Magan Ruthke

this guy all about the humble tulip poplar. As Mid-Atlantic folk, we know this fast growing, straight up to the sky, tree well. But, as a kid, I only knew the flowers though I had no idea that they came from a tree. They would litter the woods in all their yellow, orange, and green wonder. After the petals decayed, all that was left was the central woody spire that we referred to as "unicorn horns". Now, at 42 years old, I see the tree first. Those unusually shaped leaves and the light bark often with hearts carved in. I will always remember those tiny unicorn horns though, sticking up through the crunchy leaves. Not knowing that I should have been looking up. . crossed tulips & tree of paradise variation

There is a moment when you're walking over the dunes, passing the gated sea oats, at sunrise when the sun is deep red pink over the horizon. You don't need sunglasses yet. It's still a kind of twilight. This is my favorite moment at any beach, and you have to make an effort to see it, unlike a sunset that can go on through an entire six-pack. Just a handful of early-risers, you, your coffee, and the flat morning ocean. . ocean wave & lone star variations, northern sea oats .

I share my life with a smattering of amazing visual artists but the heaviest influence on my day-to-day are a large group of savvy writers. Over time, I find their way of crafting art inserting itself into my own work. I find it impossible to paint without contemplating the story behind the work. Why these colors? Why this pattern? And like them, a new work will begin with a kernel of an idea only to evolve as the thing grows. . This work is so much that. When my brother and I were kids together in the early 80's, we would collect wild animals as if the woods were our pet store (though the shady shopping center pet store did provide a steady stream of hamsters, Guinea pigs, mice, and the occasional chameleon). One of the most commonly collected animals were box turtles. We weren't total dum dums. We knew that the natural habitat of a box turtle was the woods but it was the 80's and shit was wild in southern Harford County. Nobody batted eyes if you brought home a half fledged starling or a snapping turtle the size of a coffee table in a burlap sack. So here we are, keeping box turtles as pets. They lived in an old rabbit cage. We fed them iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. We loved watching them open their mouths to reveal their turtle togues when they ate. We wondered if they were boys or girls. We had a Wildlife Fact File to answer our questions. . Now I'm an adult. A Maryland master naturalist. An artist. I think a lot about all those animals we kept to their ultimate doom. I also think about all the plants I didn't know about then and how, if I had, maybe I would have left those box turtles alone. This is my nod to the chaos of the 80's and the beautiful mayapple, a plant that I don't see much anymore. It makes one little delicious fruit per year and it's a favorite of our box turtle friends. I bet that each of their 40 years they look forward to finding one, unless some jerk kids force feed them cold, white-ish lettuce. . pine burr & wild goose chase variation

I've spent my entire life in Maryland and it wasn't until my 30's that I really began diving into our eastern shore and surrounding land. It's our gateway to the ocean and can easily be chalked up to strip malls and fast food. But take your time to explore and you'll find stunning, remote country full of wild landscapes and history especially that of the Underground Railroad and the people who trudged through wetland and backcountry in an attempt to achieve freedom. This is a omage to that part of our little state, the part that we pass on our way to orange crushes and fires on the beach. A part that we lose more and more of each year due to rising waters. . Hole in the barn variation with Jacob's ladder; southern sea oats

I collected common dittany while taking a day off from my residency at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts to hike the nearby Appalachian Trail. I was so surprised to find this member of the mint family spells entirely like oregano. I kept smelling it over my 7 miles that day and knew it was going to find it's way, somehow, into a small work. . log cabin variation with north stars

As kids, we spent hours sitting in the grass fields that divided our government subsidized row home blocks. We played with all the common things - plantains, dandelions, white clover, and all the little bugs. But buttercups were a favorite. Coming up only in spring, it was our chance to hold them under each others chin, looking for the tell tale yellow glow that reflected off of the glossy petals. There was magic there as this glow told us that we liked butter. Luckily, the buttercups never told us otherwise. . North star variation