continued from page 9
depicting different aspects of
its life cycle, like if it has some
flowers or fruit.” She enjoys
the challenge of keeping
plants alive on paper and sells
prints of her work, saying, “I
hope it entices people to look
more closely. Plants are so
amazing.”
interested me most was doing
the landscape.” The idea of
creating the ideal combina-
tion of period plants from the
1890s with the modern muse-
um realities of safe walkways,
bathrooms and so on is what
inspired her to go back to
school in her 40s to study
landscape architecture.
She creates her designs in
identification. It’s nice to have
an illustration that shows how
the plant forms relate to each
other. Sometimes a sketch can
show that even better than a
photo.”
She has drawn plans for
apartment complexes, historic
house museums, a park and
private homes. Recently, she
got to choose, design and cre-
Alpine Community
Credit Union
Credit union members are not our customers,
you are the owners of the Credit Union.
We’re locally owned by our members,
who must live or work in Alpine.
We know you. We know your needs.
111 N 2nd Street • Alpine
432.837.5156
o
C HIHUAHUAN D ESERT N ATURE C ENTER
& B OTANICAL G ARDENS
o
Monday–Saturday Come experience the natural
open nine to five diversity of the desert region.
Beth Francell, Concepts for the Heard Museum
This spring, we’re offering these programs and more!
o A lecture entitled “Land Ethic Country”
given by Richard C. Bartlett
o Our 24 th Annual Native Plant Sale
o Hummingbird Banding Demonstrations
o “The Dunes at Night” Field Trip to Monahans
Sandhills State Park
o 2009’s Critter Club for Preschoolers
o A Native Bee Identification Workshop
o Butterfly & Bird Counts
o
o
432-364-2499/www.cdri.org
P.O. Box 905, Fort Davis, TX 79734
(4 mi. south, HWY 118)
24
C HIHUAHUAN D ESERT R ESEARCH I NSTITUTE
D ISCOVER THE DESERT !
Cenizo
C OMMUNICATING
THROUGH N ATURE
Beth Francell, a landscape
designer for 20 years, has
spent the last 12 in Fort Davis
running
her
company,
Rebloom Designs. Her moth-
er grew up in Fort Davis, and
Beth says that she “spent
every summer here, and that’s
how I grew to know and love
the area and plants.” She
worked for 10 years in Plano
at a living-history farm and
admits that “the part that
Second Quarter 2009
pencil and colored pencil. She
explains that the type of illus-
tration she does focuses on
“quickly trying to show some-
one how a grouping of plants
would look or how things
would look against their
home. I’m trying to commu-
nicate a design.” This means
less time with the microscope
and more time envisioning
how multiple types of plants
will complement each other
and the surrounding area.
“I’m illustrating a plan rather
than illustrating a plant for
ate the artificial plants for the
permanent exhibits at the
Museum of the Big Bend in
Alpine.
As with all the illustrators,
she continues to explore
the Big Bend. “It’s end-
lessly fascinating. I could
study native plants for
the rest of my life
and never be
bored and find
something new
and exciting every
year.”