Jane Cipra is an artist and a biologist with a deep love for the flora and fauna that thrive in healthy desert ecosystems. 

Although the Mojave Desert where I live and work is characterized by incredibly rugged terrain and one of the harshest climates on earth, the creatures of the desert are more fragile than they appear. 

My work focuses on desert animals and ecological relationships that are in peril due to habitat fragmentation, climate change, and invasive species.  I also wish to highlight aspects of the desert that are seldom seen by the casual observer-- animals that hibernate or are nocturnal, ephemeral wildflowers that only appear with the perfect timing of rainfall, birds that nest in a fortress of cholla.

The desert is best known for its vast and sweeping landscapes, but it is only after falling to your knees that the true desert treasures, the inner landscape of a flower or the secrets of a tortoise den, will be revealed to you.