ArtPlantae Today

Study botanical art in Norway

February 2, 2016 by Tania Marien

For the past three years, Gaynor Dickeson has worked diligently to raise the profile of contemporary botanical art in Norway. She has done so successfully through the botanical art holidays she leads on the banks of the Oslo Fjord. Gaynor invites you to join her on the next holiday workshop scheduled for this summer.

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

Botanical Art Workshop Holiday in Norway 2016
June 24 – July 1, 2016

Award-winning botanical artist Gaynor Dickeson will lead a botanical art workshop in Norway in 2016. Travel to the banks of the Oslo Fjord and spend your mornings immersed in botanical art.

Study botanical art every morning after breakfast from Saturday through Thursday. Afternoons are free to explore. During the afternoon, Gaynor will be either in the studio and available for advice, or will be out guiding an afternoon visit to an UNESCO Geopark Area with masses of wild flowers.

Description of the class:

Botanical art/illustration demonstrations and individual instruction.
Maximum: 12 students
Suitable for new beginners and highly experienced botanical artists who want to improve in specific techniques. As classes are kept deliberately small, everyone can be accommodated.
Media: Colored pencil, watercolor and/or graphite

View Details/Register

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities, travel |

Community engagement is focus of GrowRIVERSIDE 2016

January 26, 2016 by Tania Marien

Inland Empire residents with an interest in sustainable food systems and locally grown food have the opportunity to learn about local agriculture initiatives at the GrowRIVERSIDE conference.

The third annual GrowRIVERSIDE conference will be held on the campus of
UC Riverside on Monday, March 21, 2016. Tickets range in price from $55 to $90.

This year the conference will focus on:

The knowledge and tools required to create local food systems.
Economic development and community engagement.
Public policy related to food and agriculture.
Research projects conducted by undergraduate and graduate students.

Scheduled to speak at the conference are:

Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food & Agriculture
Dr. Glenda Humiston, Vice President, UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
A.G. Kawamura, Former Secretary of Agriculture and Third-generation Urban Farmer
Michael Shuman, Author/Attorney/Expert, Community Economics

In addition to the formal conference, several community events are planned. This week a community gathering for food entrepreneurs and community advocates will be held at Health’s Kitchen in Riverside. The schedule of community events includes:

Community Gathering at Health’s Kitchen

Dinner in the KITCHEN
Served by the Riverside Unified School District’s nutrition program, a leader in Farm-to-School Programs.
January 30, 2016
5:30 – 9:30 pm
Buy Tickets ($75)

Community Gathering at Health’s Kitchen
Learn how to sell what you grow
February 24, 2016
6:00 – 8:30 pm
FREE
Register

Growers Forum at Citrus State Historic Park
Citrus State Historic Park
March 4, 2016
8:00 – 11:00 am
FREE
Register

Citrus Circle Farm-to-Fork Dinner
UCR Alumni Center
March 21, 2016
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Buy Tickets ($75)

Riverside Farms Tours (All Day)
Citrus State Historic Park
March 22, 2016
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Buy Tickets ($80)

Learn more about the history of GrowRIVERSIDE and the history of Riverside’s urban agriculture movement at Seedstock. Seedstock is a social venture fostering the development of local food systems and helped to plan the first two GrowRIVERSIDE conferences.

Plants, Life, Riverside is an interpretive project about plants in an urban environment. Where are the plants in Riverside? Let’s find out.

Posted in Plants Everyday, Plants Life Riverside |

‘Great Expectations’ explores plants, buds and seeds

January 22, 2016 by Tania Marien

Donguri [Acorn, Quercus Linnaeus, Fagaceae], acrylic, gouache and pencil on paper by Kieta Yonezu (1943–), 1982, 30 × 46 cm, for Rureberukan, Donguri (Chiyodaku, Tokyo, Kanda Ogawamachi, 1983), HI Art accession no. 6838.

Great Expectations
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
March 17 – June 30, 2016

By The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation presents “Great Expectations” from 17 March to 30 June 2016. There is great expectation in the promise and energy held within a bud or a seed, and phases of this continuous cycle of plant development are beautifully illustrated with collection items.

Join us Thursday, 17 March 2016, 5-7 p.m. for an opening reception. At 5:30 p.m. the curators will give a short introduction to the exhibition in the gallery.

Our annual Open House on Sunday, 26 June (1:00-4:30 p.m.) will include the talk “Forward into the past: The past, present and future of Carrie Furnaces” (1:30-2:30 p.m.) by Ronald A. Baraff, director of Historic Resources and Facilities, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, in which he will discuss how the arts, nature, preservation and aesthetics interplay with the historic at the Carrie Furnaces. Following the talk will be tours of the “Great Expectations” exhibition and the reading room (2:30-4:00 p.m.). This event is free and open to the public.

A tour of the landscape around the Carrie Furnaces in Rankin, PA, will be held on Saturday, 21 May, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Please contact Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area (412-464-4020; info@riversofsteel.com) for more information and to purchase a ticket ($15).

Hours
“Great Expectations” will be on display on the 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University and will be open to the public free of charge. Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 AM–noon and 1–5 PM; Sunday, 1–4 PM (except 25–27 March, 1 May and 29–30 May). Hours subject to change, please call or email before your visit to confirm. For further information, contact the Hunt Institute at 412-268-2434.

