WILDFLOWER WALKABOUT Feb 2012
Wildflower Walkabout, B & G Club Rawlins, K-8 kids, Kathy Neuman, Shayann Keisel, Kylie Craig, Mark Rachuleta, 2/12, 8'x16', Rawlins DDA/Main Street Mural.
Inspired by the Australian Aboriginal tradition of topographical land dot map paintings, this painting represents a topo map of the Rawlins Wyoming region. It spans approx. 100 x 60 miles, west from Red Desert and Rawlins uplift to the Medicine Bow Range in the east, south to Saratoga, and north to Seminoe Reservoir and the Ferris Mountains.
The map painting features Wyoming native wildflowers that may be seen in those regions. American Indians and Mountain Men used many of these flowers for food and medicine. Wildflower Wyoming teaches us about these plants and respect and feeling for our beautiful Wyoming land.
The featured wildflowers from L to R
1/ Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia polyacantha)
2/ Tansy Aster (Machaeranthera bigelovii)
3/ Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum)
4/ Skyrocket/Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)
5/ Evening Primrose (Oenthera cespitosa)
6/ Blowout Penstemon (Penstemon haydenii)
7/ Blue Flax (Linum lewisii)
8/ Nuttall's Violet (Viola nuttallii)
9/ Wild Rose (rosa woodsii)
10/ Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva)
11/Trillium (Trillium ovatum)
12/ Bush Sunflower (Helianthus pumilus) or Little Sunflower (Helianthella uniflora)
13/ Blue Columbine (Aquilegia coerula)
14/ Mariposa Sago Lily (Calochortus nuttallii)
15/ Wyoming Paintbrush ( Castilleja linarifolia)
16/ Nuttall's Violet (Viola nuttallii)
This 8x16 foot mural was designed by Wyoming based Australian artist-in-residence Paul Taylor. It was produced by Kathy Neuman and the Rawlins Boy’s & Girl’s Club in partnership with Pam Thayer and the Rawlins Downtown Development Authority/Main Street to be placed downtown Rawlins Wyoming.
Wildflower Walkabout was painted over a two week period in Feb 2012, by 60-80, grade K-8 kids, Boy’s & Girls Club members with leadership from Paul Taylor, Kathy Neuman, Shayan Keisel, Kylie Craig and Mark Rachuleta. The painting process touched curriculum standards in art, math, science, and utiized geography, geology, botany and indigenous studies.
Special thanks for their wonderful research assistance to;
Katie Haynes, Botanist, Medicine Bow Forest Service, Laramie.
Frank Blomquist, Wildlife Biologist, BLM, Rawlins.
Patrick Walker, Archaeologist, BLM, Rawlins.
Bonnie Heidel, Botanist, WY Natural Diversity Database, UW, Laramie.
