Cover | Isabella Kirkland

Leaf (oil paint on wood panel, Copyright © Isabella Kirkland, courtesy of Feature Inc., New York). Leaf is based on a photograph Isabella Kirkland took in Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica. In her oil paintings, Kirkland examines man’s relationship to the natural world. Her life-size depictions of plants and animals are precisely rendered and anatomically accurate, the result of research at natural history museums. Born in 1954 in Old Lyme, Conn., Kirkland attended Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, before moving to San Francisco to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. Now a Sausalito resident, Kirkland has had several solo exhibitions, including at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Idaho. Her work has been included in group shows at the Field Museum, Chicago, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Kirkland’s two series—Nova, which focuses on new species of flora and fauna, and Taxa, which delves into species past, present, and extinct—are currently on view at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley. Also, Kirkland appears Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m., at the Brower Center in discussion with Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand. Since 2006, Kirkland has been a research associate in the Department of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. For info: isabellakirkland.com, featureinc.com, or browercenter.org.

NEXT MONTH: Elegant and kid-friendly home design, juggling for fun and profit, and Piedmont Piano’s reinvention as a hopping jazz venue.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Through April 18, The Monthly is accepting personal essays (non-fiction, first-person prose) of up to 900 words for possible publication in our summer literary issue. The theme:
What I miss
Please interpret “What I miss” in any way that resonates for you. A distinct, compelling voice is what we’re after here, along with writing that’s specific and personal. As a regional magazine, we prioritize submissions from those who live or work in the East Bay. To submit, paste your essay into your email to editorial@themonthly.com and also attach it as a Word document. No exceptions: include your name, email address, and phone number in the body of your email and at the top of your essay. Deadline: Thursday, April 18