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Archive for the ‘botanical art’ Category

Drawing to Improve Observational Skills and Understanding

Posted in botanical art, drawing, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, teaching and learning on September 1, 2013| 35 Comments »

Jennifer Landin is a biology professor at North Carolina State University. She is also a scientific illustrator and a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI). She attended the University of Georgia and University of Montana for her undergraduate degree in Forestry & Wildlife Management. She received her Master’s degree in biology from Marshall University in West Virginia.

I first met Jennifer last year at the GNSI conference in Savannah, Georgia. It wasn’t until after the conference, when we were working on an article for the Guild’s journal, did I learn of Jennifer’s dissertation research about the use of perceptual drawing in the classroom. I have since read her dissertation and am excited that we have the opportunity to learn more about Jennifer’s research this month.

In her research, Jennifer addresses the use of drawing to improve observational skills and increase understanding in the biology classroom. To help you understand her project, here are her research questions as they appear in Landin (2011):

2. Do students who participate in weekly drawing activities show a more positive attitude toward biology when compared to students who participate in weekly writing activities?

3. Do students who participate in weekly drawing activities display improved observational skills when compared to students who participate in weekly writing activities?

4. What are student perceptions of drawing activities in relation to biological understanding?

5. Are there correlations between the gains in content knowledge related to drawing activities and student cognitive processes?

Jennifer hypothesized that students who participated in weekly drawing activities would:

Demonstrate a higher level of biology content knowledge.
Demonstrate a more positive attitude toward biology.
Demonstrate a higher level of observational skills when compared to students who participated in weekly writing activities only.

Did the data support these hypotheses?

We’ll find out as this month progresses.

Please welcome Dr. Jennifer Landin as our special guest for September!

Literature Cited
Landin, Jennifer. 2011. Perceptual Drawing as a Learning Tool in a College Biology Laboratory. Dissertation. North Carolina University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Update October 2016
See Jennifer and her students at work in a video produced by North Carolina State University at https://youtu.be/MFuDDLqajVA.

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Drawing, Learning & Research Coming in September

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Blog News, botanical art, Education, Teaching & Learning on August 30, 2013| 2 Comments »

Today I have announcements instead of the usual Friday column.

On Sunday, September 1, we’ll launch a month that will include much discussion about drawing, learning, and research. Watch your inbox for an email announcement or your Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn timelines if you follow through these channels.

During August, the focus was on classroom resources. As this month comes to a close, I want to make you aware of changes at the store. The Classroom category has been updated and resources are now organized by age groups. The subcategories Activity and Reference have also been added. I hope you find these new categories helpful and the reviews relevant to your teaching whether you teach in a traditional classroom, teach as an informal science educator or teach at home. The new categories are expanding quickly.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend.

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Free Writing Workshop at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on August 28, 2013|

Look at what’s new at Classes Near You > Southern California!

Paula Panich – The Literary Gardener
www.theliterarygardener.com
Paula Panich is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Gastronomica, and Better Homes and Gardens. She is the author of four books, including Cultivating Words: The Guide to Writing About the Plants & Gardens You Love. She teaches at museums and botanical gardens across the US and currently teaches in the UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Program.

Art, Table, Taste, Memory: A Writing Workshop
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
10:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Journalist, teacher and writer, Paula Panich will teach a special writing workshop for Los Angeles Art Muse, a community of historians, artists and educators who lead small private group tours in the Los Angeles area. Join Paula at LACMA and engage with the food-and-table related art in the museum’s galleries. Participate in writing exercises and awaken your senses and memory to unveil your history as it pertains to food, memory, family and history.

Cost: FREE
LACMA Admission: $10
LACMA Parking: $10

For more information and to register, contact Clare Kunny. Limit: 12

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New Page Lists Upcoming Community Events

Posted in Blog News, botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities on August 28, 2013|

Look to the upper right of your screen and you will see a new tab along the top of the page. The Events tab will take you to a page where you can view ArtPlantae’s event schedule at a glance. Here is what you’ll find on this page right now:

ArtPlantae is more than a website.

It is an independent small business and an educational organization managing various outreach activities. This page lists community events in which ArtPlantae will participate or host. See you offline!

August 2013

Habitat for Humanity Artist Showcase Auction

www.RiversideRestore.org/showcase

Learn More

Fruit: Sweet & Savory
Aurea Vista
Saturday, August 31
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Join fellow gardeners and plant lovers at the community table at Aurea Vista to learn about fruit, botanical illustration and to begin your own personalized guide to plants. Participants will go home with sketches and information about different fruit types. To register, please visit the Aurea Vista or call (951) 684-1500. Limit: 6.
Cost: $35, includes a Scripta Notes Sketchbook and fruit specimens.

