Education | ArtPlantae Today

Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Welcome to National Environmental Education Week

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, Technology on April 15, 2013|

Learn more about EE Week.

Welcome to National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) at ArtPlantae!

Our community of artists, naturalists and educators welcome you to our gathering place. Here you will find interesting dialog between readers and featured guests, and engaging conversation among readers as they help each other by sharing tips and tools. You will also discover classes about botanical art, natural science illustration, botany and the book arts that are taught across the U.S., in Europe and at other exciting locations (Morocco, anyone?). This week we will learn about a class with an artist/explorer, a class about how to create a garden journal, and much more.

Looking for an exhibition about plants and natural history art?
See the “Exhibits to Visit” section located in the column at right.

Interested in using drawing as a learning tool when teaching about plants in your classroom or program? See the “Teaching & Learning” section also in the column to your right.

This month we are exploring how technology can be used to encourage an interest in plants and botanical art. We are also taking a traditional look at botanical art. Glad you can join us.

To be notified about new classes, new guests and new conversation among readers, click on the “Follow” tab in your browser’s window or join the mailing list.

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Tips & Tools: Interactive Field Guides

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Reference, Technology on April 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

There are many apps on the market that enable naturalists to explore the great outdoors without carrying a backpack full of books. Even large traditional references such as The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California are now available as easy-to-carry ebooks.

What type of interactive field guides or apps have you used to learn about plants? Did you find them to be user-friendly or simply too frustrating to use?

Share your experiences below in the Comment box.

More Tips & Tools:

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Booklet About Bartram Botanical Art Exhibition Now Available

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements on April 10, 2013|

Buy guide, $5

The booklet about the Bartram exhibition is now available for sale at ArtPlantae. This beautiful complement to the exhibition, Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps: Contemporary Botanical Artists Explore the Bartrams’ Legacy, includes an introduction by Joel Fry, Curator, Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. It also includes an essay by Patricia Jonas, Exhibitions Chair of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA). In her essay, Jonas provides background information about the artwork in this traveling exhibition.

This 20-page booklet includes drawings and paintings by: Maryann Roper, Lizzie Sanders, Bobbi Angell, John Bartram, William Bartram, Beverly Duncan, Catherine Watters, Betsy Rogers-Knox, Wendy Cortesi, Lara Call Gastinger, Karen Kluglein, Dick Rauh, Joan Lavigueur Geyer, Judith Simon, Maria Cecilia Freeman, Derek Norman and Diane McElwain.

Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps is now on view at Bartram’s Garden Gallery in Philadelphia, PA through May 24, 2013. It will be on view at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, FL from September 19 – December 30, 2013 and then travel to the Cherokee Garden Library at Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, GA (March 17 – June 17, 2014) and the North Carolina Botanical Garden at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where it will be on view
August 30 – November 2, 2014.

This exhibition guide, as well as ASBA exhibition catalogs, can be purchased online at ArtPlantae Books.

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Education Stations About Plants, Water & Technology at Earth Day Event in Inland Empire

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, Technology on April 9, 2013|

This year the city of Banning, CA celebrates its 100th birthday. One of the many festivities celebrating this milestone is the city’s first-ever Earth Day event at Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum. This inaugural event will be held this weekend on Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 9 AM – 5 PM.

Local organizations will host education stations and provide educational activities for children and adults. Stations will provide information about topics ranging from the water cycle to how to propagate California native plants. Learning opportunities will be provided by:

ArtPlantae
Bureau of Land Management
Malki Museum with Aaron Saubel
Riverside County Parks
Riverside County Waste Management
Santa Ana Watershed Association
Wild California

Also participating in this event are specialty merchants, food vendors and local organizations dedicated to thoughtful green-living practices. See you there!

Banning Centennial Earth Day
Gilman Historic Ranch & Wagon Museum
Saturday, April 13, 2013
9 AM – 5 PM
View map

Admission:
$6 per car
$3 per adult (walk-in)
$2 per child (walk-in)
$1 per dog

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Bones, Birds & Botanicals with Kathleen McKeehan

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities on April 9, 2013|

Looking for classes in the Seattle area?

