Local Artist Draws Inspiration From Nature

Painter Benjamin Guffee creates impressionist nature scenes from his Maplewood studio, as he prepares for a spring solo show.

The walls of Benjamin Guffee's Maplewood studio are lined with paintings of trees, earth and water. Oil paints are his medium of choice, modern impressionism his genre, and nature his muse. "I think there's a peacefulness that comes from it, a sense of contentment that is really lacking in the world," he said. "It's kind of opposite of the grind and materialism and always looking for the next thing." Guffee, a transplant to the St. Louis area, grew up in New York state, about an hour north of the city. He moved away to spend three years in central Mexico in 2001, not far from the famous artists' colony San Miguel de Allende. There he began painting seriously and selling his art. "I didn't go to art school or anything, but as long as I can …

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Schlafly Hosts Bee Talk

Bee expert discusses pollination.

Schlafly Bottleworks hosted a rousing talk on the role of native bees in natural areas yesterday. Mike Arduser, natural history biologist of the Missouri Department of Conservation, presented the free lecture titled "What Does it Take to Get Pollinated Around Here?" It was the second of the Nature Conservancy Speaker Series at the Bottleworks and focused on why pollination is important in not only agriculture, but people's everyday lives. After the audience settled down in the Crown Room at the Bottleworks, Doug Ladd, director of conservation sciences, introduced Arduser. "I have been wondering why this talk brings more people than my plant talk," Ladd said to the audience. "But I know you're all here to get 'buzzed!'" Arduser owned the …