Featured Member

We are pleased to announce that periodically we will be featuring one of our members. We thought it was appropriate to feature our past BRNN President and one of the founding board members of our non-profit.

Ken Czarnomski

Ken Czarnomski is a seasoned architect, artist and educator. He has spent much of his life exploring the natural world with adventures in National Parks and Forests throughout all fifty states and foreign countries, creating artistic visions from these.  As he expanded his travels, he discovered illustrated maps in Ireland, which inspired his final project for his North Carolina Arboretum Blue Ridge Naturalist certification in 2013. He donated that Purchase Knob map to Haywood County Tourist Development Authority, where they continue to do ten thousand printings at a time. To date, he has reached over 100,000 people through various publications.

He was awarded a North Carolina Regional Artist Program Grant for 2017, for his work on these illustrated regional maps, which supported building his digital network.  As part of this award, he was also a contributor to The Laurel of Asheville offering articles on astronomy, wildflowers and hemlock restoration. To date, he has produced over a dozen maps of the area, some donated to local tourist boards. 

Each cartographic effort includes renderings of wildlife, flora-fauna, trails, panoramic views and natural history. The maps often contain scripted articles (on the backside) which cover environment and history along with poetry, local stories and lore. Unlike backpacking maps, the purpose of Ken’s illustrations is to engage people and create interest through an enticement which draws the reader into involving themselves and their families in the excitement of further exploration.

The hand drawn illustrations are produced in mixed media including watercolors, inks and colored pencils. Hours are spent on research to build a catalog of useful information before story boarding the final visual product. This is especially true for mapping, which demands accuracy and several visits to a particular area. For this purpose, he uses computers, GIS/GPS hardware, satellite surveys, topographic maps, printing/copying services and software programs, in addition to standard art supplies.

This on-going drive to record the outdoors has led to being recognized as someone who provides excellent hiking experiences for families and fellow naturalists in the Blue Ridge Region of Western North Carolina. His commitment to continuing to be a leader led him, in 2013, to help create the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network, a non-profit which is committed to connecting people who love nature. www.brnnetwork.org

You can often find Ken’s work, especially in free publications, in several locations.
Clients for which maps, and/or illustrations have been provided:

• Haywood County Tourist Development Authority, Haywood County Visitor Center 
  (located in Maggie Valley)
• Jackson County Tourist Development Authority, Sylva Visitor Center, Cashiers Visitor Center
• Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Asheville
• Highlands Cashiers Land Trust, Highlands
• Nantahala National Forest, A History, author Marci Spencer, History Press
• Images of America, Pisgah Inn, author Marci Spencer, Arcadia Publishing
• Ken Czarnomski: The Naturalist, Keen Footwear, You Tube Video