hanifl nature center, JULY 28 - DEC. 31, 2023
ABout the Hanifl Art Exhibit
The Minnesota Zoo recently launched the debut art exhibit of its brand new Hanifl Nature Center in conjunction with the Zoo’s newly opened and long-awaited project, The Treetop Trail (which brings visitors up to 32 feet above the ground, immersed in nature). The Hanifl Nature Center is a central access point to the Trail and is dedicated to nature education and trees.
The art exhibit, Rooted in Nature: Inspired by Trees, features select Minnesota artists’ works centering around the themes of Human Connections, Parts of a Tree, Trees through the Seasons, and Minnesota Trees. Artist Stephanie Mirocha presents 3 of her artworks displayed in the exhibit on the theme, Parts of a Tree.
All three paintings zoom the viewer in to the closeup world of trees -- an Ohio buckeye blossom in spring, a “flowering” red pine pinecone, and a cluster of newly emerged red maple samaras, (a.k.a. helicopter wings). Created in watercolors of different sizes, the paintings depict Mirocha’s joyful connection and inspiration arising from trees.