Did you know? TOP TEN WAYS TO BE BLUE: Conservation with water in mind! 1. Plant native plants. Homeowners can save up to 100,000 gallons of water a year by planting grasses, trees, shrubs, and flowers that are native to their area and don't require more water than the average rainfall. More information is available through the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat program. This can also eliminate the need for pesticides and fertilizers that are harmful to aquatic wildlife. 2. Shower smart. A low-flow showerhead can conserve up to 20,000 gallons of water a year for a family of four. 3. Turn off the water. You can conserve water by turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth or washing dishes. You can also take shorter showers. Try washing dishes with water in the sink instead of letting the water run. 4. Use the fridge, not the faucet. Have you ever run the water in the faucet until it got cold? Why not fill a pitcher of water and store it in the refrigerator? This provides cold water anytime without sending a lot of water down the drain. 5. Dump No Waste! Drains to River! Or to lake, or to sea, or to ocean! Many of the storm sewers we have in our neighborhoods drain directly to a local water source. Never dump anything in these storm sewers, as paint, oil, and other household materials will end up in the aquatic habitats and harm the plants and animals that live there. 6. Choose smart seafood. Many of the world's fisheries (groups of fish) are endangered. Choose to buy and consume only fish that are harvested sustainably. Some fish, such as swordfish and shark, are being caught faster than they can reproduce. Some fisheries accidentally catch sea turtles, dolphins, sharks and other animals along with the fish they intend to catch. Buy seafood recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium or other conservation organizations. 7. Pick up litter. Some garbage is dangerous to wildlife. Ordinary trash-such as discarded fishing line, plastic bags, and balloons-can choke or entangle marine animals. Pick up your trash and save a life! 8. Use fertilizer and pesticides cautiously. Runoff from lawn fertilizers can be damaging to rivers, lakes, and oceans and the animals and plants that live in those habitats. Make wise choices about your yard. Think of the earth first. 9. Save energy. Believe it or not, driving less and turning down the heat may help protect marine life. Rising global temperatures, which scientists attribute in part to fossil fuel burning, have had a devastating effect on many marine species in recent years. Higher sea temperatures have spurred massive die-offs of coral reefs. So be part of something cool: save energy! 10. Learn more. Teach our children at an early age to conserve and respect wildlife and their habitat. We are extremely appreciative of our sponsors who make this all possible. Below are a partial list of our sponsors... thank you! Do you know a wall that Susan should paint? Do you own a wall you'd love to have painted? Simply fill out the short form below and let us know! A one year membership includes official SSL 4HABITAT gear as well as other acknowledgements. Also your membership purchase helps fund future mural projects and a portion of all contributions go to support those orginizations that are actively involved in saving and preserving wildlife and their habitat. We are extremely appreciative of our sponsors who make this all possible. Lapel pin, T-shirt & Cap Your logo or name on official website Your logo or name on site of each project Your logo on Lithograph, limited edition signed & numbered prints for each project Publicist Tony Beason Visit Wyland.com Discover the beautiful fine art ocean paintings and ocean art by marine life artist, Wyland. The Wyland foundation with Scripps institution of oceanography and our conservation partners are currently presenting one of the largest and most comprehensive art and science programs in history. Our Mission: "To preserve Habitat through sharing art and education" Our Goal: "To create Bigger-than-life art that inspires people to see the Beauty of Conservation" Bio Raised on a farm in rural Missouri, Susan learned early the importance of habitat for wildlife. Susan grew up raising and showing horses. Her parents, Gerald and Marcia Sommer, encouraged her from early on to dream big. "Dreamer", as her father called her, was training horses professionally by age 13. She was raising her own vegetables, rabbits, calves, goats, dogs and horses. Her first horse was a sickly mare that was given to her if she could nurse it back to health. Her first foal was earned after cleaning all of the stalls on the ranch for 2 years. Her love for Horses and animals and nature showed not only in her dedication to their care, but in the drawings that were stunning her parents for so many years. By age 12, Susan was drawing horses to distinct detail. Out of the 50-plus horses on the farm that Susan drew from, her parents knew each portrait by name. Susan strived to perfect her horse drawings, learning the muscles and bone structures as well as capturing individual personalities of the animals. All with a pencil. Family summers were spent on the beautiful lakes and rivers in Missouri. Her vacations as a child were often a road trip in the family Suburban to the gulf of Mexico or Lake Michigan. Her internships with Disney World and MGM Studios brought Susan to the Atlantic ocean. Her fascination with marine life was growing strong. After working in the Hamptons of Long Island, she went from sea level to Jackson, Wyoming where her love for the mountains and their wildlife became yet another fascination. As a resident artist in Jackson, Susan's favorite subject was a lone moose that was known to visit the town square some nights. Susan continued to make wildlife and their habitat a major part of her subject matter. She painted the largest, continuous, indoor mural in the United States of life-sized ocean life in 1995. Susan's