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The Reader Satisfaction Survey continues to cultivate great feedback from you. Thank you so much for your comments. I would like to address the interest some of you have about sharing books you have written &/or illustrated with ArtPlantae readers. All I can say is, don’t be shy. Send information about your book project!

Your information is always welcome. I thought I should make it obvious that the welcome mat is always out for you, so I have created a quick form for authors and/or illustrators to complete. The link to this form is now posted on this site in the column to your right, right below this sentence, and at ArtPlantae Books.

Also, please continue sending information about the classes you teach and about exhibitions of your work. Share what you do and let us know you’re out there!

One more thing…
A reader is looking for botanical art classes in New Jersey. Do you know of any?

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Website News & Updates

Dear All,

I appreciate the feedback you have provided through the Reader Satisfaction Survey. Because of your feedback, the Classes Near You section has been reorganized. The listings for California have been separated into two sections — one for northern California and the other for southern California. Also, each section only contains information for classes currently in session or classes scheduled for the future. Completed classes have been deleted.

Please note the request for 2012 schedules listed in each section. If you have classes you would like to post, please send your information to education@artplantae.com. And if you know of an organization or garden that will offer classes in 2012, please let me know or suggest to the organization/garden that they list their classes here.

A comment was posted about listing classes by state. Although I link directly to a state’s page when announcing new classes, please know the Classes Near You section has always been organized by state or country. This index is always available to you by clicking on the Classes Near You tab at the top of this page.

Again, I appreciate your feedback. The survey is still open, so if you would like to share your thoughts anonymously, please do.

With much appreciation,

Tania


Go to Reader Satisfaction Survey

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We first learned about the wonderful resources at TheMulch.com during EE Week in April. Since then, this extensive resource for gardeners has established a new home on the Web. The site is now faster and incorporates great social media tools for its gardening community. Mulch members now have the ability to incorporate their Twitter accounts and their RSS feeds into their gardening profiles.

I am excited to share that I received an invitation to participate as a contributor to TheMulch.com. My interview and profile, which reveals my gardening side, has been added to the site. Here at ArtPlantae, I don’t talk much about the botanical treasures in 4″ pots I feel compelled to buy from time-to-time. This isn’t the place for this type of conversation and there isn’t room for it either. But at TheMulch.com, there is room. Lots of room!

Are you an avid gardener? Do you want to learn more about a gardening resource dedicated to you and your plants? Then visit TheMulch.com to soak up all it has to offer. Membership at TheMulch is free and includes access to the monthly plant care guide, plant recommendations by experts, feature articles, and access to many other gardening resources. There is so much to read at TheMulch, be prepared to stay awhile!

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It’s that time of year where the class schedules distributed in January are replaced by schedules for Summer and Fall. Some of you have joined since National Environmental Education Week and since I do not have your contact information, I am going to post my announcement to all instructors here.

Instructors, if you know your schedule through the rest of the year, please submit your course listings to education@artplantae.com. If you already have a listing in the Classes Near You section, please check your listing and let me know what needs to be updated. If you are new to ArtPlantae and would like to submit course information for the first time, here are some things you’ll want to know:

  • You can list your courses for free. This is how we learn about each other and how we contribute to each others lifelong learning.
  • Courses in the following subjects are accepted: botanical art, botanical illustration, plant identification, botany, nature journals (& related book art workshops), natural science illustration
  • If you teach a course related to natural history or the environment that may be of interest to ArtPlantae readers, please submit your information. I am interested in learning more about what you do.

It is absolutely wonderful that people have begun to submit information on their own. Thank you for your trust and confidence. I appreciate it. I know there must be more learning opportunities out there, so please share your exhibitions and news with me. And while you are off enjoying your summer with family and friends, keep an eye out for individuals doing things we’d all like to learn about. Collect a business card, encourage them to contact me or suggest that they at least visit this website. Thank you in advance for your contribution to our growing community.

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Social media is not for everyone in spite of all the hype. Quite frankly, sometimes you just don’t feel like making friends. All you want to do is read and learn in peace.