September 2013

Botany Craft Bar

Aurea Vista

October 2013

Botany Craft Bar – Colorful Gourds

Aurea Vista

UC Riverside Botanic Gardens Celebrates 50 Years
http://gardens.ucr.edu
Sunday, October 6, 2013
10 AM – 4 PM
The University of California Riverside Botanic Garden (UCRBG) is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a family garden festival. Demonstrations, lectures, a marketplace, and children’s activities are planned for this special event. The Garden is excited to announce the UCRBG Children’s Fund. Visit the festival to learn more about this new fund and how the Garden will enter its next 50 years as a teaching and educational facility promoting environmental sustainability.

Riverside Long Night of Arts & Innovation
http://longnightriverside.com
Downtown Riverside
Thursday, October 10, 2013
4:00 PM – Midnight
The inaugural event last year was a huge success. Come to downtown to learn about the innovative projects occurring in Riverside, to discover all there is to do in this historic area and to support local merchants. More information will be posted in September.

Attention Event Coordinators:
ArtPlantae is always interested in learning about educational events related to its educational mission. Information about new events is always welcome.
Please send information (and vendor packets, when applicable) to:

education@artplantae.com

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Create Botanical Art with Striking Realism at Wellesley Botanic Gardens

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on August 27, 2013|

Australian botanical artist John Pastoriza-Piñol will teach in Massachusetts in October. Details about this special learning opportunity have been added to
Classes Near You > Massachusetts.

Here is what’s new:

Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
Certificate Program in Botanical Art and Illustration
www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends
This program offers several weekly and two- or three-day classes on botanical art and scientific illustration with Sarah Roche and Jeanne Kunze and visiting instructors. The courses offered through this program cover all aspects of botanical art. Here is a peek at the 2012-2013 schedule:

Graphite Fundamentals: Basic Drawing Skills
Learning Botany by Drawing
Leaves 101
Plant Painting for the Petrified
Photoshop Demystified
Extreme Lumps and Bumps
smART Business
Colored Pencil Fundamentals

Fall 2013 Classes
DON’T MISS!
Fall’s Finer Details with John Pastoriza-Piñol
October 11-14, 2013
9:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Learn how to build botanical realism in your art in this four-day class with Australian botanical artist, John Pastoriza-Piñol. An accurate realism artist based in Melbourne, Australia, John will share the intricacies of achieving fine detail with watercolor masking fluid and NEEF ¼ Comb, invaluable tools for contemporary botanical artists. Over the four days John will assist you with composition, painting techniques, and color theory as you accurately render the chosen subject. As a result, your paintings will be brought to a new level of realism and detail. This class is for artists with intermediate to advanced drawing and watercolor skills.

WCBG Friends Members, $550
Non-Members, $660

To register: wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu or call (781) 283-3094

Learn more about Wellesley’s certificate program.
View current schedule

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Make Plants Special

Posted in botanical art, botany, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities on August 23, 2013|

Today our guide is Mary Lightbody, a professor who teachers preservice teachers. In What’s So Special About Plants? Inquiry in the Classroom, Lightbody describes how she teaches an introductory unit about plants using the 5E Learning Model we learned about earlier this year.

Lightbody (2011) explains how she plans for each phase of the model and how she guides students through each exercise. Her examples, support materials and references are excellent. If you get her article, here is what you’ll be adding to your Teaching Toolbox:

Instruction about how to use concept maps to understand what students already know about plants.
Instruction about how to identify students’ misconceptions about plants.
Insight into how to lead students through an observation activity that engages students through drawing.
Insight into how to help students explore differences and similarities between plants through writing.
An activity to help you verify the existence of cells that convert sunlight into food for growth.
Insight into how to evaluate student understanding and how to create opportunities for continued learning.

What I like best about Lightbody (2011) is that it provides a structured and easy-to-replicate approach to learning a biological process (photosynthesis) that is not easy to observe, much less understand. The introductory lesson Lightbody (2011) so clearly describes complements Max Axiom’s explanation of photosynthesis very well.

What’s So Special About Plants? can be purchased online from the National Science Teachers Association for 99¢.

Literature Cited
Lightbody, Mary. 2011. What’s so special about plants? Inquiry in the classroom. Science Scope. 34(8): 50-55

Also See

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REMINDER: Deadline Approaches for Art & Photography Tour to Costa Rica

Posted in Art, botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, travel on August 23, 2013|

Early Registration Deadline is September 1, 2013
SAVE $250!

Each year natural science illustrator, Mindy Lighthipe, leads an art and photography tour to Costa Rica. The early registration deadline is fast-approaching. If you’ve considered this trip, don’t forget that you can save $250 if you register before September 1.

Why go to Costa Rica? What will you get out of it?

Mindy describes her tour and how Costa Rica continues to inspire her art: