A Brief History of BluestemArt.com

Welcome to Bluestem Art, a family owned and operated business. I’m Frank Brockmeyer; if you contact us, I will be the one responding to your questions and comments. Below you can find out how my brother, Jim, and his son, Karl, are involved in the business. But first, allow me tell you a little about myself and this website…

I’m one member of a close-knit family that included seven siblings. I’ve lived in Ohio for most of my life. But I have done a fair amount of traveling - not only exploring other countries but also visiting friends and family in California, British Columbia, and New York City on a regular basis. Even though I love to travel, I still find the farm country and woodlands of my native Midwest to be where I feel most contented. Wherever I am, I enjoy photographing people, places, and nature.

An autumn photo shows a giant Miscanthus plant, backed up by a field of Big Bluestem; a field of Switchgrass is visible in the background.

My wife and I moved into our current home near the geographic center of Ohio almost 20 years ago. We live with our son on rural property located about 40 miles from the nearest big city. When we bought the place (a vacant, abandoned farm) its soil was so depleted by over-farming that none of the neighboring farmers were interested in purchasing it. However, we liked the property’s mix of old fields and beech-maple woodlands; also, we cherished the long-standing cultural and farming heritage of the surrounding area.

Soon after we purchased our farm we recruited a neighboring farmer to plant 10 acres of Switchgrass to provide habitat and winter cover for pheasant and other wildlife. Several years later we hired a local contractor to construct a farm pond. We then planted prairie grasses on the two acres that surround the pond (Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Side-oats Grama, and Indian Grass). The next big project involved planting a stand of the prairie grass, Big Bluestem, in the 3-acre field in front of our house.

Sunlight streaming through autumn clouds colors a photo of our house and pond.

These three, relatively large, naturalized plantings have done quite well in spite of the very poor soil. The beauty of the grasses and the variety of wildlife these areas attract throughout the year are continual sources of enjoyment and inspiration.

Meanwhile, my brother Jim has been hard at work creating and developing Bluestem Nursery, located in Christina Lake, British Columbia. Those of you familiar with Jim’s nursery may recall that he initially offered a modest selection of field grown, winter-hardy ornamental grasses starting in the early 1990’s. In the years since then, however, Bluestem Nursery has expanded considerably. They now sell many different varieties of grasses, a wide selection of willows, and some choice perennials.

Jim’s son, Karl, pursued a career in graphic art, getting a degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Karl is the creative talent behind the website.

The blue sky of British Columbia arches over the production beds of Bluestem Nursery’s ornamental grasses.

As I settled into our country residence I regularly procured ornamental grasses and willows from Bluestem Nursery to incorporate into the landscaping around our house. Jim’s nursery sells the kinds of plants that seemed most suited for nurturing the natural-looking landscape I was striving for. As the plantings of grasses, willows, and prairies continued to grow and mature - and as I became more enamored with how good they looked throughout the year - I made it a habit to photograph them in all seasons. I wanted to establish a visual record of their graceful splendor as the landscaping grew and developed through time.

Jim in the meantime has been taking photographs of plants and landscapes in western Canada - particularly within his home province of British Columbia. His photos have appeared both on his website and on the covers of Bluestem Nursery’s annual plant catalogues. More recently, Jim’s photographs have also been exhibited in art galleries in British Columbia and Germany.

Flower heads of Stipa brachytricha glowing in the late afternoon of a fall day.

PRODUCTS

It is very important to us that our customers are satisfied with Bluestem Art products. We make every effort to make sure customers are happy with their purchases. We do this by:

• Selecting, offering, and producing beautiful photographs of grasses, willows, and landscapes.
  
  
• Using conservation-grade materials for all components in our products to maintain the integrity of each product over time; when a customer buys a photograph from Bluestem Art, he or she can rest assured they have purchased something that will maintain its quality for years.
  
  
• Answering questions and responding to concerns from our customers in a timely fashion.

