"Endangered Species," a group exhibition honoring and acknowledging the natural world, will be on view at The Folk Tree through May 17, 2008. The show, which coincides with Earth Day, includes 12 local artists represented by painting, printmaking, assemblage, paper mache, mixed media, ceramics and more. A portion of the proceeds from "Endangered Species" will benefit the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA.

Empirical evidence that the world's natural balance is severely compromised is hard to refute at this point. Thus, it is an especially critical time to draw attention to nature's wonders, to acknowledge its weaknesses, and to work toward change.

"Endangered Species" includes artwork addressing the following related themes: 1) extinct, endangered or threatened species; 2) nature's beauty and fragility; 3) humanity's impact on the environment; and 4) contemporary threats to the "ethnosphere," a term coined by Wade Davis, explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, and noted Harvard educated anthropologist and ethnobotanist. In his book, Light at the Edge of the World, he defines "ethnosphere" as "the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, and intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness."

The exhibition includes work by: Ulla Anobile (paper mache); Esther Barr (embossed copper); Robin Bevan (cut paper); Danny Gonzalez (block prints); Stefani Gruenberg (ceramics); Linda Jaques (giclee prints, painting); Jacqueline Marks (ceramics); Denise Monaghan (painting); Joel Nakamura (painting on tin); Terry Powell (mixed media); Suzanne Saul (painting); and Linda Vallejo (painting).

The Folk Tree is located near the heart of Old Pasadena at 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave. For more information, contact The Folk Tree at 626-795-8733.