career was propelled by both her artistic abilities and hard work. Susan was soon a nationally recognized artist having her art featured in and outside the United States. She went on to paint numerous giant wildlife murals for Bass Pro Shops across the country. In 2006, Susan was invited to meet world renowned, marine life environmental artist, Wyland. After meeting Susan and seeing her work, Wyland asked Susan to paint a mural with him for the American National Fish and Wildlife Museum. Wyland has been a great inspiration to Susan for more than 12 years. Meeting him and Painting with him made the "Dreamer" a believer. Wyland told Susan he would be referring her for any requests made of him for future environmental murals, as he no longer paints publicly in the United States. Continuing his mission to protect and preserve wildlife through sharing the beauty of conservation, is truly a great honor. Wyland will continue the message of his foundation including his Animal Planet series, Tours, and his Art Galleries long after the final 6 of his 100 mural goal is complete. Dedication held for lake, river mural Susan Sommer-Luarca experienced a rain delay Wednesday but nevertheless completed the first of many projected murals in a new project for the local artist whose work appears nationally. The artist's 80-foot-by-20-foot mural on a building at Grant Avenue and Mount Vernon Street was dedicated Thursday. It depicts Missouri river and lake habitats and includes a 15-foot bass that's hard to miss, says the artist. Through the Susan Sommer-Luarca for Habitat foundation --in the process of becoming a registered nonprofit --the artist will paint outdoor and indoor murals to promote conservation and environmental education. She was encouraged to undertake the project by national environmental muralist Wyland, says Sommer-Luarca, who hopes to do at least three murals in Springfield. She is already getting inquiries about her new endeavor from across the country. "I've been painting wildlife murals all my life, and I've admired Wyland for 12 years," says Sommer-Luarca, who painted with the artist when he was in Springfield last month. "He told me he wasn't painting publicly anymore and he would refer all future environmental murals my way." Sommer-Luarca's Murals Inspire Big Vision Downtown artist Susan Sommer-Luarca announced her commitment to environmental art at a dedication of a new mural across from Campbell Elementary School on November 16. Inspired by world renown artist Wyland, Sommer-Luarca plans to create 100 murals to create bigger-than-life art that inspires people to see the beauty of conservation. Mayor Tom Carlson, City Councilman Ralph Manley, Hall-of-Fame fisherman Charlie Campbell, Wonders of Wildlife Executive Director Tony Shoennen, and students from Campbell Elementary were all on hand to celebrate Center City's newest public art. Wildlife murals are what Susan does best. Her love for animals shows in her work. Whether the mural is of wildlife only, or includes an outdoor scene, she puts her heart into every painting. She has painted wildlife murals and murals for habitat for people such as Bass-Pro Shops (Bass Pro Shops) as well as working with famous wildlife mural artist Wyland, who recently decided to pass on his legacy to her. Susan Sommer-Luarca loves animals, loves horses, loves whales, loves dolphins, and will do anything she can to help save wildlife and their habitats. Help Susan help save habitats by contributing. Or suggest a wall for her to paint. Susan will travel anywhere in the country, or the world, to paint a mural and help save wildlife habitats... but she needs your help. Help save a habitat! Help save wildlife habitats! What can you do to save a wildlife habitat? Help Susan Sommer-Luarca paint by contributing to her wildlife foundation! It's a reminder of the donation you gave and will last for years and years to come! Art on a grand scale Susan Sommer-Luarca's oversized murals could bring her acclaim on a level equal to the scope of her work. Ocean-bottom hills and valleys emerge as, with hummingbird speed, Susan Sommer-Luarca brushes the 80-foot-long, 15-foot high block wall with her left hand. Dropping to her knees, the mural artist switches the brush to her right hand and continues with ease. The mural - featuring a nearly life-size blue whale and its habitat - fills one entire wall of the indoor pool area at the Musgrave Unit. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield site is being renovated. Murals are the focus of Susan Sommer-Luarca Murals for Habitat, the nonprofit foundation she and her husband, EJ Luarca, recently established. Their mission: "To preserve habitat through sharing art and education" with the artist's bigger-than-life productions. Sommer-Luarca has committed to painting 100 murals nationally and internationally, starting in Springfield with four or five. More than 20 walls nationwide have been submitted so far as proposed mural sites. Priority for selecting walls will be accessibility to viewers -particularly children, says the artist: "Kids are our future stewards of wildlife habitats and the key to its preservation." That's what drew Jeff Long to seek her services for the Musgrave Unit he directs. "What I like about Susan is she has a special interest in teaching kids about the environment and natural habitats," he says. "She wants to do murals for kids and we're all about that." Artist on the rise Sommer-Luarca says she feels called to continue the mission of internationally-acclaimed marine habitat muralist, Wyland. She met and worked with the artist during his October visit to Springfield and Wonders of Wildlife. Her new foundation has given Sommer-Luarca broader visibility. She's agreed to work with a New York promoter. And she was selected recently to submit her work for approval as official 2008 Olympics art through Fine Art Limited in St. Louis. That company has produced official art for the games since 1988. Sommer-Luarca will create a