Related:

Cabinet of curiosities
On display from 19 January to 30 June 2016 in the Cabinet of curiosities in the Hunt Institute lobby is a two-leaf fragment of a handwritten copy of the Macer Floridus estimated to be from the mid-12th century, as well as several early printed editions. Visit during normal business hours (Monday–Friday, 9 AM–noon and 1–5 PM) to see this fragment from our Archives, which is the oldest item in our collections, and the printed edition from 1477, which is the oldest printed book in our Library.

About the Institute
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, a research division of Carnegie Mellon University, specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of plant science and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation. To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains authoritative collections of books, plant images, manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides publications and other modes of information service. The Institute meets the reference needs of botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, especially those concerned with any aspect of the North American flora.

Posted in Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements |

Botanical Illustration at Capel Manor College

January 22, 2016 by Tania Marien

Artist and educator Louise O’Reilly will introduce new and experienced botanical artists to trees, flowers, pollinators in a series of workshops beginning next week.

Here is the latest at Classes Near You > England!

Capel Manor College
Botanical Illustration at Capel Manor College
Capel Manor College offers 3-day short courses in Botanical Illustration in Regent’s Park in the heart of central London and at Capel Manor in Enfield. Botanical artist and educator, Louise O’Reilly, offers students of all abilities the opportunity to improve their observational drawing skills and learn more about botanical subject matter. Students learn the basic skills required to create a beautiful and accurate botanical drawing including structural line drawing, drawing to scale, composition, applying tone, understanding directional light, color mixing and use of watercolor washes. Check website for more information.

Upcoming Classes:

Line Drawing with Pen and Ink, January 25-27, 2016
Trees in Flower, March 14-16, 2016
Summer Flowers and Pollinators, May 9-11, 2016
Roses, July 4-6, 2016

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities |

Denver Botanic Gardens adds satellite classes to distance learning program

January 18, 2016 by Tania Marien

Download schedule

Five years ago the Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) announced its distance learning program in botanical art and illustration. Their unique format combines long-distance learning via computer with live classes at the Gardens.

This year the DBG program will expand its reach to include classes that will be taught in Arlington, VA. This exciting move is in response to many requests the program has received from people in this area.

Classes will be taught at Gallery Underground at The Shops at 2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA.

Individuals interested in earning a Foundational Certificate in Botanical Illustration should click on the image above to download the schedule.

Gallery Underground will host the following three-day classes:

Botanical Illustration in Pencil (Feb. 19-21, 2016)
Into the Dark: Cast Shadows (March 11-13, 2016)
Color Mixing (March 18-20, 2016)
Expressive Ink on Paper and Mylar (April 8-10, 2016)
Nature Observed: Field Sketching as a Reference for Studio Work (May 13-15, 2016)

To take advantage of this new learning opportunity, register here.

Posted in distance learning, Learning Opportunities, travel |

The Plants of Alcatraz

January 13, 2016 by Tania Marien

Echeveria pulvinata, © Elizabeth Peyton, all rights reserved

The Alcatraz Florilegium
UC Botanical Garden
Berkeley, CA
January 16-29, 2016

The Northern California Society of Botanical Artists, in collaboration with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the Garden Conservancy has created a florilegium documenting the plants growing in the gardens at Alcatraz.

An exhibition of these botanical paintings opens this week in Julia Morgan Hall at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Special lectures and a two-day workshop are also planned.

Scheduled programs include:

January 22 – The History of Florilegia
January 23 – Members’ Hour in the Alcatraz Florilegium Exhibition, Reception (Members only)
January 28 – The Restoration of the Gardens at Alcatraz
February 11-12 – An Introduction to Botanical Art with Catherine Watters

For more information about these special programs, visit the exhibition website.

Visit the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities, Special Events |

Botanical Art Class by Anne-Marie Evans

January 13, 2016 by Tania Marien

By Bonnie S. Driggers, Botanical Artists for Education & the Environment

Come to Falls Church, Virginia, for a springtime class by the world-renowned master teacher Anne-Marie Evans. Anne-Marie has come here to teach since 2007 and her classes are very popular and well-attended. A few spots remain in the April class. Anne-Marie plans to emphasize composition and the class will spend several days sketching and planning their compositions before beginning their painting, which will be developed according to Anne-Marie’s Six-Step Method. Spring is a glorious time to be a botanical artist. Come and enjoy!

Dates: April 4 – 8 and 11 – 15 (Two weeks. Will schedule folks for one week only if class is not otherwise filled)

Hours: 10 am to 3 pm (okay to arrive/leave a little earlier or later)

Location: Columbia Baptist Church. 103 W. Columbia Street, Falls Church, VA 22046

Cost: $1,200 due in full by Feb 1, 2016. In the event that someone takes only one week, the cost will be $650.

Refund Policy: Full refund if class is cancelled. We will refund in the event of sickness/death in family. If you just change your mind, you are responsible for finding a replacement.

What We Will Paint: Anne-Marie will go to a nursery after she gets here to get plants, depending on what is available. She prefers most people to paint the same thing, but is flexible if you really want to do something different. Students will be billed for the cost of plants; please let me know if you do not wish us to get a plant for you.

For more information, contact Botanical Artists for Education & the Environment at baee.info@gmail.com.