Throughout the year, our program offers several weekly and two- or three-day classes about botanical art and scientific illustration with lead instructor and Education Director Sarah Roche, along with Carol Govan, Jeanne Kunze, Carrie Megan and visiting instructors. The core of our program are Sarah’s twice-yearly offerings, Foundations of Botanical Drawing and Painting and the more advanced Techniques of Botanical Drawing and Painting. Here is a peek at the 2014 Spring-Summer schedule:
Sarah Roche’s two Studio Focus classes, Growing Green and Fifty Shades of Gray (and White) and her one-week intensive Introduction to Botanical Art
Carol Govan & Sarah Roche’s 3-day Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Florilegium: Wildflowers
Elaine Searle visiting to teach Tablet Computers as a Tool, Depth in Detail, Patterns from Nature & Painting with Sunshine: The Sunflower
Catherine Watters visiting to teach Summer Flowers: Mastering Botanical Composition
Carol Ann Morley’s Tonal Drawing Fundamentals and Drawing Flowers and More!
Last week the Nepalese Botanical Drawings of Dr. Francis Buchanan were hung at the Linnean Society of London. This collection of reproductions are of plants studied and described by Buchanan who served as Surgeon-Naturalist on the first British mission to Kathmandu (1802-3).
This impressive collection can be viewed online on the Linnean Society’s website. Go to The Buchanan-Hamilton Collection of Paintings to view this exciting and historic collection of 116 illustrations and paintings.
News of the exhibition made me think about the tireless efforts of people across the globe who document plants so that others may learn about them. We have all been fortunate to learn from some of these remarkable people here at ArtPlantae.
After you viewthe Buchanan collection, I invite you to revisit a few conversations with special guests. Go on a virtual tour of the herbarium at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden to learn about what goes on behind the scenes. Visit The Botany Studio at the University of Wisconsin and drop in on the photography studio of Anna Laurent.
As these examples show, there are many creative ways to document plants.
How do you blend art and science when documenting plants?
In this issue of Plants, Life, Riverside we talk about achieving sustainability in an urban setting with Taher Bhaijee, a recent graduate of UC Riverside and co-founder of SustainRiverside.org, a new resource that will show residents how to adopt new approaches to living.
SustainRiverside.org is well on its way of becoming an informative resource for the residents of Riverside, CA. The soft launch for the site occurred earlier this month during Earth Week. Currently the site features a long list of sustainability events happening in the city. Soon new posts and videos will be added every other Monday.
Visit SustainRiverside online and you will see that the organization has laid out its objectives clearly. Taher is actively working with community groups to achieve the following goals:
Community Goal
To develop Green Teams in every neighborhood in Riverside.
Energy Goal
To reduce peak load demand by 10%.
Food Goal
Create 5% increase participation in community gardens.
Water Goal
To reduce Riverside’s water consumption by 20%.
Waste Goal
To reduce Riverside’s waste by 20%.
Health Goal
To reduce obesity rates by 20%.
Transportation Goal
To increase ridership on public transportation by 50%.
I spoke with Taher about some of these goals. I asked him to explain what a Green Team is and what such a team should strive to accomplish in their respective neighborhoods. Taher explained that his idea of a Green Team is modeled after the Wood Streets Green Team, an established team of residents actively involved in helping other residents achieve a sustainable lifestyle. They conduct workshops, involve themselves in city issues and support related groups in the city. Taher hopes to establish a Green Team in each of Riverside’s 26 neighborhoods.
Another objective of SustainRiverside is to increase participation in community gardens by five percent. What does this 5% look like?
Taher explained that by “five percent”, he means 5% of Riverside’s population. The city has a population of 300,000 residents, so he hopes to get at least 15,000 residents involved with existing and future gardens. Taher hopes the involvement with community gardens will encourage residents to lead healthier lives. He says that his work at the UCR Community Garden cleaning, watering and growing vegetables taught him how to live more sustainably and taught him how to live more healthfully.
Recruiting 15,000 residents may sound like a bold goal, but it really isn’t that outrageous. Especially given the success of the recent Grow Riverside conference, a conference about urban agriculture and the development of a sustainable food system in the city. Taher says he hopes SustainRiverside can play a role in communicating the efforts of all parties involved in the Grow Riverside movement and to communicate these efforts through one platform.
SustainRiverside is making great strides reaching out to the public and showing people how they can live more sustainably. The next lesson in sustainability is scheduled for May 17, 2014. On this day SustainRiverside and the Wood Streets Green Team will embark on a progressive bus tour to promote community, public transportation, local businesses and recycled art. Bus tour participants will meet at a local bus stop, board the bus together and then visit the Riverside Farmer’s Market in downtown. They will then go to Tio’s Tacos to eat lunch and to view the gallery of recycled art.
Would you like to join the progressive bus tour and learn more about SustainRiverside.org? Contact Taher Bhaijee or visit SustainRiverside on Facebook.
