Chemnitz, Germany. I was born in Finland and have been a nature lover from childhood. In summer I often hiked with my family in the wilderness areas of northern Finland. However, I have always been fascinated by forest, and those areas are mainly tundra. Unfortunately, the remaining virgin forests in Europe are both very few and small, which has driven me to search for natural forests around the world, including North America.

 Leading explorer of OG in northern Georgia and South Carolina.

He is a masters student in the ecology program at the State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry where his research focuses on the climate-growth relationships of eastern red cedar and common juniper.

His interests started as a child in a fascination with big trees and have gradually spread to encompass anything that lives in a forest and does not run away from him.  He spent three summers locating and documenting old-growth forests on the Chattahoochee National Forest in the mountains of northern Georgia .  With Will Blozan, he designed and lead research for the Tsuga Search project.

MFA thesis show, Johnson State College,VT, coming in March, 2010.  Theme is “Being in Place” with paintings and drawings of landscape near my home.  I am particularly interested in the process of contemplation in natural settings as it inspires one to create. More recently I have been developing panoramic works in watercolor, and in pencil, with multiple sheets of paper.  These are big.  Hope to grad in June! 

BFA Cleveland Institute of Art 2003, Painting

Between 1975 -1983, have taken courses mostly in education, bilingual education.  My first botany and biology courses were during these years fulfilling state teaching certification requirements in Illinois.

BA Lawrence University 1975 Russian linguistics, Elementary teacher’s certificate with 7 years teaching experience before having my own three sons.

 Have been in the garden since I could walk, planting seeds against the house, planning and digging beds, vegetable gardening.  My father liked to plant things.  Also, lifelong interest in just being in natural areas, interests in identifying trees, woody plants, wildflowers, some grasses, insects, birds, organic gardening, garden planting for wildlife.  Spent a summer as a teenager in rural Dominican Republic with grandparents with an experience that showed how differently people can live. As a college student I traveled to Eastern Europe, then Soviet Union, and Spain.  Lifelong interests in music, dance, and drawing.  Now painting and exploring, too.

 Last year I did a fall semester artist residency in Altos de Chavon, La Romana, Dominican Republic in association with La Escuela del Diseno de Altos de Chavon.  This is located along the spectacular canyons of the Chavon River, just a few miles north of where I spent the summer at my grandparents as a teen.  I painted watercolor landscapes from life, doing my first panoramas there, and smaller watercolor paintings, from memory and sketches, of Dominican life as I saw it.  I am excited about how art and being in nature interconnect.  Seems like a double reward to me.

 Am an avid gardener--vegetable, herbs, for wildlife, small fruits, fruit trees, woodland trees and plants, perennials, annuals.  I guess you name it.  I put in a vernal pond this past fall and anticipate watching some frogs hatch next spring, hopefully—hearing them, too!  I received a National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat Certificate for planting for wildlife.  I pack a lot in a ½ acre plus yard.   And we see a very good to excellent variety of wildlife considering this is life in the suburbs. This fall I shot photos of a ten point buck resting in the creek ravine and a great gray heron fishing while I painted.

 I spent about 5 years working part time at Cahoon Nursery, Westlake, Ohio, mostly working in annuals, hosta, and perennials.  Came to know Steve Galehouse(ENTS) and his wife Diane there.  The nursery work helped me learn much more about woody and non woody plants and assist others to make beneficial and interesting plant choice decisions while encouraging enthusiasm for all levels of gardening in general.

G. Sandy  Rose, RCA
Registered Consulting Arborist
Shade Masters, Inc.
PO Box  13533
Arlington, TX 76094

Shade Masters, Inc.
http://www.gsandyrose.com/

Tree care, tree transplanting, protection of trees in developments, tree spade tree relocation, inspection of tree & landscape installation projects, more ...