Here is the latest at Classes Near You > Washington:

Kathleen McKeehen, Scientific Illustrator
www.florawithfauna.com
Kathleen is a teacher and freelance illustrator. Her work has appeared in Organic Gardening Magazine and The Herb Companion. View Kathleen’s artwork in the ASBA Members’ Gallery or at the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators’
Science-Art.com. Kathleen welcomes both beginners and advanced students to her classes.

Bugs, Bones, and Birds

While dry-brush watercolor is the most frequently used method in botanical painting, it’s also the perfect to use when portraying other natural science subjects. Learn to paint insects, skulls, bones, and birds using the classic dry technique to portray these subjects realistically and in three dimensions. Individuals preferring to work on botanical subjects can do so. All levels welcome. Cost: $230
View Details/Register

Blooming Gardens
April 12 – June 14, 2013
Fridays 1:30-4:30 PM
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle

Learn the classical method for botanical painting — dry-brush watercolor. Measurement, washes, dry-brush techniques, composition. Methods and materials will be covered as students learn to portray botanical subjects. Emphasis will be on the flowers of spring. All levels welcome; returning students can choose to work on projects independently with supervision. Cost: $430
View Details/Register

Botanical Drawing
April 12 – June 14, 2013
Fridays 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle

The basics of drawing will be covered, beginning with the expressive use of line to portray botanical subjects, then progressing to use various methods of shading to show form and three-dimensionality. While the class focuses on plant subjects, the methods and techniques taught work well for rendering any subject realistically. All levels welcome; intermediate students can take on more complicated subjects with instructor supervision. Cost: $430
View Details/Register

Botanical Painting
April 16 – May 7, 2013
Tuesdays 7:00-9:30 PM
The Center for Urban Horticulture, Seattle

Dry-brush watercolor is a classical method of portraying botanical subjects. Learn the basics — measurement, handling light on form, washes, dry-brush application, color mixing, etc. — to portray various botanical subjects in a realistic way. All levels are welcome, and repeating students can take on more advanced subjects with plentiful instructor supervision. Cost: $260
View Details/Register

Botanical Watercolor Workshop
Saturday, May 18, 2013
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Kruckeberg Botanic Garden, Shoreline, WA

Learn the basics of botanical watercolor in a one-day workshop at the beautiful Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline, WA. Cost: $125 nonmembers, $100 KBGF Members.
View Details/Register

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David Valbrecht Invites You to Learn from Leaves

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on April 5, 2013|

Go to Arnold Arboretum

Learning from Leaves by David Valbracht
April 6 – June 9, 2013
Landscape architect David Valbracht turned to botanical illustration to develop a better method for identifying trees. A guest researcher at the Arboretum, David gathers plant samples from his studies in the collections and arranges them in his studio as they grew in life. The “tree portraits” he creates emphasize drawing as a method to develop observation and identification skills, and at the same allow for personal expression. The exhibition of his work features a thirty-foot mural illustrating over 100 species of trees. Valbracht studied landscape architecture at Harvard University, botanical art at the Wellesley College Botanical Garden, and is currently attending the Academy of Realist Art, Boston.

Visitors to David’s show will have the opportunity to meet with him and to ask questions about his work. Mark these dates on your calendar:

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 6, 1:00–3:00 PM
Artist’s Talk and Demonstration: Thursday, May 2, 6:00–7:00 PM (Register; FREE)
Guided Tour: Sunday, May 19, 2:00 PM (Register, FREE)

Oaks, © David Valbrecht. All rights reserved

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Exhibition by Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists Opens Tonight

Posted in botanical art, Cookbooks, Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on April 5, 2013|

Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists, a chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists, will open a month-long exhibition and sale at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture’s Miller Library this evening.

The exhibition by Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists will feature original paintings by 13 artists. Prints and cards will be available for purchase. The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, May 4, the date of the Master Gardener plant sale at the Center for Urban Horticulture. A portion of proceeds from all sales will benefit the library.

This event will be held in conjunction with the 8th Annual Garden Lover’s Book Sale Preview Party, a wine and cheese event featuring hundreds of gardening books and cookbooks. Doesn’t this sound like fun?

To purchase tickets for tonight’s book sale and preview party, contact the library.
The annual book sale will be open to the public tomorrow from 9 AM – 3 PM (free admission).