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Botanical Latin, Plants of the World at UC Berkeley

March 14, 2011 by Tania Marien

There is so much going on at UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden!

Here is what has been added to Classes Near You > California:


University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/
This 34-acre garden was established in 1890 and is now a non-profit research garden and museum. The botanical art classes below are taught by Lee McCaffree and Catherine Watters. View a detailed schedule and register on the Garden’s website.

  • Horticultural Walk: Southern Africa – Thursday, March 17, 2011;
    1 PM – 2:30 PM. Learn about the early annuals and spring flowering bulbs that fill the Southern Africa section with color. Join horticulturist, Meghan Ray, on a walking tour celebrating this annual show of color. Reservations required. Cost: $10 nonmembers, Free members
  • Fiber & Dye Exhibit – Saturday March 19 – Sunday April 3, 2011;
    9 AM – 12:00 PM. Plants are the origin of most of the fibers we use in our daily lives, and of the dyes that provide us with colors. Feel fabrics, see and smell dyes while learning about the many uses of plant fibers & dyes from around the world. Free with garden admission.
  • Garden Garments: Opening Reception, Workshop and Book Release with Sasha Duerr – Saturday, March 19, 2011; 1 PM – 4 PM. Learn to dye with creative alternative sources of natural plant dyes from your very own garden, or even urban sidewalk, with Sasha Duerr, textile designer and founder of Permacouture Institute. Create a surprising array of colors for a garden dyers sample book and artistically dye a plant colored and patterned textile to take home with you! Sasha will be speaking from her new book The Handbook Of Natural Plant Dyes: Personalize Your Craft With Organic Colors From Acorns, Blackberries, Coffee, And Other Everyday Ingredients. Reservations required. Cost: $25 nonmembers, $20 members. Books available for purchase.
  • Felting with Plant Dyed Wool For Kids – Sunday, March 27, 2011;
    1 PM – 2 PM. Learn how to make a beautiful felted textile using plant dyed wools from Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool, using a wet-felting technique. For ages 6 and up. Reservations required. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $15 members. Price includes one adult and one child. $10 each additional child or adult per family.
  • Extreme Plants: Desert Gardens for Kids – Saturday, April 9, 2011; 1:00 – 2:30 PM. Children and their accompanying parent/guardian will learn about succulents, tour the Arid House and Desert Collections, eat refreshments made from edible succulents, and take home a garden project. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $17 members (one child w/one potted garden). Additional child/parent/garden, $12 each.
  • NEW! Botanical Latin: It’s a dead language but it’s still aliiiive! –
    Tuesday, April 12; 1:00 – 4:30 PM. You’re invited to join us for a brief introduction to botanical Latin. Learn the names for plants and the way the names are constructed. We’ll look at some common Latin and Greek roots for plant names and botanical terms, and use some simple rules of thumb to pronounce plant names with confidence. Al Luongo originally developed this course for the New York Botanical Garden and now he’s bringing to Berkeley! The workshop will include a copy of the full course notes including a list of useful books and Web sites. Refreshments too! Registration required. Cost: $30 nonmembers, $25 members.
  • NEW! The California Collection – Tuesday, April 14, 2011; 1:00 – 2:30 PM. Join horticulturist Ken Bates for a tour through the California Area, the Garden’s largest collection. See native flora from diverse regions of the state. Representing close to one-quarter of the state’s native species, the U.C. Botanical Garden showcases one of the largest species collections of native California plants anywhere. Free; members only; registration required.
  • NEW! Cal Day – Saturday, April 16, 2011.
    Join Garden docents for free tours of Plants of the World throughout the day as a part of this campus-wide event. Visitors will enjoy hands-on activities, demonstrations and special discounts. Stroll through the Garden, visit the Garden Shop, relax with your family and friends, and maybe even pick up a new passion for horticulture! Tours at 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 2 PM. Free.
  • Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs – Sunday, April 24, 2011;
