Special Announcements | ArtPlantae Today

Archive for the ‘Special Announcements’ Category

Gift Cards for Botanical Art Classes

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on December 4, 2013|

Mark Granlund opens Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio and offers a holiday special with every gift card purchased.

Buy a gift card good for classes at Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio before
January 2, 2014 and receive a 10% bonus. Gift cards purchased during the holiday season are worth their face value plus 10%. So if you purchase a $50 gift card, it will be good for $55 worth of classes at Mark’s new studio.

Here is the latest news at Classes Near You > Minnesota:

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio
www.jackinthepulpitstudio.com
This is the private studio of Mark Granlund. Classes in botanical and fine art are taught by Mark and guest instructors. Mark also teaches an online class. Find out how Mark developed his online botanical art class in this 2010 interview.

Drawing: The Basic Elements

Drawing: The Basic Elements – for the Very Busy (online)
January 10 – February 14, 2014
This is the online edition of Drawing: The Basic Elements. Participants will attend two studio sessions for critique and to share work. These sessions will occur on January 31, 2014 and February 14, 2014. Cost: $95

Introduction to Botanical Watercolor
Tuesdays, January 7 – February 11, 2014
6:30 – 9:00 PM
Learn the basics of creating botanical images in watercolor. Students will learn how to approach a plant to illustrate, how to apply paint to paper to create a simple but precise image, and how to plot out color relationships for a successful painting. The instructor will also cover the basics of brushes, papers and paints. Cost: $165

Trees in Ink: Pen and Brush
Friday, February 28, 2014 (6:30 – 9:00 PM)
Saturday, March 1, 2014 (12-3 PM)
Learn how to capture the beauty and structure of winter trees in ink. Cost: $60

View additional information for each class, get material lists and register for all classes online at Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio.

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Get Ready for the Release of ‘American Botanical Paintings’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on December 3, 2013|

Pre-order today. Free shipping through December 31, 2013.

American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic
Botanical Artists for Education
& the Environment
February 2014

Members and supporters of
Botanical Artists for Education and & the Environment (BAEE) eagerly await the publication of American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic. Featuring 60 reproductions of original paintings and drawings of plants and 40 original paintings of butterflies, moths, and other pollinators, this book represents more than three years of work by BAEE members. Illustrations complement information about each plant and their respective habitats, as well as how the plants were used by Native Americans or early settlers.

Botanist and collector, Dr. Shirley Sherwood OBE, says American Botanical Paintings is “a delightfully illustrated book, beautifully designed and with lots of variety in the choice of plant subjects. I admired the standard of painting and the fresh, appealing studies, which will be attractive to both naturalists and gardeners.”

Botanical Artists for Education & the Environment (BAEE) created
American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic for lovers of art and plants. Bonnie Driggers, BAEE President, says the group hopes to “foster a particular appreciation not only for the beauty of native plants and their artistic representations but also for their importance to the environment and to encourage, where practical, the use of native plants in home gardens.”

American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic is now available to order from Starbooks ($39.95). Pre-orders placed before
December 31, 2013 will be shipped for free when the book is released in
February 2014. The book is expected to ship by February 1, 2014. An exhibition of the paintings will open on February 15, 2014, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.

BAEE will give proceeds from the sale of the book to nonprofit organizations supporting native plant education, conservation, and horticulture.

Order American Botanical Paintings at Starbooks

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Create Tropical Botanical Art in the West Indies

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on December 2, 2013|

Lisa Coddington invites you to join her on an adventure to draw and paint tropical plants on Grenada, one of the Spice Islands of the Caribbean.

See what’s new in the Classes Near You sections for New Mexico and the
West Indies!

Lisa Coddington
www.lisacoddington.com
Lisa Coddington is an artist, instructor and the owner of True Gesso Panels, archival gesso panels for painting and silver point. Lisa invites you to join her on an adventure drawing and painting tropical plants on Grenada, one of the Spice Islands of the Caribbean.

