Alberta Gold

Janet Mader

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(b. 1986)

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ALBERTA GOLD; 2011

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acrylic

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48 x 72 in. (121.9 x 182.9 cm)

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ARTIST STATEMENT

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A friend of mine told me a story this past December: A few summers ago he had been driving along one of the highways west of town, and he noticed that the masses of dandelions growing on the shoulder of the road looked a bit odd. He pulled over and found that they were, in fact, masses of Yellow Lady Slipper orchids. When the province widened the highway in that area, he came out with a gang from the local orchid society, who carefully moved as many of the plants as they could up the hill, out of harm's way.

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We think of orchids as exotic species, and rightly so. They are extraordinarily particular about their growing environment. The soil type, moisture, amount of sunlight, species of pollinators, and a host of other factors must be just right for an orchid to survive and thrive. But little pockets of the right environment can be found anywhere that there is room for wild things. Alberta has 25 species of native orchids. This is five times the number that Hawaii has. The exotic is universal, and not as far away as we think. Cypripedium Parviflorum can be found almost everywhere in North America. If you keep your eyes open in the mountains and the bigger city parks in June, you might find them in the cool and verdant places.

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This painting is a love letter to wild orchids, and to anyone who loves them as I do.