ArtPlantae Today

For the last 10 years, botanical artist Mally Francis has taught botanical art classes at The Wagon House, the bed-and-breakfast she operates with her husband, photographer Charles Francis. The B&B is located at Heligan Manor in beautiful Cornwall, England. Mally teaches her classes in a 250-year old renovated sawpit, a building where logs were once cut into planks and beams for the Heligan estate. When Mally is not teaching classes, she helps to document the plants growing in the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Meet Mally Francis!

Mally, when viewing your new website, I am first taken by examples of your artwork, your working studio, and then the B&B. It is a dreamy arrangement. Let’s talk about your art first. What attracted you to botanical art?
This seemed the perfect answer to combining my love of flowers and of drawing. I remember that when I saw my first botanical drawing I marveled at the detail and, as soon as I started, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.

Do you have a background in the arts or do you come to botanical art from another discipline?
I would have dearly loved to have studied the arts but, at that time, art college was rather frowned upon. I qualified as a Speech & Language Therapist and used my drawing skills when working with children to encourage and stimulate their language as part of their therapy. I feel that my training as a therapist has helped to give me the ability to impart knowledge when I am teaching artists. I was lucky enough to attend classes with Anne-Marie Evans every week for several years.

In which media do you work? Which medium do you like to teach?
I work in pencil and watercolour and that is also my preferred medium for teaching although I can also teach the use of coloured pencil drawing.

What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is to encourage all students to develop their own skills to the highest level possible. There is never any competition in my classes and everyone can work at their own pace. The courses are always enjoyable and old friends meet each other year after year as they return to continue their studies. Everyone has their own aspirations and it gives me great pleasure to help them to achieve their own goals.

Describe a typical day in one of your multi-day workshops.
Classes begin at 9.45 with coffee and work begins in earnest at 10 o’clock. I usually begin the day discussing and demonstrating as my approach is very structured. We have no coffee or tea-breaks as I believe that it disrupts the morning, however, students can help themselves to a drink whenever they wish. There is a delicious lunch at about 12.30 and students can take a walk if they wish before the afternoon session. Formal class finishes at 4.00 but students are welcome to stay as long as they like.

I admire your spacious teaching studio. I like that it serves as both a fine art studio and a photography studio. Do you have any tips for artists who are creating a teaching studio of their own?
Light is most important and enough space to work comfortably. I also feel a good library is essential but we are increasingly dependent upon the Internet to access information about plants and artists. Broadband access is therefore extremely useful.

About the bed & breakfast…..how do you find time to operate a B&B, paint, and prepare for classes?
I am lucky enough to have an incredibly supportive husband, so we work as a team. When a course is in progress, I only take artists who are on the course for B&B.

What information would you like readers to know about your multi-day courses?
I would encourage interested people to look at my website www.thewagonhouse.com as this gives an overall picture. I have been teaching here in my studio at Heligan for ten years and I am always happy to answer questions by e-mail. I have had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful selection of artists over the years and they have produced some excellent work.

Thank you, Mally, for visiting with us today.

---

---

Take Mally’s advice and visit The Wagon House online! You will learn more about her classes and become immersed in slide shows featuring Mally paintings, The Sawpit Studio, the B&B, and Mally’s selection of greeting cards.

The current schedule of botanical art classes at The Wagon House is listed below. This information has also been updated at Classes Near You > England.

The Wagon House
Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall
www.thewagonhouse.com
A bed-and-breakfast in the English countryside where you can eat breakfast at a time that is convenient for you, visit the gardens in Cornwall, and take botanical art classes too!

• Four-Day Botanical Painting Course – March 18 – 21, 2011. Classes are taught in a renovated, well-lit studio. The studio building itself is a 250-years old. Cost: £280.00, includes lunch each day.
• Four-Day Botanical Painting Course – April 8 – 11, 2011. Classes are taught in a renovated, well-lit studio. The studio building itself is a 250-years old. Cost: £280.00, includes lunch each day.
• Four-Day Botanical Painting Course – May 6 – 9, 2011. Classes are taught in a renovated, well-lit studio. The studio building itself is a 250-years old. Cost: £280.00, includes lunch each day.
• Four-Day Botanical Painting Course – June 17 – 20, 2011. Classes are taught in a renovated, well-lit studio. The studio building itself is a 250-years old. Cost: £280.00, includes lunch each day.
• Five-Day Botanical Painting Course – July 13 – 17, 2011. Cost: £350.00 including lunch each day during the course. One day per week Termly Fees: £250.00 bring your own packed lunch.
• Four-Day Botanical Painting Course – September 8 – 11, 2011. Classes are taught in a renovated, well-lit studio. The studio building itself is a 250-years old. Cost: £280.00, includes lunch each day.
• Five-Day Botanical Painting Course – September 27 – October 1, 2011. Cost: £350.00 including lunch each day during the course. One day per week Termly Fees: £250.00 bring your own packed lunch.