design which the Olympic Committee must approve. Only a few artists get this far, says Jack Scharr, the company's president. Previous official artists include Peter Max, Mary Engelbreit, Michel Delacroix, Pierre Matisse, Andy Warhol and Missouri State University's Cedomir Kostovic. "As you can imagine, there are literally thousands of artists who would want to be a part of the Olympic games," says Scharr, who feels confident Sommer-Luarca will be approved. Many Springfieldians have seen the artist's work downtown, including Ernie Biggs (the giant hands above the door) and inside Trolley's Bar and Grill. At Chesterfield Family Center, she painted a giant marine-life mural and oversized athletes. She also has painted many habitat murals for Bass Pro Shops around the country, including the one in Tulsa. Growing an artist One of six kids, Sommer-Luarca grew up on a farm southwest of Springfield where she helped train horses. She also drew them. She studied writing and communications at Missouri State University, but says she's a self-taught artist and credits her late father for pushing her to improve. He also encouraged her to use both hands -she's naturally left-handed -which is why today she can paint with either. She gets her artistic talent from her mother, who has Alzheimer's. Today, Sommer-Luarca helps her mother, and others stricken with the disease, to express themselves through painting. After college, Sommer-Luarca lived in Florida, New York, Wyoming and New Mexico. She returned 15 years ago to Springfield, where she began working as an artist. Mural mania After marrying two years ago, Sommer-Luarca opened a studio above her husband's downtown furniture and interiors shop. While she enjoys painting on canvas, the energetic artist - who says she rarely sits still -feels most free creating giant murals. On canvas, she says, "things go off the page because they get really big. When I discovered I could paint walls, I was happy. I love it. And it's a very physical job." She never does the same thing twice, and paints them all freehand. "What I like to do is soak in the environment as I'm painting and imagine what it should look like," she says. The blue whale at the Musgrave Unit is a first. Everything in the mural is accurate to its environment, she says. Long says he wanted a mural because the pool room's giant wall looked boring. Then he drove by Sommer-Luarca's recently completed mural across from Campbell Elementary School, at Mount Vernon Street and Grant Avenue. He contacted the artist about doing one for the kids at his club. Long requested the blue whale and can already imagine its learning potential. "We have a learning center and (the kids) can actually go down there and do some research on the blue whale. They could write some stories about the blue whale." Not only that, he says: "It just makes it look first-class. And the kids deserve first-class." Wyland inspiration Sommer-Luarca says she's long admired Wyland who, about 30 years ago, committed to painting 100 marine habitat murals. She collects his books and works in a similar style -fast and big. She's also interested in the environment. Returning home in early fall from a trip to California -where she viewed one of Wyland's murals -she was amazed to find an invitation to meet Wyland at Wonders of Wildlife. "When she found out she was going to meet Wyland, she was just beside herself. She was so excited," recalls her husband. "Then he sees her art and asks her to paint with him. All of Wyland's people said how remarkable it was because he doesn't ask other artists to do that." Sommer-Luarca and Wyland got to talking, she says: "He told me he wasn't going to be painting in the United States anymore. He told me he wanted to refer all future mural requests to me." That inspired the couple to established their foundation. Sommer-Luarca feels like her experiences until now have led her to this new artistic phase. That everything fell together as it was supposed to. "I'm very excited about all of it," she says. "This is from the heart. It all makes sense to me now." Unveiling of aquatic mural at Boys and Girls Club's Musgrave Unit On Dec. 21, 2006 at 4 p.m., a dedication of the Aquatic Mural will be held at the Musgrave Unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield, at 720 S. Park Ave. The public is invited as the work of artist Susan Sommer-Luarca is unveiled. Susan is a local artist whose passion for art and wildlife has inspired her vision "to preserve habitat through sharing art and education". The aquatic mural has become an integral part of the swimming pool at the Musgrave Unit. It depicts a large, blue whale and her calf, along with dolphins and tropical fish. Built in 1973, the Musgrave Unit provides a vital service to families in surrounding neighborhoods. The Club serves approximately 250 youth per day. The majority of these homes are single-parent families, many with incomes less than $15,000. They depend on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield for affordable, quality care for their children. The location of the facility meets a critical need, but the original design of the building fails to provide the space necessary for today's programs. Phase II of our capital campaign is expanding an overcrowded and inadequate teen center to 6,000 square feet. Complete with a technology center, restrooms, game area and meeting room, the expansion will meet the needs of a growing teen program. Other upgrades to the unit will include the addition of a conference room and technology lab, improvement to the pool area and front lobby, renovation of the locker rooms, a new main entrance, learning center and art room, handicap accessible upgrades and general building modernization. With these renovations, the Musgrave Unit will more effectively and efficiently meet the diverse needs of the population we serve in West Springfield. Links referenced within this article Find this article at: http://www.ky3.com/events/4929606.html