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Archive for the ‘nature’ Category

EcoFair and ‘How-to-Garden’ Tour

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events on April 17, 2013|

This weekend the Wood Streets Green Team in Riverside will host its annual How-to-Garden Tour in partnership with the Riverside Community College Eco-Fair. This special event will occur on Sunday, April 21, 2013.

The RCC Eco-Fair will be held on campus from 11 AM – 2 PM and will feature local organizations dedicated to sustainability and environmental awareness. The garden tour will highlight three private gardens and the new community garden at Riverside Community College. The garden tour will be held from 11 AM – 4 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the tour sites (a donation of $5 is suggested).

The Wood Streets neighborhood in Riverside is located south of historic downtown Riverside, home of the beautiful Mission Inn. The Wood Streets Green Team is composed of Riverside residents dedicated to promoting sustainable living in Riverside.

More than 20 local groups will take part in the RCC Eco-Fair.
Exhibitors include: ArtPlantae, Child Leader Project, community garden groups, Growcology, Habitat for Humanity Riverside, Riverside County Waste Management Master Composters, Santa Ana Watershed Association, and the Western Municipal Water District.

The RCC Eco-Fair will be held under the covered walkway between the Math and Science Building (#12 on map) and the new community garden. Parking will be available in the lot on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Ramona (see map).

Directions to Riverside Community College
Download campus map

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Earth Night in the Garden

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events on April 17, 2013|

The popular Earth Night in the Garden event hosted by the Western Municipal Water District in Riverside will be held on Earth Day, April 22, 2013.

Thirty-three organizations will take part in this free family event that will include hands-on activities, face painters, puppet shows and more.

Exhibitors include:
ArtPlantae, Forest Council, Gates Cactus & Succulent Society, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Leave No Trace, Riverside Metropolitan Museum/Heritage House, Southland Solar SunPower, UCCE Master Gardeners, and UCR California Invasive Plants.

Earth Night in the Garden will be held at Landscapes Southern California Style, the water district’s demonstration garden located at the corner of Alessandro Blvd and Mission Grove Pkwy (click image to see map). This event begins at 3:00 PM.

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The Art & Science of Gardens and Nature

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Sketching & Journaling on April 16, 2013| 1 Comment »

Welcome EE Week visitors! Hope you enjoy your visit.

A popular feature on this site is the Classes Near You section. Today there are great examples of the types of classes you can find in this section. Allow me to introduce you naturalist and artist, Maria Hodkins from Colorado and to North Cascades Basecamp in Mazama, WA.

Maria Hodkins has announced her schedule of classes for Spring and Summer. You are invited to join her in Colorado.

Here is what’s new at Classes Near You > Colorado:

Maria Hodkins, Windword Writing Services
www.windword.net
Maria is a naturalist, mixed-media artist and book artist who teaches classes in journaling, creative writing and bookbinding in Colorado. Visit her website to learn more about her and the books she has written.

Illustrated
Garden Journals

Do you love gardening? Keeping a garden journal is a way to celebrate your garden in an artful way. Gardening is more than just digging holes, planting seeds, pulling weeds, and watering your plants — it’s about nurturing your soil and your soul. A garden journal will help you remember all that beauty and delicious bounty for years to come. It’s a visual record of gardening dates, ideas, plant and flower documentation, and personal stories. In this weekend workshop, you will learn nature sketching & watercolor, page design, lettering, and artful journaling techniques with artist-naturalist Maria Hodkins in the classroom. After learning these techniques, you will tour local gardens and sketch plants plein air with field notes. By the end of the workshop you’ll experience the joys of keeping a garden journal and discover how it can be used to plan your garden and serve as a lasting record of your gardening trials, triumphs, and treasures.
Cost: $90 CCAH members, $100 nonmembers. View Details/Register

Handmade Art Journals
June 1, 2013
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Carbondale Council on Arts & Humanities (CCAH)
Carbondale, CO

Learn to make a practical and beautiful journal for your own daily use to capture images and writings. In this one-day class you will make a simple hand-made book, with multi-media paper, a decorative cover, and a beautiful exposed spine binding using the ancient 2-needle Coptic stitch. We will then explore a variety of options to personalize the journal with cover embellishments, colophon, and dedication page. This journal can be used for sketching or journaling with any mixed media, such as watercolor, pen & ink, or collage.
Cost: $40 CCAH members, $50 nonmembers. View Details/Register