Many new botanical art and plant-related classes have been added to the Spring schedule at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden.

Here’s what’s new at 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.

• Botanical Garden Docent Training – January 10 – April 18, 2011; Mondays & Thursdays from 1 – 4 pm. Teach school children and the public about plants and the natural environment. Training is provided by horticultural staff, experienced docents, plant specialists at UC Berkeley and plant specialists from the surrounding community. There are 24 training sessions. Cost: $250. For more information and to apply, contact the Volunteer Coordinator at (510) 643-1924 or email perry@berkeley.edu.
• Introduction to Botanical Art – Saturday and Sunday, February 12 & 13, 2011; 10 am – 4 pm each day. We invite you to participate in our Winter series of classes in botanical illustration with the talented instructor Catherine Watters. This two-day class will teach you to observe, measure and draw plants in great detail with botanical accuracy. Work with graphite, colored pencils and watercolor. A materials list will be posted on the website.Cost: $160 non-members, $150 members. Register for two or more classes and receive $10 off each.
• Horticultural Walk: The Arid House – Thursday, January 20, 2011;
  1 pm – 2:30 pm. Join Horticulturist Bryan Gim on a tour through the Garden’s Arid House. Explore colorful cacti, succulents and other plants from cool dry and warm dry areas of the world in this glasshouse adventure. Reservations required. Cost: $10 nonmembers, Free for members
• Winter Bird Walk – Saturday, January 22, 2011; 9 am – 10:30 am. Winter is a surprisingly active time for birds in the Garden. Join Chris Carmichael, Associate Director of Collections and Research and Phila Rogers for this lovely morning walk through the Garden. Reservations required. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $15 members
• Flora Felting Workshop – Sunday, January 30, 2010; 11am – 2pm. What do you do when it’s too cold and rainy for gardening outdoors? Bring the garden inside with GoGo Craft’s felt flower pin workshop! Make your own gorgeous felt flower pin inspired by the Garden collection. For crafters of any skill level. Materials & snacks included. Reservations required. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $15 UCBG Members & UCB Students
• Valentine’s Day High Tea for Kids – Sunday, February 6, 2011;
  1 pm – 2:30 pm. Enjoy a special celebration of herbs and flowers at this afternoon tea party. We’ll use our senses to explore these fragrant edibles, talk about their uses and benefits, and see how they grow. Make fresh teas and herb finger sandwiches. Also make valentines from pressed botanicals to take home. Reservations Required. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $17 members for one adult and one child. $10 each additional child or adult per family.
• Horticultural Walk: Treasures Under Glass
  Thursday, February 17, 2011; 1 pm – 2:30 pm. Tour the Garden’s glasshouses with expert horticulturist, Christy Matasick. Learn about plant collections at the Arid House, Orchid, Fern and Carnivorous House and the Tropical House. End your tour with coffee, tea and cookies in the Ornduff Room. Cost: $10 Public, Free members. Space is limited, registration required.
• Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation – Saturday, February 19, 2011; 1 pm – 3 pm. Asphalt to Ecosystems is a guidebook for designing and building natural schoolyard environments that enhance childhood learning and play experiences while providing connection with the natural world. Sharon Gamson Danks, Environmental Planner and founding partner of Bay Tree Design, in Berkeley, California, has visited and documented over 175
  green schoolyards in North America, Europe and Japan, and has shaped and facilitated the master planning process for dozens of ecological schoolyards. Free with garden admission. Books available for sale at the event.
• Planning Your Edible Landscape – Wednesday, February 23, 2011;
  6 pm – 9 pm. Learn how to grow edibles in you ornamental garden with Kathleen Elliot, Horticulturist and owner of Hillcrest Ranch in Sunol. Learn about Bay Area plants, the difference between direct seeding and starting seeds in a pot. Enjoy herbal tea and create a small herb garden to take home. Cost: $30 nonmembers, $25 members.
• Sustainable Home Horticulture – Saturday, March 12, 2011
  9 am – 12 pm. Learn how to meet the needs of your garden and your lifestyle. Horticulturists Anthony Garza and Dylan Ferreira will introduce you to the basics of composting. This session will introduce you to compost tea and vermi-composting techniques. Reservations required. Cost: $25 nonmember, $20 members
• 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 26, 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.
• 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. Free one-time use passes will be handed out to all visitors today!
• Animals of the Garden Children’s Walk – Sunday, May 8, 2011;
  1:00 – 2:30 PM. Learn about newts, butterflies, birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, and more! $10 each adult and child.
• 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. Horticulturiest Peter Klement will lead a walk through the garden and tell fascinating stories about the history of roses. Cost: $20 nonmembers / $15 members.
• 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.