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Looking Ahead at ArtPlantae

January 1, 2014 by Tania Marien

Dear Readers,

The new year begins with changes at ArtPlantae — each positive and each a welcome sign of forward movement.

The first, and most noticeable change, is the launch of Plants, Life, Riverside, a project that brings to life ArtPlantae’s mission of encouraging an interest in plants and exploring drawing as a learning tool. This project isn’t a one-off project, but a way of life and what I learn on this journey will be shared here. While this project may begin in Riverside, CA its reach extends well beyond the busy urban landscape of this southern California town.

The second change has to do with ArtPlantae Books. The store has a new home and a refined focus. The store has moved permanently to the Square Market. This move streamlines e-commerce operations and keeps the shopping experience consistent for customers who shop with ArtPlantae at events and online. Customers who make in-person purchases have the added benefit of receiving exclusive discounts when they shop with ArtPlantae at an event. Each purchase is recorded as a stamp on the ArtPlantae Loyalty Card built into the Square Wallet platform. Customers with five stamps on their card receive a discount that can be applied to a future purchase.

Do you shop at Starbucks or other neighborhood businesses using Square Wallet? Use this app to shop at ArtPlantae and save on learning opportunities and resources.

The store’s move to the Square Market means it also has a new address. Please note that the ArtPlantaeBooks.com address will be phased out now that the store has a refined look, function and focus. When you visit the new store, you’ll notice there are fewer categories and the emphasis has shifted to better support ArtPlantae’s educational outreach efforts. Valuable resources for artists, naturalists and educators will continue to be featured, as will the exquisite exhibition catalogs of contemporary botanical art.

As exciting as the new store is, there is one tiny hiccup. The Square platform does not accommodate international orders. Please know, however, I will continue to ship internationally. Because the exhibition catalogs are shipped overseas more often than other items, shipping instructions for international customers are included on the product pages for the catalogs (see example).

The new year promises to be an exciting time. Thank you for being loyal readers and for your continued enthusiasm.

Wishing you a creative and fulfilling new year,

Tania

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Blog News |

Plants, Life, Riverside

January 1, 2014 by Tania Marien

Where can we go to see plants in Riverside?

I heard someone say this at an event last year. I did not respond to the woman who was thinking this aloud. I only wondered why, in a park setting, she did not see the plants around her. Why did she think it was necessary to go somewhere specific to see plants?

Her question confirmed observations I had made and validated my plans for 2014 and Plants, Life, Riverside, an ongoing exploration of plants within the city limits of Riverside, CA.

This project is about awareness and local history.
It’s about plants and people.
It’s about botany that is accessible, digestible and curbside.

It’s about ArtPlantae living its mission aloud — encouraging an interest in plants, connecting people and exploring drawing as a learning tool.

It’s also about appreciating plants and how they contribute to life, no matter where you are.

You are invited to join me on this journey. Please check back here for updates. If you prefer to have the updates come to you, follow this site or follow along on Facebook or Twitter.


Where are the plants in this urban landscape?

Posted in Blog News, botany, Plants Everyday, Plants Life Riverside, Special Announcements |

Experience Photosynthesis

December 20, 2013 by Tania Marien

Many years ago I had the opportunity to help pilot test a new biology lab curriculum for nonmajors. It is through this experience that I came to see the many ways people learn. It is also how I came to appreciate the Herculean effort required to design, write, implement, evaluate and fine-tune a curriculum. I think of this experience often, especially when I read about activities such as the leaf-building activity that is the focus of this week’s column.

We’ve learned how describing a concept with words and how visualizing words can make invisible processes easier to understand.

Today we go 3-D and consider model-making. The leaf-building exercise we’re going to learn about was created by science teacher Patty Littlejohn. She describes the model-building process and how she uses the models to enhance student understanding of photosynthesis in Building Leaves and an Understanding of Photosynthesis.

Littlejohn (2007) makes photosynthesis easier to think about by making the process of photosynthesis larger than life.

To help her middle school students see, feel and experience photosynthesis, she has them build a model of a leaf, a plant cell and an animal cell. Students build leaves with veins, chloroplasts, stomata and an epidermis. Their plant and animal cells have cell membranes and organelles. Littlejohn says students benefit from the model-building exercise because it requires them to “see and manipulate the reactants and products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration” (Littlejohn, 2007).

In addition to their leaf and cell models, students also create reactants and products (i.e., carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, energy, glucose) and combine reactants to simulate the chemical reactions occurring within plant and animal cells. By engaging students in the construction of both cell types, Littlejohn (2007) is able to show students how energy is transferred between organisms.

Littlejohn (2007) includes detailed instructions and material lists in her article so that teachers can bring this same experience to their classroom or program. Littlejohn’s article can be purchased online for 99¢. You can also look for her article at your local college library.


Literature Cited
Littlejohn, Patty. 2007. Building leaves and an understanding of photosynthesis. Science Scope. 8(30): 22-25


Also See

Posted in botany, Teaching & Learning, teaching and learning |

Exhibition About Historic Trees Extended

December 20, 2013 by Tania Marien

©2013 ArtPlantae LLC The exhibition about an artist’s exploration of the 52 Montezuma Bald Cypress trees at Fairmount Park in Riverside will continue into the New Year.

Sue Mitchell’s exhibition about her one-year sabbatical has resonated with many members of the public, both young and old. If you haven’t had a chance to see this inspiring journey about creativity and community, you still have time to see the exhibition before it closes.

Thanks to a Community Foundation Grant, admission to the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) is free through
January 5, 2014. Visit RAM today!

