Kathy Shuster Illustrates Local Wildlife
Bethlehem resident, Kathy Shuster brings her artwork to 42 Maple Contemporary Art Center in August. Shuster’s body of work, titled “In Our Backyard” showcases her love of nature and the outdoors. According to Shuster, that passion has been part of her life since she was a child. She spent her summer vacations in Bethlehem.
Shuster’s Work
Inspired by the study of natural and medical sciences, Kathy Shuster is the retired Director and Head Illustrator of the Scientific Illustration and Photography Unit of Purdue University’s Biology Department in W. Lafayette, Indiana. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design and an MFA in Scientific Illustration.
Shuster’s work has been published in a multitude of scientific journals, exhibited both nationally and internationally. They remain in permanent collections at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., museums in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Taiwan. They are also included in the permanent traveling exhibit collection of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators featured at museums, colleges, and universities around the United States and abroad.
About Shuster
In 1995, Shuster relocated to Bethlehem, New Hampshire, to help her aging parents. She decided to stay in the White Mountains to raise her son Jason in “God’s Country.” Jason followed his mother’s footsteps into the sciences, earned his Ph.D. in Plasma Physics at the University of New Hampshire’s Space Science Center. He is currently working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where he is doing cutting-edge research in magnetic reconnection.
“I credit my mother with instilling in me a love of nature and the outdoors from a young age. As a family, we vacationed in Bethlehem, NH, every summer of my formative years,” said Shuster. “After more than two decades working in the field of scientific illustration in the Midwest, I
returned to the White Mountains and I eventually returned to studying natural science subject matter in my artwork.”
Shuster continues to live in Bethlehem and recently returned her artist’s eye to focus on North Country subject matter. She occasionally accepts commission work for portraits and natural science subjects when she’s not training for the US Open on the tennis courts with her son.
“I am fascinated with the details of color and patterns found in fur and feathers, and I try to duplicate on paper the way I see my subjects. I believe we have been given a plethora of joy in sharing the natural world, and in return, I study what I see and attempt to share it,” explained Shuster.
Reception Details
An opening reception for Shuster is scheduled for Friday, August 2 at 7 p.m. at 42 Maple Contemporary Art Center. “In Our Backyard” will be on display through the end of August. The opening reception is a free event open to the public.
If you are interested in learning more about the events at 42 Maple, call 603-575-9077 or visit the website at www.42maple.org.