About Taher Bhaijee
Taher has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in History and has been actively involved with sustainability efforts around UC Riverside. As President of Sustainable UCR, he worked on projects such as the UCR Community Garden, the Power Rangers Program, the Recycling Proposal, the Composting Initiative, and the Grid Alternative Solarton. He is now working on Riverside-wide sustainability projects as an intern at the Mayor’s office. He hopes to build a healthier and greener Riverside.
Who else is working on creating a greener Riverside? Take a look.
Humboldt Field Research Institute www.eaglehill.us
The Humboldt Field Research Institute offers professional-level natural history science seminars and learning opportunities addressing all aspects of natural history. The Institute publishes three journals about natural history and the environment — the Northeastern Naturalist, the Southeastern Naturalist, and the Journal of the North Atlantic.
Mid-summer in Maine is a great time for wood lilies, native orchids, and fungi. Students will begin by studying their choice of subject in its natural habitat, learning to collect field information accurately and quickly. Information will be gathered by sketching, painting, and photographing in order to compose accurate and beautiful groupings of Maine plants to complete in the classroom. A historical overview of botanical portraiture and micro-landscapes will be discussed. This will give participants a perspective to help in developing compositions for their own watercolor paintings. Composition, botanical accuracy, aesthetic strength, and dry-brush watercolor techniques on vellum or paper will be covered. By the end of the week, each participant will have at least one substantially advanced or completed painting of a Maine botanical portrait or grouping.
For course descriptions, instructor biosketches, example work and general information, click on the class title above. Please direct all questions to Marilyn Mayer, 207-546-2821
This seminar focuses on scientific illustration of natural science subjects using color pencils. Instruction will stress drawing skills, accuracy and specific color pencil techniques for producing exacting images of chosen subject matter. Field exploration will include observing the surrounding beauty of the Eagle Hill Institute and seeking out a variety of specimens to work from throughout the week. Maine’s magnificent shoreline is a short hike from the studio space, providing and infinite supply of fascinating subjects to render. Although the primary direction of the workshop will involve the use of color pencil, participants are welcome to bring other color media of their choice for mixed media experimentation. Time will be allotted throughout the week for the instructor to work one on one with all participants.
The use of color pencils produces lovely images with a high reproduction quality. Color pencils allow artistic flexibility and permit the artist to achieve great detail and a high level of control over how the subject matter is depicted. Color pencil techniques also allow for the creation of more expressive artwork depending on the ultimate goal of the artist.
The instructor will provide hands on demonstrations to exemplify specific aspects of color pencil techniques. Instruction is geared to all levels, beginner to advanced, and all participants will receive individualized attention throughout the week.
For course descriptions, instructor biosketches, example work and general information, click on the class title above. Please direct all questions to Marilyn Mayer, 207-546-2821
The weekly teaching and learning column is on a brief publishing break.
During this time, we are revisiting popular posts.
Today we revisit a 347-page guide to drawing and thinking containing 692 illustrations of easy ways to make and use drawings in your work and in your hobbies. We also learn about vintage (and downloadable) instructional books about how to use a pencil. Here are resources to consider for your studio or program:
Earth Night in the Garden
Landscapes Southern California Style
450 E. Alessandro Blvd.
c/o Alessandro Blvd and Mission Grove
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
3-7 PM
Celebrate Earth Day and water efficiency at this very popular community event in Riverside’s Mission Grove neighborhood. Lady bug releases, raffles and lots of hands-on learning with ArtPlantae and many other local businesses and educational organizations.
Landscapes Southern California Style is a demonstration garden operated by the Western Municipal Water District. It is open daily, except holidays.
What types of things can you learn and do at the garden?
Find out in this Plants, Life, Riverside article.
This weekend Donald Davidson, the Traveling Artist for the National Park Service, will lead an introductory class in botanical illustration at Lake Mead Visitor Center near Boulder City, Nevada.
Botanical Watercolor
Saturday April 26th
Sunday April 27th
8:30 am to 12:00 pm
Donald Davidson is a known watercolor artist, painting the plants of National Parks, all across the U.S. Sign up today for this incredible chance to learn how Davidson works through the intricate process of recording beauty with paint and brush. This is a two-day workshop and some supplies will be provided. The fee is $85 per person. Space is limited.
To register, please contact Lake Mead Visitor Center at 702-293-8990. The visitor center is open Wednesday through Sunday 9 am to 4:30 pm.
Rails-to-Trails
Find a trail for hiking, walking, cycling or inline skating. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and its volunteers work to convert unused railroads into trails for healthful outdoor activities.
Search their national TrailLink database to locate a trail near you.
Sierra Club Trails
Locate trails for hiking, cycling, climbing, and many other outdoor activities. Search Sierra Club Trails
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Artists retain the copyright to their work.
The weekly teaching and learning column is on a brief publishing break.
ArtPlantae Today 