To create exactly this type of a peaceful user experience, ArtPlantae has established a news area that is viewable without any obligation whatsoever. And since it serves as the source for the news bits posted to Facebook and Twitter, readers of this new news source receive the same information that Fans and the Twitterati receive. So if you have been avoiding congested social media channels like the plague, you now have the opportunity to receive information that does not require opening an account, logging-in, or having your photo appear on the Web every time you surface. All you need to do is read, glean bits of information, nod your head, and be on your way.

Here is how all of this works.

ArtPlantae shares news bites and interesting articles with its readers on Facebook and Twitter in between the usual Monday morning email updates. When the news stream is ripe with stories, information is posted on an (almost) daily basis. This information is now being funneled through the ArtPlantae News Feed, a very simple straightforward place to pick up as many morsels of news as you feel like having. Feel free to drop-in anytime.

If you would like to have your morsels fed to you, then subscribe to the feed and never worry about having to leave your inbox to search out what’s new. Subscribing to the feed means you will receive an update at the end of any day on which updates were posted. If no news is shared, no update is sent. It’s that simple.

However you choose to participate, we hope you

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While it may seem incomprehensible, not everyone likes to draw, paint, and read about plants. We all know someone who eats bestselling novels for lunch. It might even be you.

You all know ArtPlantae Books focuses on a specific niche. In this way, it is similar to the bookstores selling only mysteries or cookbooks. A general all-purpose bookstore it’s not. But we can still point you in the direction of those who can meet your all-purpose reading needs.

Enter IndieBound.org.

IndieBound is a program that was created by the American Booksellers Association (ABA) to bring attention to the masterful e-commerce capabilities of independent bookstores across the country. Indies do not only exist alongside the curb. They are online too and IndieBound will take you to the e-commerce division of your local brick-n-mortar bookstore. All you need to do is enter your zip code.

You will see a new graphic in the column to the right. It looks like the gift box above. Click on the sketch of the gift box and you will be on your way to buying bestsellers for those on your gift list or maybe even an engaging novel for yourself. Shopping this holiday season just got way too easy. Enjoy the convenience and thank you for considering the booksellers who know your region and your interests best.

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New Endorsement Guidelines for Blogs

The Federal Trade Commission’s new endorsement guidelines go into effect December 1, 2009. They require bloggers to explain their relationship with the products and services they feature on their websites. This includes book reviews, exhibit reviews, and pretty much anything where the motivation behind a review or mention needs to be clarified. Since this blog and its companion sites are all about education and the sharing of any number of items, you’ll be seeing a small link to the disclosure statement quite frequently. When you click on this link, here is what you’ll see:


ArtPlantae Disclosure Statement

The artists, authors, educational programs, special events, and organizations featured in posts, interviews, special announcements, and directories do not pay ArtPlantae LLC for their inclusion on any website owned and operated by ArtPlantae LLC.

Once in a blue moon (literally) a book publisher sends an unsolicited advance copy of a book to ArtPlantae for consideration. If a book is relevant to ArtPlantae’s educational objectives, it is reviewed and becomes a display copy at ArtPlantae Books. Any book that is not deemed to be relevant (such as a romance novel whose title makes reference to a plant or some aspect of gardening), is promptly given to the nearest avid reader. Other than rare “blue moon” events, titles reviewed by ArtPlantae are researched, hand-selected and purchased, or are selected from ArtPlantae’s private library containing books acquired at any number of bookstores or book sales during the past several years. Books and gift items available for purchase on ArtPlantae websites are linked to ArtPlantae Books, an online independent bookstore owned and operated by ArtPlantae LLC.

Advertisements are marked clearly. ArtPlantae LLC reserves the right to place advertisements on any site it owns and operates that it feels may be of interest and of value to its community of artists, naturalists, and educators.

Affiliate programs are marked clearly. For providing ad space, ArtPlantae receives a small commission for purchases completed through the links that are provided.

ArtPlantae LLC reserves the right to feature artists, authors, books, educational programs, special events, and organizations on any site it owns and operates that it feels may be of interest and of value to its community of artists, naturalists, and educators.

ArtPlantae LLC

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