    1:00 – 2:30 PM. Children will learn about plant-based dyes as they color eggs. $20 nonmembers / $15 members. Price includes one adult, one child, and 6 eggs. Each additional child and adult, $6.
  • Spring Plant Sale – April 29-30, 2011. Members’ Sale (Friday April 29; 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM). Public Sale (Saturday April 30; 10 AM – 2 PM).
  • National Public Gardens Day – Friday, May 6, 2011; 9 AM – 5 PM. National Public Gardens Day is a celebration of America’s public gardens and their
    important role in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water conservation and education. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine offers BHG readers a free admission coupon for two to visit participating APGA member gardens on National Public Gardens Day (visit website at www.bhg.com for coupon). To show our gratitude for your support we’ll be featuring special tours and activities throughout the day. Get out there and enjoy your local green spaces – for free! There will be a docent-led tour at 11am and 1pm leaving from the Garden shop. Free admission with BHG coupon.
  • NEW! Unselt Birding Walk and Breakfast – Saturday, May 7, 2011;
    9:00 AM – 11:30 PM. Join the flock of bird enthusiasts to enjoy the Garden’s bird life with Phila Rogers, expert birder and Chris Carmichael, Associate Director of Collections and Horticulture. Event includes light breakfast. Free. Members only. Registration required.
  • Botanical Illustration: The Rose – Monday & Tuesday, May 9-10, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Paint roses from the Garden! Learn about morphology of roses as you create your colored pencil or watercolor painting. Cost: $160 nonmembers / $150 members
  • A Walk Through the Garden of Old Roses – Saturday, May 14, 2011; 10 AM – 12 PM. Horticulturist Peter Klement will lead a walk through the garden and tell fascinating stories about the history of roses. Cost: $20 nonmembers / $15 members.
  • Animals of the Garden Children’s Walk – Sunday, May 15, 2011;
    1:00 – 2:30 PM. Learn about newts, butterflies, birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, and more! $10 each adult and child.
  • NEW! An Illustrated Guide to Fauna of the East Bay Hills – Friday,
    May 20, 2011; 10 AM – 3 PM. The UC Botanical Garden is proud to present, An Illustrated Guide to Fauna of the East Bay Hills. This fold-up guide offers an extensive introduction to the incredible array of animals that can be found in the Garden and surrounding hills. The original art used in the field guide will be on view in a special public exhibition on Friday, May 20 in the Garden Conference Center. Guides will be available for purchase at the exhibition. Come celebrate the arrival of this highly anticipated field guide! Free with Garden admission.
  • NEW! The Mediterranean Collection – Thursday, May 26, 2011;
    1:00 – 2:30 PM. Colin Baxter, Horticulturist for the Mediterranean collections will take you on a delightful tour of this diverse collection. Come explore the diverse flora from regions around the Mediterranean Sea! Free. Members only. Registration required.
  • NEW! The South American Collection – Thursday, June 16, 2011;
    1:00 – 2:30 PM. Join Horticulturist Peter Klement for a lovely summer tour through the Garden’s South American Collection. Plants in this collection represent the floras of temperate and mediterranean climate areas of South America, featuring plants from the matorral of coastal Chile. Free. Members only. Registration required.
  • Introduction to Botanical Art – Wednesday & Thursday, July 6-7, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Participants will learn how to measure and draw plants in detail as they work in graphite, colored pencils, and watercolor. Instructor, Catherine Watters, welcomes artists at all levels. $160 nonmembers / $150 members.
  • Sick Plant Clinic – First Saturday of Each Month, 9 AM – 12 PM. Free. No reservations required.
  • Monthly Butterfly Walks – Fourth Tuesday of each month (March – October); 3 – 4 PM. Garden volunteer, docent, and caterpillar lady, Sally Levinson, will lead walks through the garden in search of butterflies. Space is limited. Children welcome. Free with admission.
  • Garden Strollers – Second Wednesday of Each Month, 11 AM – 11:45 PM. A 45-minute tour of the garden for adults with young children (3 and under). Tour will end on the lawn for play and snacks (bring your own). Children must be in a stroller or carrier during the tour. FREE with garden admission. Meet in front of the Garden Ship. For more information, call (510) 642-7082 or email garden@berkeley.edu.