Photographs in the Willows & Landscapes and Ornamental Grasses Galleries

Jim and I are making some of our photographs available on here. As you visit this site, you may enjoy just looking at the photos. You can also study plant selections and arrangements to develop ideas for your own landscaping projects.

If you wish, you can purchase these photographs so that you can bring a sense of the outdoors in and enjoy the images of plants and landscapes year-round.

Photographs from the willow, landscape, and grass galleries are available to fit into 8”X10” and 11”X14” frames. We select and offer mats and frames that we feel complement the colors, mood, and/or details of each individual photograph. Because some people prefer selecting mats and/or frames themselves, we offer customers several options:

• Photographs mounted on backing boards to fit into standard 8x10 or 11x14 frames (for customers who want to mat and frame the photos themselves)
  
  
• Photographs mounted and matted to fit standard 8X10 or 11X14 frames (for customers who want to frame the photos themselves)
  
  
• Photographs mounted, matted and installed in ready-to-hang 8X10 or 11X14 frames

Gallery of Collector Edition Photographs

We invite you to look at our series of limited edition, signed photographs. These photos are meticulously matched to custom-made frames and multi-matted to bring out the finest qualities of the images. Please visit the Gallery of Collector Edition Photographs to view this special series of ready-to-hang photos. You might recognize several of the images from Bluestem Nursery’s website or from its catalogues.

We produce these prints for collectors in editions limited to 100. Once all 100 are sold, they will never be offered again. Each piece is numbered and personally signed by the photographer.

PURCHASING PLANTS

Finally, for those of you who find images that inspire you to grow the plant(s) shown in a photo yourself, we provide links throughout this photo website to Bluestem Nursery. Jim’s plant nursery site gives useful, detailed information about the plant(s).

A mixed community of grasses, willows, and cattails grace the shoreline of our farm pond.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

• Cameras: My first ‘real’ camera was a single-lens-reflex Konica. While using it, I fell in love with photography, and I stuck with my little Konica for years. More recently I changed over to a Nikon digital camera, which is what I used for most of my photos on this site.
  
  Jim - being more ‘Old School’ than myself - uses traditional film, a single-lens-reflex Pentax ME camera, and a variety of lenses.
  
  
• Photographs*: A professional studio prints our photographs in a Fuji lab on silver halide paper. The photos have a matte finish on acid-free, conservation-quality paper that has outstanding durability and fade resistance.
  
  
• Backing board*: We mount our photographs on acid-free, conservation-quality backing boards to keep the photos flat and smooth for shipping as well as to preserve the quality of the images for years to come.
  
  
• Mats*: The mats we use are made of wood fibers. They are conservation-quality mats that are acid-free and lignin-free.

*(See Product Ordering Pages for details about product options.)

WARRANTY

Our photographs are quality checked during and after processing. If you are not completely satisfied with a purchase, you may return it for a full refund within 30 days. Note that the colors within an image will vary from computer monitor to computer monitor. The actual photographic image you receive will be richer in color and detail than what is displayed on the majority of computer screens.

PAYMENT AND SHIPPING

You can navigate to any image to obtain information about available sizes, formats, and costs. Options include purchasing prints mounted on a backing board, backed-and-matted prints, or matted-and-framed photos.

We accept all major credit cards, via PayPal. You do not need to be a PayPal member to pay - just follow the onscreen instructions. The PayPal site is fully secure and used by millions of people worldwide on a daily basis.

We also accept personal checks. Please use our order form. Enclose the order from and check made out and mailed to:
Blackbird and Bluestem, Ltd.
P.O. Box 142
Chesterville, OH 43317

We ship our products in sturdy, secure packaging to prevent damage to them in transit. Normally we ship within 2 - 4 weeks. If, for whatever reasons, it is going to take longer we will contact you to let you know when you can expect to receive your order.

COPYRIGHT

All photographs are copyright© protected by bluestemart.com, and ownership of all originals is retained by Blackbird and Bluestem, Ltd. We ask that you please respect our ownership of the work we offer. Single use rights will be granted for purchased photographs unless other arrangements are negotiated. Please email us at for details concerning your specific needs and usage.