Posted in botanical art, botany, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, travel on May 6, 2013|
You have mentioned that the Marianne North Gallery mobilized botanical knowledge. Were there particular kinds of knowledge that North hoped to cultivate?
Yes, absolutely. There are several running themes in North’s work that are telling of the kinds of stories she wanted to capture and put on display. First among these was the sheer abundance and variety of botanical nature. North rarely painted the same thing twice, and opted instead to…
Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on May 6, 2013|
Click to view poster.
Visit the Idyllwild Nature Center in the mountain community of Idyllwild this Memorial Day weekend to learn about local wildflowers and native plants. This fun-filled weekend also includes guided nature walks, an art exhibition, and activities for the entire family.
Weekend visitors to Idyllwild also have the opportunity to start a personalized guide to plants at ArtPlantae.
Learn more below!
Free Workshops with Purchase of Sketchbook at ArtPlantae
Create your own personalized guide to plants! Purchase a sketchbook at ArtPlantae during the Annual Wildflower Show and Art Festival at the Idyllwild Nature Center (May 25-27, 2013) and attend any of the sessions below for free during the Memorial Day weekend. Limit 10 people per session.
Cost: $9.95 per person
Participants may repeat a session if space is available. Priority goes to first-time attendees. Waiting lists will be established if necessary. Please register early. Sessions will begin promptly at their scheduled start times.
Let’s Explore Plants
Memorial Day Schedule
Sunday, May 26
9:30 – 10:30 – What makes fruit, fruit?
11:00 – 12:00 – What makes a stem a stem?
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 – What makes leaves, leaves?
2:30 – 3:30 – What makes flowers, flowers?
Monday, May 27
9:30 – 10:30 – What makes flowers, flowers?
11:00 – 12:00 – What makes fruit, fruit?
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 – What makes a stem a stem?
2:30 – 3:30 – What makes leaves, leaves?
Posted in botanical art, Education, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events, travel on May 3, 2013|
Our conversation with featured guest Katie Zimmerman continues…
Part of your research explores how the Marianne North Gallery works as a built environment and how the gallery functions within the broader context of the gardens at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Why study these aspects of North’s contribution to botany?
One of the really fascinating things to me about North’s life and work is how such an individual and solitary woman, pursuing an equally individual project, was actually a fairly ordinary part of a broader, and highly social, botanical enterprise. We can see this very nicely when we look closely at the North Gallery as a space and the ways in which that space transcended its walls to become an integrated part of the gardens and the world beyond. Looking at how the gallery functioned as a built environment allows us to chart…
Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Articles & Interviews, travel on May 1, 2013| 11 Comments »
In 1871 Marianne North, a forty-year old woman from a wealthy Victorian family, embarked on an adventure to paint the plants of the world. Even by today’s standards, North’s travels are an amazing accomplishment. You might think Marianne North is a one-of-a-kind wonder, however she shares the title of brave pioneering female naturalist with women such as Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) who was one of the first to describe metamorphosis, and Jeanne Baret (1740-1807) who was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe and the herb woman whose expertise as a field botanist made her an invaluable asset to botanist Philibert Commerson during the Bougainville expedition (1765-1768).
Through her paintings, Marianne North made several contributions to the field of botany. This month we have the unique opportunity to learn more about Marianne North from Katie Zimmerman, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge whose research is dedicated to the work of this fearless naturalist and artist.
Please welcome Katie Zimmerman, the Featured Scholar for May!
About Katie Zimmerman
Katie is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge and an instructor at the University of Washington where she teaches courses in the history of science. She is broadly interested in the relationship between art and science, the geography of knowledge, and Victorian natural history. Before taking up her dissertation on Marianne North, Katie taught high school and university courses in Warsaw, Poland, worked at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, and earned her MA in the history of science at Oregon State. Katie lives in Seattle, WA with her husband, two children, and a dog named Huxley – all of whom greatly admire and appreciate the botanical wonderland produced by that rainy state.
Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on March 13, 2013|
Few people visit Newfoundland without being touched by the warmth of its people, the depth of its history and the haunting beauty of its rugged coastline. This seven day workshop, under the expert guidance of renowned teacher and botanical artist, Margaret Best, of Calgary, promises an ideal opportunity to work uninterrupted in an inspiring coastal setting. Our large airy studio has breathtaking views. Our hotel is the top ranked rural inn in Newfoundland. The award-winning kitchen draws from the nearby ocean, freshwater ponds, seaside meadows and an abundant kitchen garden in season. In early October, the meadows and woodlands will be turning to their soft autumn colours – expanses of blueberry bushes turning rich claret, wild rhododendron, sheep’s laurel, lichens in a subtle spectrum, partridge berries, cloud berries, tall sedges bleaching to every shade of blonde. This is a landscape of miniature set against vast vistas of sea and sky. Accessible trails make this a hikers’ paradise.
Six Night Itinerary Overview
October 2
This morning, explore the organic kitchen garden and green-house of our hotel, the nearby meadows and headland. Spend the rest of the day painting in our ridge-top studio. Evening at leisure.
October 3
Morning in the studio. After lunch we go on a historic boat tour, visiting the abandoned outports of Ireland’s Eye and British Harbour as well as the set built for the filming of Random Passage. Return to the hotel, evening at leisure.
October 4
Full day in the studio with optional 1 ½ hour hike on the dramatic Skerwink Trail. Box lunches provided today.
October 5
This morning in the studio. Midday excursion to the picturesque town of Trinity for walking tour and lunch. Afternoon studio time. Dinner at leisure.
October 6
Final day in the studio. Farewell dinner.
October 7
Morning transfer to St. John’s
Highlights
Included:
Not included:
NOTE: To participate in this workshop, you must be prepared to walk up and down the hill between the studio and the various other buildings on the site.
Cost: $2,995 CAD
Get more information about this new adventure on Quench Travel’s destination page for Canada.
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.
Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on December 19, 2012|
Beach Rose, watercolor on paper © 2011 by Karen Kluglein. All rights reserved
See what’s new!
Karen Kluglein
www.botanical-paintings.com
Karen is an award-winning botanical artist whose illustrations of fruit, vegetables, herbs and other food items have been used on the packaging of many familiar products. Karen works in watercolor on calf skin, watercolor on paper, gouache, pencil and silverpoint. She is represented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper, LLC.
Learn how to use light, shadow and detail to make your botanical subject come alive! Students have the option of working on paper or vellum. Class time will include many demonstrations about drawing, choosing color, and botanical art techniques, as well as time for individual instruction. Students will paint spring flowers. This class is open to all levels of experience. This is the only class that will be offered in the beautiful seaside whaling village of Sag Harbor in the Hamptons, New York during 2013, so register early.
Cost: $225 (plus $25 for 8″ x 10″ piece of vellum should you choose to work on vellum)
Suggested Accommodations:
Sag Harbor is a beautiful old whaling village with Victorian houses, nice shops and restaurants, and is located right on the water with a Long Wharf, windmill and docks. The Sag Harbor Inn has rooms available that overlook the bay. The Inn is within walking distance to the village shops and the wharf. There is bus service (the Hampton Jitney), whose bus service runs every hour from Manhattan and airport connections and stops in Sag Harbor. There will be a special rate at the Inn for students of this class. Mention “Botanical Painting Class” when making your reservation for the discounted rate. For additional information, please visit the Inn’s website or call (631) 725-2949.
Registered students will receive a list of suggested supplies.
To register, visit the Sag Harbor Class page on Karen’s website. Click on the “Add to Cart” page to register via PayPal.
Botanists and illustrators strive to document conifers around the world.
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