Please submit up to three (3) questions to bookstore@artplantae.com. Be sure to write ASK WENDY in the subject line. Wendy’s responses to your questions about Botanical Drawing: A Beginner’s Guide and about botanical art in general, will be posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
Ask Wendy Hollender Questions About Botanical Art
Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Education, Special Events on April 7, 2008|
Connecting With The Environment
Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, Education, Special Events on March 18, 2008| 1 Comment »
On March 8 – 9, 2008 ArtPlantae Books participated in the Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair. Thousands of children and their parents attended the fair at the LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. ArtPlantae Books provided Sketching Stations for visitors and artists both young and old stopped to draw, paint, and learn more about ArtPlantae and its mission. We had a great time meeting with educators, parents, and children. We also had the good fortune to learn about organizations who dedicate themselves to educating members of the public about their environment. Organizations such as: Kathy’s Critters, The Children’s Nature Institute, Catalina Island Conservancy, Monrovia Canyon Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Boojum Institute, Eaton Canyon Natural Area, The Southwestern Herpetologists Society, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, Project WET USA, BugArtbySteven.com, American Red Cross, Girl Scouts of America, San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District, United States Department of Energy, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Fire Department (Forestry Division), and The Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education. Just to name a few!
The Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair is organized by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Forestry Division and is held each year at the LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.
Darwin’s Garden
Posted in botany, Education, Special Events on March 18, 2008|
You are invited to discover the untold story of Charles Darwin’s lifelong fascination and work with plants. Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure at The New York Botanical Garden showcases Darwin’s botanical influences, research, and contributions in these venues:
Darwin’s Own Gardens: A re-creation of Darwin’s gardens at his home Down House in England features his important work, in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory April 25 – June 15.
Darwin’s Botany in His Own Words: Original historical documents explore Darwin’s deep, personal relationship with plants, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s William D. Rondina and Giovanni Foroni LoFaro Gallery April 25 – July 20.
Children’s Adventures with Darwin: Hands-on activities, a replica of Darwin’s ship, and a display of carnivorous and other plants he studied teach about Darwin’s groundbreaking findings, in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, April 25 – June 29.
Evolutionary Tour: A walking tour through some of the Garden’s living collections illustrates Darwin’s concept of a tree of life, April 25 – June 15.
An additional highlight of the exhibition is a two-day symposium, on May 6 and 8, hosted by the Botanical Garden and the American Museum of Natural History. Darwin: 21st-Century Perspectives will feature presentations by some of the world’s leading Darwin experts who will discuss the far-reaching legacy of Charles Darwin and the implications of his thinking for science and society today. See the enclosed flyer for more information.
Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure will be on view April 25 – June 15, 2008.
Celebrating Planet Earth
Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, Education, Special Events on March 9, 2008| 2 Comments »
Visit the Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Stop by today to learn from the many organizations participating in the fair. Children can participate in learning activities at most booths and learn something new at all booths. Children visiting ArtPlantae Books will have the opportunity to create a small drawing or painting of flowers and fruit (or anything they want!) using pencil, colored pencil or watercolor.
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is located at
301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA.
For more information about the 28th Annual Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair (March 8-9, 2008), click here.
A Greener Tomorrow, Today!
Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, Education, Special Events on March 4, 2008|
This is the mission of the Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair (LAEEF) funded by the California Department of Education. This year the fair will be held Saturday, March 8th from 9 am – 4 pm and Sunday, March 9th from 12 pm to 4 pm at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, CA. ArtPlantae Books will be an exhibitor at the fair this year, along with other companies, agencies and interest groups who offer natural science education or resources. This event targets educators, students, parents and others who are interested in nature and the environment. Exhibitors will provide hands-on activities for young learners to encourage an interest in the natural world.
This event is an information-only event and on-site book sales will not performed. Instead, ArtPlantae Books will display and distribute information about books and resources that can be used to encourage an interest in plants and nature through botanical illustration.
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is located at
301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA.
For more information about the 28th Annual Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair, click here.
Collection Connection: Drawn to Flowers
Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities on February 20, 2008|
Explore techniques for botanical illustration with Tania Marien and Deborah Shaw in this two-session drawing course. The first session will include studio exercises and in-gallery sketching at the Getty Center. The second session meets at the Huntington Library where participants will study and sketch plants in the Brody Teaching Laboratory and gardens. Complements the exhibition Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science. Course fee $45. Open to 25 participants.
Part 1: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.; The Getty Center, Museum Studios
Part 2: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.; The Huntington Library, Brody Teaching Laboratory
Preservation Through Observation & Plant Documentation
Posted in Education, Special Articles & Interviews on November 21, 2007| 1 Comment »
Earlier I noted that sometimes there are flowers that go unnoticed on a daily basis because we have seen them so many times before. We stop paying attention to them because they have become merely background noise. Today I have a prime example of what can happen if we all keep our observational skills up.
In May 2006, Kay Madore, a docent at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve located just east of Murrieta in Riverside County, CA, noticed something that was a bit out of the ordinary when looking at the same old patch of Brodiaea (bro-dih-ee-uh) flowers. Mind you, what was slightly out of the ordinary was just that…only slightly out of the ordinary. You see, within the patch of Brodiaea, there were a few flowers that stood out slightly as they we a bit larger than their lilac-hued Brodiaea neighbors.
With her curiosity peaked, Kay showed the plants to fellow docents Tom Chester and Wayne Armstrong who have been researching the brodiaeas at the Reserve for the past four years. Chester and Armstrong researched the plant, measured it, wrote about it and submitted their findings to experts. The experts agreed with Chester and Armstrong that what Madore had observed was in fact a brand new species of Brodiaea.
If it were not for Kay’s curiosity and her observant eye, none of us would have ever known that within the more common flora, there were jewels to be found. This new species has been named the Santa Rosa Basalt Brodiaea (Brodiaea santarosae).
Visit the Field Guide to the Santa Rosa Plateau to learn more about this newest “addition” to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve.
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