes Galleries Publications Newsletters Information about Miniatures Awards and Honors Framed Samples Sitemap: Many Surprises! CONTACT: Order Testimonials from Collectors Email us! - siegrist@artofwildlife.com
	Wes with our dear friends Steve and Dianne Hulen of Sebring, FL. Steve and Dianne purchased one of Rachelle's very first watercolors to start their collection of our work. It was so much fun reminiscing with them about Florida and Tennessee (they had both attended Maryville College near our present home). We also really enjoyed searching for wildflowers with them on the trails and finding a ramp and a Yellow Lady Slipper was icing on the cake!
	News: * We each received several awards at shows this past month and have been juried into several new exhibitions including Birds in Art 2006 and The Society of Animal Artist's Annual Exhibition. (See the awards and exhibits pages for more details) * We'll be attending the 5th Annual Susan K. Black Foundation's Workshop and Conference in Dubois, WY this month. Wes will be demonstrating our miniature painting techniques to the artists and guests in attendance. The Miniature Artists of America traveling exhibition will also be on display during the week (16-21) and we'll have at least two other miniatures on display for public view.
	Wes feeds Baby Blues another mealworm. He sometimes ate directly from our hands but mostly we fed him from a distance with a pole or stick once we released him.	Rachelle's in heaven again taking care of another precious critter.
	Interesting Updates: * On the easels: Rachelle is currently working on a cowboy portrait to take to Wyoming and Wes is adding the finishing touches to a butterfly. Since we'll be entertaining company and out having fun in Wyoming it will be a couple of weeks before new work is posted to the website.
	Thanks to hiking with a friend with a camera here's a shot of Wes photographing his all time favorite critter "cutiemus maximus" with the mountains of North Carolina in the background.
	Our Adventures: * We're still entertaining company and guests and having the time of our lives with everyone! Rachelle's family will be staying with us the first week of this month. * Some of our fun activities: We've been on several hikes with friends this past month but the highlight was a new hike for us: "Charlies Bunion" along the Appalachian Trail. We opted to go down to the "jump off", a sheer drop with an amazing view,(see photo), rather than heading out all the way to the Bunion. Guess we spent too much time enjoying our incredible picnic with a view of the North Carolina Mountains!
	Critter Encounters: * Yard Bird List: 90 species. * Sadly our daddy Bluebird disappeared this past month. Mommy faithfully continued to feed the four babies with us running her out more mealworms at every opportunity. We even helped her feed hungry mouths hanging out the box opening while she was away for extended periods. Regretfully she was stretched too thin and never returned for the runt of the brood after she took off feeding the first three fledglings. We finally decided late one afternoon to bring the poor little guy into the house and see if we could keep him alive and be able to set him free. We should state that there are no songbird rehabilitators anywhere near us and we've had plenty of experience raising baby birds as pets. Baby Blues, our affectionate name for the little guy, lived with us for over a week mostly on our screen porch before we let him free. He returned for more mealworms several times over the following days while he explored the neighbors yards. It felt good knowing we'd managed to help him start his adventure in life. * Our Cardinals have also fledged and the male often shared the mealworm feeder with the female bluebird. He's still begging at the studio window for handouts! * As you can see from the photo our rabbits also entertained us with a bunny boxing match one morning. We now have several rabbits in the yard and the chipmunks seem to be under every log.
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