Tropical Botanical Art Workshop, Grenada, West Indies

Now is the perfect time to reserve your space for a special five-day class in Grenada, West Indies Island. Draw and paint where tropical plants flourish and where they consistently win awards at the Chelsea Flower Show in England. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist you are invited to learn step-by-step drawing and watercolor techniques at this unique location. This botanical art session supports participants’ individual artistic goals with personal attention and demonstrations. The Grenada Horticulture Society will share their award-winning Chelsea Flower Show experience. Free time is scheduled to enjoy island tours and relax on island beaches.
An extra day includes other tours of the island.

Cost: $550 USD, excludes airfare, hotel and meals.

For more information and to register, contact Lisa Coddington via email or call 315-256-8639.

Registration Deadline: January 20, 2014

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Medieval Album of Plants Reproduced for Modern Audience

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, botany, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements on November 18, 2013|

Mandrake. Image courtesy of M. Moleiro Editor, S.A., all rights reserved

The historic Tractatus de Herbis, codex Sloane 4016 can now be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the history of botany, botanical illustration or the history of medicinal plants.

The new facsimile reproduction has been published by Spanish publisher Moleiro Editorial whose specialty is the reproduction of codices, maps and works of art made on parchment, vellum, paper and papyrus between the 8th and 16th centuries.

The reproduction of Tractatus de Herbis features 218 illuminated pages and is bound in embossed dark green leather. It is an exact replica of the original and is accompanied by a volume of commentary written by Alain Touwaide, Smithsonian scholar and co-founder of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions.

Institute co-founder, Emanuela Appetiti, explains the significance of this historic work:

The manuscript Sloane 4016 is a large album of botany made sometime around 1440 in Italy. Although it is traditionally identified as a copy of the well-known Tractatus de herbis (Treatise on medicinal plants), it does not contain the text of this treatise, but only its illustrations. The major question posed by this manuscript is why it abandoned the text of the Tractatus, giving birth to the new genre of the botanical album. Significantly enough, the captions of the illustrations provide the names of the plants in the different languages used in the 15th century, all written with the Latin alphabet, however. They hint at the function of the botanical album as an international work that could be used by all the different linguistic groups, whereas the text of the Tractatus could be used only by those who understood Latin. In this view, the development of the botanical album is an unsuspected very modern phenomenon that sheds a completely new light on the history of botanical illustration and highlights a process of internationalization and, at the same time, of linguistic specialization coupled with a principle of economy that had not been uncovered so far.

Alain Touwaide explains more about the history of botanical albums in the description of the Tractatus de herbis, codex Sloan 4016 viewable on the publisher’s website.

Also available for viewing are 18 images showing the contents of this album. After reading Alain’s description, click on one of the images above his text. This will take you to a page where you can view all sample images.

Only 987 copies of this historic album are available for purchase worldwide. Alain’s commentary has been published in separate editions available in English, Spanish and French. To inquire about purchasing this limited edition reproduction at a special discounted price, contact the publisher.

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Draw Plants in Hawaii…..For a Month!

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, Special Events on November 14, 2013|

Botanical Illustration Intensive Workshop
The National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kaua’I Hawaii

Time: 10 AM to 4 PM, daily

Study the fundamentals of botanical drawing using graphite pencil, colored pencils, watercolor pencils and watercolor. Drawing plants and flowers starts with observation.

Under the supervision of Wendy Hollender, illustrator, author, and instructor from The New York Botanical Garden, students will learn about plant structures and their importance through dissection and comparison.

Students will create detailed botanical drawings and sketchbook pages of flowering plants, fruits and seedpods, working directly from the wide variety of tropical plants growing at the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG).

There will be opportunity to work on large compositions and detailed paintings for those staying the entire month. Lessons in composition will facilitate the development of larger compositions.

Participants will study historical botanical illustrations spanning four centuries as a way of understanding the tradition and techniques still in use today.

Dr. David Burney and other NTBG botanists will be available to help with understanding botany and other aspects of plant ecology.

This class is appropriate for advanced students as well as beginners because everyone works individually. No previous art background required.

Instructional classes will be conducted four days each week at The National Tropical Botanical Garden, with one day per week allotted for field trips or working in other locations on the island. Participants will have a large indoor-outdoor classroom for use, with time to draw outside anywhere in the garden.