Posted in botanical art, gardening, general botany, Learning Opportunities |

Lesson Plans in Botanical Art & Plant Conservation

March 11, 2011 by Tania Marien

The Spring 2011 issue of Smithsonian in Your Classroom is dedicated to plant conservation and the role botanical illustration plays in the documentation of plants. This issue features interviews with Dr. Gary A. Krupnick (Head of the Plant Conservation Unit) and Alice Tangerini (Staff Scientific Illustrator). The Smithsonian provides many resources teachers can use in their classrooms. The materials provided at Botany and Art and Their Roles in Conservation are designed for students in grades 3 – 12. Visit the Smithsonian Learning Lab to view and download the following resources:

  • Botany and Art and Their Roles in Conservation. This booklet contains background information about how Dr. Krupnick and the Plant Conservation Unit classify plants as being threatened, likely threatened, or not threatened. It also outlines how illustrator Alice Tangerini works with botanists to document plants. This booklet contains two classroom activities. The first activity introduces plant conservation to students and engages them in the type of decision-making process Dr. Krupnick and his colleagues must engage in when studying the world’s flora. The second activity calls on students to collect plants and to create a botanical plate using the same techniques Alice Tangerini uses when illustrating plants at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
  • Activity Materials for Lesson 1. This document contains the photographs, plant specimens, and botanical paintings used in the first activity described above.
  • A Natural History Approach to Plant Study and Conservation – A video recording of a presentation Dr. Krupnick and Alice Tangerini made in January 2011.
  • To the Drawing Board – A recorded interview with Alice Tangerini.
  • Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World – A link to the online exhibition hosted by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), in collaboration with the Smithsonian.


Also See

Posted in teaching & learning, Teaching & Learning |

Nature & Travel Journaling in Tuscany

March 9, 2011 by Tania Marien

Now at Classes Near You > Italy:

Gretchen Kai Halpert
www.gretchenhalpert.com
Gretchen Halpert is a scientific illustrator and biologist with many years of experience creating illustrations for the medical field, for scientific research, and for commercial clients. Gretchen also teaches classes in the book arts and leads journaling classes.

    Nature and Travel Journaling in Tuscany
    Tenuta di Spannocchia, Siena, Italy
    June, 16-25, 2011
    In this workshop, participants will make a sketchbook and immerse themselves in plants, nature and travel. Beginning with an optional class about how to make their own sketchbook, participants will spend the week filling those books with drawings inspired by the Tuscan countryside, ancient architecture and cultivated gardens. Pen and ink, watercolor, composition, text, observation exercises, individual attention. All takes place on one of the first privately owned wildlife sanctuaries in Italy. Wildlife, trails, an abandoned castle and gardens offer plenty of material. This workshop is open to all skill levels.

    For more information on the course, accommodations, field trips, and photos, go to http://natureandtraveljournalingintuscany.blogspot.com. Course information is in August post. Registration is open, limited to 12 students.

    Contact: Gretchen Halpert for registration forms.

    Fee: $2250/pp/double; $2950/pp/single. Includes 9 nights lodging in 14th-century villa, most meals, wine, and field trips, daily classes and evening presentations. Afternoon wine on the terrace.

Posted in Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, Special Events |

Optical Ergonomics, Drawing & Technology

March 9, 2011 by Tania Marien

Readers posted great questions during the first week of Ask the Artist with Kandis Elliot. The current conversation is about drawing and digital technology, working with eye health challenges, and incorporating the award-winning poster, Introduction to Fungi, into a class about fermented foods.

Where do you want to take the conversation this week?

Post your comments and questions to Kandis today, then watch for Kandis’ replies during her office hours on Friday.

Posted in botanical art, general botany, Photography | 1 Comment »

Online Art Gallery Hosts “Botanicals” Exhibition

March 7, 2011 by Tania Marien

© Eva Maria Ruhl. All rights reserved

Eva Maria Ruhl’s painting of a baby fig has been selected as the promotional image for the current competition at Light, Space & Time, an online art gallery that hosts monthly themed exhibitions.

Light, Space & Time was created by photographer John R. Math to provide an online venue for artists to showcase their work. Each themed exhibition begins with a call for artists and is followed by a one month exhibition of the top five entries. The current theme is Botanicals. This competition is open to all artists, both amateur and professional. Only two-dimensional art is accepted. All entries are due by March 29, 2011. The work of selected artists will be featured at Light, Space & Tim
from April 1 – April 30, 2011.

Visit the Light, Space & Time website to learn how to submit work for the Botanicals exhibition and to read the official rules governing the gallery’s events. Please direct all questions to John R. Math.

Thank you to Eva for providing this information so other interested artists may participate.


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Posted in botanical art, Special Events | 2 Comments »

Nature-inspired Projects with Garden Illustrator, Helen Shafer Garcia

March 7, 2011 by Tania Marien

NEW! at Classes Near You > California:

Helen Shafer Garcia, Vista
http://www.helenshafergarcia.com
A garden illustrator for San Diego Home and Garden Magazine for 7 years, Helen is an avid gardener who manages a ½-acre garden filled with succulents and perennials. Helen teaches at the San Diego Botanic Garden, at artist retreats, and at conferences. Visit Helen’s website to view the many ways you can combine plants and art using watercolor, pastels, and mixed media.