Plant Portraits: The Confluence of Art & Science
June 27-28, 2013
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
Aspen, CO

Come for an artistic romp in the field, sketching and painting plant life in flattering illustrations, botanical-style. Participants will study leaves, wildflowers, trees, and lichens, creating artful portraits focused on form, function, habitat, plant surfaces, gestures, and growth patterns. This two-day workshop will hone observational skills and art techniques, including basic nature sketching to more formal methods in botanical illustration. Work in the field as you explore pencil and ink sketches, and finish portraits in the classroom with beautiful watercolor and colored pencil. These portraits will be rendered with both botanical accuracy and beauty. Anyone with an interest in drawing plants will discover the charm and appeal of this art form–gardeners, hikers, nature guides, biology students, informal science educators, and teachers. All skill levels are welcome! 1 College Credit available.
Cost: $125 members, $160 nonmembers. View Materials List/Register

Partners in Wonder: Sharing Nature Through Field Journaling
June 29, 2013
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
Aspen, CO

Discover a world of magic with your child in the tiniest leaf, a bird’s feather, and the puffy clouds overhead. Ask “what is happening outside in nature today?” then tromp outdoors together, journals in hand, to take in the world with all of your senses. Map out and find the incredible creatures contained in one square yard of ground. Become keen observers and adventurers together while recording the wonders that you see. This one-day workshop will acquaint you with basic instruction for keeping a nature journal, including observation skills, sketching, writing, and playing with color. Parents, relatives, friends, or teachers – this is your chance to learn how to develop a deep and lasting connection to nature together with your children.
Cost: $110 members, $130 nonmembers (1 adult & 1 child); $40 each additional person. View Materials List/Register

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ArtPlantae Recognized for Encouraging Interest in Nature

Posted in Blog News, botanical art, nature, Special Announcements on February 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

ArtPlantae has received a Making A Mark Award by artist and writer Katherine Tyrrell, editor of Making A Mark, a blog about art for artists and art lovers. Katherine’s resource-rich blog is rated #3 out of the top 25 art blogs in the UK.

Katherine awarded ArtPlantae with The Going Greener Gong for 2012. This award is given to the art blog “most stimulating in relation to getting us in touch with nature and the environment.”

It is an honor to receive this award from Katherine and I appreciate her bringing attention to the site and the wonderful guests who have taught us so much.

View previous award winners of The Going Greener Gong, as well as winners in the plein air category and the sketchbook category at Making A Mark.

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Study & Draw Carnivorous Plants at Splinter Hill Bog

Posted in botanical art, botany, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Sketching & Journaling, travel on February 12, 2013|

Valerie Webb of The Illustrated Garden will lead a three-day workshop at Splinter Hill Bog in Alabama, a preserve that is home to several species of carnivorous plants, including five species of pitcher plants.

Here is what’ new at Classes Near You > Alabama!

The Illustrated Garden, A Studio Blog
www.valwebb.com
Val Webb is the 2013 Artist-in-Residence at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. This year Val will work at the gardens and encourage others to sketch the garden’s collections to learn about plants, gardening and all that the Mobile Botanical Gardens has to offer. Visit Val’s website to view her online tutorial, Botanical Drawing with Pencil and Watercolor. Connect with The Illustrated Garden on Facebook.

Botanical Drawing: Splinter Hill Bog and Beyond

detailed itinerary and registration information

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Ruth Ava Lyons Discusses Painting in Oil, Using Gold Leaf

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events on February 4, 2013|

Feature guest Ruth Ava Lyons paints in oil and prefers oil over acrylic. She also applies other media to her paintings. I asked what is it about oil that captures her attention. She replied:

Oil is a very seductive medium. It has a richness of palette that is hard to simulate in acrylic which sometimes sends a visual clue that it is man-made/plastic/synthetic. In my youth, I studied the old masters and became very fond of their techniques with oil…

Ruth discusses her use of oil, metal leaf, gold leaf and more

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Plant Traits, Conservation, Trading Cards

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, teaching and learning on January 30, 2013|

Jay Fitzsimmons, whose trading card activity we learned about in Friday’s teaching and learning column, has provided links to articles about plant traits associated with conservation issues. How can this new information be used to create new trading card activities?

If you are looking for more ideas about how to use trading cards in your classroom or program, read comments posted in response to Jay’s article and add your own to continue this conversation.