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events |

Botanical Art Catalogs in Stock, Discounted Too

December 17, 2013 by Tania Marien

ASBA_HSNY_16thAnnual_2013The exhibition catalogs for the 15th and 16th annual botanical art exhibition by the American Society of Botanical Artists are back in stock.

Also available are exhibition catalogs whose covers have endured bumps and scrapes during shipping or whose covers are not colored correctly. These hurt catalogs have been priced at a discount and are in the “Sale” category. While these catalogs have scrapes to their outside covers, their interior pages are clean. Images have been posted so you can see examples of hurt covers and bumped corners.

Go to ArtPlantae Books

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, Special Announcements |

Botanical Illustration Instructor Teaches Course in Practical Photography

December 17, 2013 by Tania Marien

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


Lewisham Arthouse, London
www.lewishamarthouse.co.uk
The Lewisham Arthouse once served as the central library of Deptford. Designed by architect Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas (1868-1948) and funded by Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), this former library is now features a public gallery and studio space for professional artists. Artist studios are open to the public once per year. Exhibitions in the gallery are open to the public year-round, free of charge. Ten-week botanical illustration classes are taught by Alison Day. Watch for information about her next class. Alison also teaches a photography class.

    One-Day Course in 35 mm SLR Photography Skills
    Jan 11, 2014
    11 – 4 pm

    Run by illustrator and photographer, Alison Day, this one-day introductory course provides an opportunity to learn about SLR photography at a theoretical and practical level. Participants learn how to get the best out of their 35mm camera, take some photographs and then process their film and make contact sheet sin the darkroom. Darkroom chemicals and equipment provided. Students must bring own camera and buy basic materials (e.g 35mm film and photographic paper). All abilities welcome.

    The course is run in the artists’ studio and has limited places so early booking is advisable. For all information and booking contact Alison Day.

    Cost for each course is £45/40 concessions

    The Lewisham Arthouse. 140 Lewisham Way. New Cross, London, SE14 6PD.

    BR/Underground New Cross/New Cross Gate.
    Bus 136, 21, 436, 321.
    Disabled access

Posted in Education, Learning Opportunities, Photography, Special Announcements |

Integrating Art, Science and Writing

December 13, 2013 by Tania Marien

Making images as natural as speaking.

– Heinemann Publishing

This is the focus of New Entries: Learning by Writing and Drawing by Ruth Hubbard and Karen Ernst, a collection of case studies about teachers integrating art, science and writing in their classrooms. Thirteen educators contributed to this book and generously share classroom activities and their own learning processes with readers. Here is what you’ll find inside this enlightening resource:

    Drawing Rachel In
    Susan Benedict, elementary school teacher
    Benedict shares how she helped a 4th grade student with her writing and reading through nature journaling.

    Widening the Frame: Reading, Writing and Art in Learning
    Karen Ernst, teacher and author
    Ernst describes how she created her artists workshop, a structured yet flexible workshop in which students actively engage in literature, art and writing.

    Writing Pictures, Painting Words: Artists Notebooks in Literacy Workshops
    Nancy Winterbourne, elementary school teacher
    Winterbourne’s research interests include how drawing in science journals helps students use complex verbs to explain their observations. In this chapter, Winterbourne provides examples of how children’s communication skills are enhanced when they integrate drawing and writing.

    Opening Up to Art: Imagery and Story in a High School Reading Class
    Peter Thacker, teacher
    Thacker shares how he became an artist and learned how to create images with his students.

    Beyond Answers
    Jill Ostrow, teacher and author
    Ostrow writes about how to look at math concepts visually. She shares the problem-solving picture strategies her students created in her class.


    Putting Art on the Scientist’s Palette
    Mary Stein (scientist) and Brenda Power (writer)
    Stein and Power offer practical suggestions about how teachers can integrate art, science and language to move beyond the perceived boundaries between disciplines. 


    Imagination Through Images: Visual Responses to Literature
    Ruth Shagoury Hubbard
    Hubbard discusses how students can use drawing and writing to help them understand what they read.


    Reading the Image and Viewing the Words: Languages Intertwined
    Irene C. Fountas (Professor, Education)
    Janet L. Olson (Professor, Art Education)
    Fountas and Olson discuss how reading informs drawing and how viewing images informs writing. 


    Parallel Journeys: Exploring Through Art and Writing in Fourth Grade
    Peter von Euler, teacher
    Peter von Euler explains how the use of “observational journals” helped his students unite writing and art. 


    I Look at My Pictures and Then Try It: Art as a Tool for Learning
    Jean Anne Clyde (Professor, Literacy)
    Clyde shares a story about a student’s use of art as a learning tool and how this student searched for meaning in texts, learned from others and integrated drama, art and math.


    Reclaiming the Power of Visual Thinking with Adult Learners
    Ruth Shagoury Hubbard
    Through her work, Hubbard aims to make “visual language” commonplace among adults. In this chapter, she offers suggestions about how to introduce adults to visual learning.


    Background, Foreground: From Experience to Classroom Practice
    Karen Ernst
    Ernst writes about a summer art workshop for teachers and how this workshop made teachers more sensitive to how their students learn.


    Drawing My Selves Together: An Editor’s Notebook
    Toby Gordon, education publisher
    Editor Toby Gordon describes how editing the book Picturing Learning by Karen Ernst helped move her past negative comments about her work made by her kindergarten teacher.


New Entries: Learning by Writing and Drawing is no longer in print. Search for a used copy at your favorite independent used bookstore.


Literature Cited
Hubbard, Ruth Shagoury and Karen Ernst. 1996. New Entries: Learning by Writing and Drawing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann


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Posted in drawing, Teaching & Learning, teaching and learning | 2 Comments »

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