  • Watercolor Basics – Mondays, March 28 – May 30, 2011; 1-4 PM. A class for first-time artists. Experience watercolor in a relaxed atmosphere. This class is more about process than creating a final project. Practice watercolor techniques, learn color theory and learn how to mix colors. Discover how to create surface textures too! Cost: $175. View details
  • Pastels: In the Studio and Plein Air – Wednesdays,
    March 30 – June 1, 2011; 1-4 PM. Investigate nature-inspired subjects, explore techniques, and learn drawing skills in a relaxed atmosphere. This weekly class combines studio time with painting outdoors at locations such as the Santa Rosa Plateau and Elfin Forest Reserve.
    Cost: $175. View details
  • Contemporary Book Arts: Embellished and Stitched – Thursdays, March 31 – June 2, 2011; 1-4 PM. Discover the art of bookmaking using contemporary mixed media techniques. Explore endless possibilities. A great way to re-purpose art papers, unresolved paintings, ephemera and other assorted nature-found objects. Cost: $175. View details
  • Tesoro del Corazon Mixed Media Retreat – April 13 – 20, 2011. Join Helen Shafer Garcia, Jane LaFazio, Laurie Mika, and Lynn Leahy for an incredible week of inspiration and art making in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. View itinerary
  • Monotypes, Pastels and Paint – Wednesday, May 18, 2011;
    9 AM – 4 PM. Using nature as their inspiration, participants will create scrumptious textures and color patterns with this unique process that combines watercolor, pastels and hand pressed Monotype printmaking. This transparent watercolor printing technique lends itself to water drop textures and watercolor crayon calligraphy along with other textures that will be explored throughout the day. The printing process is user-friendly and not complicated. This process is made for quick, bold marks and details! These finished works have endless possibilities for book arts and collage techniques. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $145 (plus $15 materials fee)
  • Batik Watermedia Bits – Wednesday, May 18, 2011; 6-9 PM. Explore a special watermedia batik technique on small bits of Masa rice paper. Participants will use a dropped-in color acrylic ink technique to draw vivid imagery, paint with watercolor, and dive into detail with colored pencils, ink lines and collage elements to embellish their creations. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA.
    Cost: $75 (plus $8 materials fee)
  • Wrapped Bird Book Cover – Thursday, May 19, 2011; 6-9 PM. Create an extraordinary bird-shaped book cover with painted Tyvek papers and collage. Students will construct a hardboard wraparound cover with a textured and painted inner folder insert for journal notes, paintings, or other treasures. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $75 (plus $8 materials fee)
  • Batik Tree of Life – Friday, May 20, 2011; 9 AM – 4 PM. Draw and paint plants, flowers, birds and more using a special batik technique with Masa paper. Make connections between plants, animals, and all living things. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $145 (plus $12 materials fee)
  • Watercolor Basics – Mondays, September 12 – November 7, 2011;
    1-4 PM. A class for first-time artists. Experience watercolor in a relaxed atmosphere. This class is more about process than the creation of a final project. Practice watercolor techniques, learn color theory and learn how to mix colors. Discover how to create surface textures too! Cost: $175. View details
  • Pastels: In the Studio and Plein Air – Wednesdays, September 14 – November 9,
    2011; 1-4 PM. Investigate nature-inspired subjects, explore techniques, and learn drawing skills in a relaxed atmosphere. This weekly class combines studio time with painting outdoors at locations such as the Santa Rosa Plateau and Elfin Forest Reserve. Cost: $175. View details
  • Contemporary Book Arts: Embellished and Stitched – Thursdays, September 15 to November 10, 2011; 1-4 PM. Discover the art of bookmaking using contemporary mixed media techniques. Explore endless possibilities. A great way to re-purpose art papers, unresolved paintings, ephemera and other assorted nature-found objects. Cost: $175. View details

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling |

Botanical Art in Southern New Jersey

March 7, 2011 by Tania Marien

Do you teach botanical art classes in southern New Jersey?

An inquiry has been received about the availability of workshops and events in this area. If you teach in this area or are participating in a nearby exhibition or other related event, please submit workshop information &/or event information to education@artplantae.com. Workshops will be added to Classes Near You and announced on this site. Exhibitions will be added to Exhibits to Visit and will also be announced.

Please include the words NEW JERSEY in your subject line.

Thank you!

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities |

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