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Art of Soul
Mindy Lighthipe has been collecting insects since second grade. Their show of vibrant colors and varying textures nurtured the artist within. Her passion for nature’s displays developed later into a fervor for fiber arts.
In Manhattan, she was a production hand weaver for Susan Horton Designs for several years then apprenticed on Silver Crown Farm in Chester, NJ, as a hand-spinner. There, they grew dye: purple Indian corn that, when mixed with different mordants, produced different colors.
“We hybridized the strain of corn. Each time we pollinated the corn that was the darkest purple with little or no other color variation,” says Lighthipe. “After several seasons we had an all purple corn. The stalk, husk and kernels were solid dark purple. We had to stop growing it because the wind was transporting pollen, making the corn in the surrounding area purple!”
And certainly not one to shrink at the touch of a bug, she also bought and used cochineal beetles that produce the color carmine red (also used in lipstick and food coloring).
From 1984 to 1998 Lighthipe ran her own business designing and weaving clothing from hand spun yarns of natural fibers and sold them at craft fairs country-wide. But Lighthipe found she worked twice as hard traveling while her employees weaved. While developing art business burnout, she began to look in other directions.
“As an artist, my focus is on color, texture and pattern. As a weaver I was into making beautiful cloth. When I look at the patterns of insect wings and casings, I see beautiful color, texture and patterns. I realized I didn’t have the skills for a fine art career, so I went to The New York Botanical Garden.”
Lighthipe’s 200-hour course load led her to teach and eventually become co-coordinator of NYBG’s Botanical Illustration program for 10 years. She designed the natural science track to include animals within the world of plants – their rightful place.
In fact, “Symbiosis,” her recent collection of paintings, reflects plant-insect relationships, especially the importance of larval plants.
With nine one-woman shows and over 23 group shows and her work in public, corporate, and private collections, Lighthipe was awarded the 2009 Silver Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society in London.
“I was out of my element there because I was the only one who showed insects. When I got there, the response was great.”
Lighthipe is having fun doing special month-long series of paintings. In October she painted 30 leaves, one a day, and sold every one. In November, she painted feathers, gourds, birds and other critters.
And her book, Mother Monarch (Schiffer Books), which explains monarch-milkweed symbiosis to children, is due out in February.
But that’s not all, folks.
Perhaps a most interesting activity to pursue with Lighthipe is adventure travel for artists to Costa Rica, France, Italy and the Galapagos. Tropical flower plantations, exotic hotels, sloth sanctuary – anyone can become an explorer in Paradise for 10 days and learn something, too.
She keeps bees, fosters and paints cats (and donates art and proceeds), and is slowly developing gardens on her football field of grass including four kinds of milkweed. Best of all, she teaches at her home studio and botanical gardens.
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published November 28, 2009
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