Instructor is available in the classroom and does daily demonstrations. There will be a demonstration about drawing in the garden to introduce participants to techniques used when drawing outside. The weekends are free where by students can visit the island, relax at the beach or continue to draw in the garden classroom.

Workshop Fees:
Two-week workshop: $950 includes sumptuous fresh lunch on class days featuring local produce and tropical fruits. Other meals are not included with the exception of a once a week beach dinner barbeque.

Accommodations are available at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in shared housing for an unbeatable price or in nearby Kalaheo and Poipu or other locations in the area. For those staying in shared housing there is a kitchen for shared use. Bed and Breakfasts options are also available.

For additional information and to register, visit www.DrawingInColor.com or contact Wendy.

This information has been added to the Classes Near You sections for New York and Hawaii.

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Rare Botanical Art Books at Getty Research Institute

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on November 6, 2013|

Botanical artist and botanical art collector, Tania Norris, has generously donated 41 rare books to The Getty Research Institute (GRI). The collection includes
Der Rupsen Begin (Birth of the Butterfly), a book published by Maria Sibylla Merian. Published in 1717, this book is the first book to depict insect metamorphosis and is one of the few surviving copies hand-colored by Merian’s daughter.

With the acquisition of the Tania Norris Collection of Rare Botanical Books,
The Getty Research Institute can provide future generations with a unique in-depth look at the history of botany and botanical art.

David Brafman, curator of rare books at the GRI, said “The Norris Collection offers inestimable rewards for scholars researching global botanical trade and the ensuing stimulus of cultural exchange to the trend of collecting curiosities spawned in Renaissance and Baroque European culture. Other books in the collection document the codependent progress of technologies in the history of medicine, pharmacology, and the color and textile industries from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. No less important are the opportunities to study the complex artistic relationship between physiognomy and ‘naturalism’ in visual representation, as well as developments in urban planning and landscape architecture. Ms. Norris’ generous donation enhances significantly GRI’s existing collections in such subjects and promises to transform the way art historians examine the past in the future.”

In particular, the unique hand-colored copy of Maria Sibylla Merian’s
Der Rupsen Begin (Birth of the Butterfly) from the Norris Collection will find a companion in the GRI vaults: Merian’s stunning Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam (1719), the self-published book which documented the watercolors, drawings, and scientific studies she executed and conducted while exploring the wildlife of the South American jungles. The GRI copy was featured prominently in the Getty Museum’s exhibition, Merian and Daughters, which celebrated the extraordinary pioneering contributions of the artist-naturalist, the first European woman to travel to America expressly for artistic purposes.

The Norris Collection will also prove an invaluable complement for research in landscape and still-life painting, as well as insights it will provide to conservators and conservation scientists about recipes and global trade in color-pigments and other preparations in the decorative arts.

In addition to being a botanical artist and collector, Tania Norris is a founding member of the Getty Research Institute Collections Council and also serves on the J. Paul Getty Museum Disegno Drawing Council and Paintings Conservation Council.

On the Getty accepting her books, Ms. Norris said:

It was one of the proudest moments of my life when the Getty Research Institute accepted my books for their library. I never collected expecting anyone else to think my books of interest. But now at the GRI, anyone can view them; some have been or will soon be in exhibitions and programs. More importantly, they will be preserved for generations to come.

Learn more about this wonderful contribution to botany and botanical art education at The Getty Research Institute.

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Botany for All

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Blog News, botanical art, botany, Special Announcements on November 1, 2013|

The featured topic for November is Botany for All.

I know I spend a lot of time on botany resources for children. This month I am going to even it out some and bring attention to resources for teenagers, adults and families. We’ll begin the month with three wonderful resources that help children ages 3-8 learn about the life cycle of plants.

Also this month, you’ll notice a slight change to the publishing schedule. It will be lighter than normal and stay this way through December. I will continue to publish the teaching and learning column on Friday and will publish special features and other announcements when they are ready.

Thank you for being such dedicated readers, contributors and supporters of ArtPlantae.