Following last year’s publication of the first book ever to chronicle the life and work of legendary Southwest Florida artist Ikki Matsumoto, Amy Matsumoto Urich addresses “The Captivating Art and Times of My Father, Ikki Matsumoto” at a free, in-person lecture on Thursday, Feb. 24. It will take place at The Community House at 2173 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island starting at 10 a.m., hosted by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS) and sponsored by Bill and Laurie Harkey.
Ikki, his wife Polly, and daughter Amy – all artists – moved to Sanibel Island in the mid-1970s and quickly got involved in the community. Amy attended school on Sanibel and became a part of the close-knit island community.
“I grew up in the midst of art and creativity,” said Urich, whose Japanese-born father worked in commercial art, newspaper advertising design, and textbook illustration before moving to Sanibel. Her most recent efforts resulted in the publication of Captivated: The Art of Ikki Matsumoto by Steve Saari.
Following her lecture, Urich will be signing copies of the coffee-table, limited-edition book, which will be available for sale that day. It features rare examples of Matsumoto’s nature-inspired, graphic posters plus family photos.
The two Refuge Nature Stores at “Ding” Darling and 2250 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel are also carrying a selection of limited-edition framed and unframed Ikki Matsumoto works signed by the artist, some of which will be available for purchase the day of the lecture.
The 2022 season’s “Ding” Darling Lecture Series evolves with the times and persisting distance protocols by presenting at a larger off-refuge venue. The remaining schedule is listed below; book signings follow all lectures.
Socially distanced seating for the free lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis. Staff will be taking temperatures and distributing a limited number of entry wristbands to attendees beginning at 9 a.m. that day. Guests must be wearing wristbands and facemasks to enter the lecture room. Early arrivals may save their seat and one other with personal items. Saved seats must be filled by 9:45.
Note: Opinions expressed in guest lectures do not necessarily reflect the views of refuge and DDWS management, staff, and board of directors.
Lectures start at 10 a.m., unless otherwise indicated. Except for those on March 4 and 11, venue is at The Community House on Sanibel Island.
· Thursday, Feb. 24 – Amy Urich, “The Captivating Art and Times of My Father, Ikki Matsumoto” (sponsors: Bill and Laurie Harkey)
· March 4 at Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ Fellowship Hall, 2050 Periwinkle Way – Author Doug Chadwick, Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature that Just Might Save Us All (co-sponsors: Diane Esslinger, The Jenni & Kyle Foundation)
· 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (two lectures) March 11 at Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ Fellowship Hall, 2050 Periwinkle Way – Author David Allen Sibley, What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds Are Doing, and Why (co-sponsors: Stan & Connie Grayson, HighTower/Thomas & Swartz Wealth Management, Drs. John & Wendy Kindig)
· March 18 – Author Jack Davis, The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird (co-sponsors: Pat Appino, Sonya Keene & John Moy, In Appreciation of the DDWS Staff Donor, In Memory of Roddy West)
· March 25 – Author Stan Tekiela, Bird Nests: Amazingly Ingenious and Intricate (Sponsors: Vortex Optics, A Fellow Minnesotan, The Jenni & Kyle Foundation)
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