Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Darwin’s ‘The Origin of Species’ to Become Illuminated Manuscript

Posted in botanical art, Education, History, Special Announcements, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events on November 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

Kelly Houle at work in her studio.

Natural history artist, calligrapher and science educator, Kelly Houle, is creating a large-scale illuminated manuscript based on Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Each page will be designed as a work of art. All text will be written by hand and natural history illustrations will be illuminated with iridescent watercolors and 23-karat gold. The completed manuscript will be 22 x 30 inches and is expected to have 300 pages and over 500 illuminations.

Kelly has established working relationships with biologists and evolution experts from all over the world who will advise her during this project (see timeline). Kelly’s goal is to enhance public understanding of Darwin’s text. She explains:

I believe that the main barrier to understanding The Origin of Species is the perceived difficulty of the writing. The concepts themselves are simple, yet profound. I hope to improve understanding of The Origin by integrating poetic arrangements of Darwin’s words with visually striking presentations of the evidence. I will use elements of poetry, traditional realism, lettering art, graphic design, and fine art illustration in the service of communicating one of the most important ideas in science. 

Kelly has been raising funds on the funding website Kickstarter. Donors donating $10 or more will receive gifts of art related to The Illuminated Origin of Species. All donors will have their names written in a special section of the illuminated manuscript. In addition to individual donations, Kelly is looking for an institutional donor to fund the entire Illuminated Origin of Species project in exchange for the completed manuscript.

To read more about this project, watch a short video and to make a donation, visit the The Illuminated Origin of Species.


Related

Read Full Post »

Community Art Center Offers 10-Week Botanical Painting Workshop for Beginners

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities on November 14, 2011|

Botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim, will begin teaching a 10-week class in botanical painting in January 2012. Do you live in the Chicago area?

Don’t miss this class by Heeyoung Kim!


Lillstreet Art Center
http://lillstreet.com
The Lillstreet Art Center offers adult classes in painting and drawing, ceramics, metalsmithing and jewelry, printmaking, textiles, glass, photography and the digital arts. View a schedule of their classes for first-time artists and for children ages 2 and up here.

    Introduction to Botanical Art & Illustration I
    Mondays, January 9 – March 12, 2012; 10 AM – 1 PM. This class is designed for beginners/advanced beginners. Fundamental watercolor techniques will be introduced, along with an introduction to botanical art history. In this ten-week class, students will also learn basic botany, which is essential for botanical artists to make their work botanically accurate. Two independent projects will be completed by each student.

    For more information, contact instructor and botanical artist Heeyoung Kim at info@PrairiePlantArt.com. Learn more about Heeyoung and view her online gallery at www.PrairiePlantArt.com. To register for this class, contact the Lillstreet Art Center at (773) 769-4226 or register online. Cost: $320 members, $330 nonmembers

This information has also been posted to Classes Near You > Chicago.

Read Full Post »

Exhibitions of Botanical Art for November 2011

Posted in Education, Special Announcements, Special Events on November 9, 2011|

While this is a busy time of year, there is always time to enjoy botanical art. Below are a few opportunities to view drawings and paintings by contemporary botanical artists.

This information has also been added to the Exhibits to Visit section in the column to your right.


Put Yourself on the Map
Results from the ongoing Reader Satisfaction Survey show the Exhibits to Visit section is popular with readers. Help fellow artists, naturalists, educators and collectors find you. Send your announcements to education@artplantae.com.

Read Full Post »

ArtPlantae Meets the Girl Scouts

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Events on November 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

Recently ArtPlantae brought its “Know Plants” message to 12,000 Girl Scouts at the Girltopia: The World of Girl event at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

There really were 12,000 Girl Scouts there. The aisles were filled with people all day and there were only two moments where there was no one at the booth. Both moments lasted less than 60 seconds. I am not exaggerating.

There were many things to do at Girltopia — from seeing plants at ArtPlantae, to attending Cookie University, to taking leadership workshops, to interacting with technology, to taking one’s photo with Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp (thanks to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Hollywood).

Here are a few photos I managed to take at this incredible event.


Read Full Post »

Call for Authors and Illustrators of Books About Plants, Natural History Art

Posted in Blog News, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements on November 7, 2011|

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?

Read Full Post »

Ask the Artist with Hazel West-Sherring

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities on November 7, 2011|

There are five days left to ask our featured guest, Hazel West-Sherring, about all aspects of her work and about teaching, learning and creating botanical art.

    Do you have “how-to” questions? Ask Hazel!

    Curious as to where you should place your signature on a painting? Ask!

    Flower parts driving you crazy?

    Having a hard time with a leaf?

    Ready to throw your paint brushes out the window?

    Participate in this month’s conversation and ask our guest the questions you have on your mind this month.

Send your questions through the comment box below or send them to education@artplantae.com.

Read Full Post »

Illustrated Diaries: When Storytelling Goes Beyond Words

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, book review, botanical art, Education, History on November 2, 2011|

Inspiration for the Holidays

It is the diaries that speak the loudest in the empty library at night.

— Susan Snyder

Diarist, Susan Snyder, has compiled a moving and engrossing collection of diaries in Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries. The featured diarists recorded their thoughts, secret wishes, To Do lists and illustrations in diaries they referred to as their “journals”, “field notes” and “logs”. The unknown writers provide an insider’s perspective of significant world events and invaluable insight into what nature looked like during their lifetimes.

Most of the diaries in this book are from the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley where Snyder works as a librarian and researcher. The diaries in this book are not all by famous people, although you may recognize the products they created and the organizations they established. The featured diarists were (and are) travelers, mothers, inventors, explorers, naturalists, children, poets and soldiers — including a 16 year-old soldier of the Mexican-American War whose interest in botany was greater than his interest in fighting.

In Beyond Words, you will find journals written between 1776 and 1981. With each turn of the page, years pass, journal pages become less fragile, penmanship becomes more modern, and advances in technology (think typewriter) and advances in photography become evident.

Each 24″-wide, two-page spread allows the reader to view each diarists’ words and illustration up close. These visual treats and the warm colors, eye-pleasing fonts and clean layout of each page create a soothing reading experience for readers.

Heyday Books has provided us an opportunity to view pages inside this wonderful new book. Click on the image to peek into the diaries of John Muir and others.


Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries
Order this book online from your local independent bookstore.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »