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By Bonnie Driggers


Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment
is happy to announce the completion of our book, American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic, which was more than three years in the making. It contains 60 reproductions of original paintings and drawings of plants and 40 original paintings of butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. For each plant, we briefly describe the plants and their habitats, provide relevant information about the plant families, and relate ways in which Native Americans or early settlers used the plants. For plants unsuitable for home gardens, we mention their environmental importance, such as food and habitat for birds and animals.

Tuliptree by Marsha Ogden. Image courtesy Starbooks.

Tuliptree by Marsha Ogden. Image courtesy Starbooks.

    Dr. Shirley Sherwood OBE, Botanical art collector
    This is a delightfully illustrated book, beautifully designed and with lots of variety in the choice of plant subjects. I admired the standard of painting and the fresh, appealing studies, which will be attractive to both naturalists and gardeners.


    Holly Shimizu, Executive Director, U.S. Botanic Garden

    The U.S. Botanic Garden was thrilled to be a part of this book as it embodies what we know to be vital — our world is better and richer with fine botanical art, and the plants in our backyards, in our woods, and along the roadsides are amazing!


    Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants at Monticello

    Like the exquisitely illustrated floras from past centuries, this volume carries on a rich tradition of detailed and deftly created botanical artistry. Each painting portrays the abundance and diverse beauty of the natural world around us, from early spring ephemerals to the towering monarchs of our deciduous forests.


    Derek Norman, President, American Society of Botanical Artists

    Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic – a beautiful book on botanical art that speaks to the mind, the heart, and the environment.

    Winged Sumac by Rose Pellicano. Image courtesy Starbooks.

    Winged Sumac by Rose Pellicano. Image courtesy Starbooks.

Botanical Artists for Education & the Environment (BAEE) created American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic for lovers of art and plants. We hope to foster a particular appreciation not only for the beauty of native plants and their artistic representations but also for their importance to the environment and to encourage, where practical, the use of native plants in home gardens.

Publication costs come from donations. BAEE will donate proceeds from the sale of the book to nonprofit organizations supporting native plant education, conservation, and horticulture.

Native-Plants-Mid-Atlantic-New Botanical Book-Inglett Publishing Custom American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic is now available to order from Starbooks ($39.95) with free shipping within the United States through December 31, 2013.

The book is expected to ship by February 1, 2014. An exhibition of the paintings will open on February 15, 2014, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.


Bonnie S. Driggers, President, BAEE

www.baeecorp.org
baee.info@gmail.com



Also Available at Starbooks

The second annual Long Night of Arts & Innovation will occur this week in downtown Riverside. This is a HUGE event! There is so much to see, to do and to learn that it will be midnight before you know it. You can enjoy the festive atmosphere and encounter learning opportunities as you come across them, or you can plan your evening in advance to make sure you experience all that you can before midnight strikes.

While in downtown, be sure to visit local small businesses and explore all that local merchants have to offer. The Aurea Vista marketplace will be open regular hours (11 AM – 7 PM).

Visit ArtPlantae to browse through resources at the Teacher Trunk Show that will be in place on the lower level until October 31, 2013. ArtPlantae is pleased to be a participating organization in Connected Educator Month (CEM), a month-long celebration hosted by the US Department of Education.

Do you find ArtPlantae to be a useful resource?

If you do, please share your thoughts in the CEM Community Directory.
Thank you!


Related

Visit the Long Night of Arts & Innovation on Facebook

fsba_DeliberateComposition_Nov2013 The Florida Society of Botanical Artists (FSBA) will host a class with award-winning botanical watercolor artist Hillary Park in November.

Parker will teach the course, Deliberate Composition, November 8-10, 2013. In this course, she will lead botanical artists through exercises and assignments that will help them express their own voice in their work.

This master class workshop will be held at the Center for Arts and Humanity in Sarasota, Florida (map).
FSBA Members $250, Non-members $300

To register for this workshop, click on the image to download the course flyer.

This information can also be found at Classes Near You > Florida.

    What thoughts cross your mind when preparing to teach students about plants?

    How do you prepare yourself?

    What type of student reactions do you prepare for?

    What would you do if you had the money, space and time to teach botany any way you wanted?

In their very interesting paper, Elementary Botany: How Teachers in One School District Teach About Plants, Melanie A. Link-Perez and Elisabeth E. Schussler address the questions above as they begin their investigation into how K-12 teachers teach botany.

In 2006, Link-Perez and Schussler (2013) interviewed 13 elementary school teachers about their experiences teaching plant biology. The teachers interviewed were all female and were a mix of both new and experienced teachers. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and then evaluated for recurring themes (Link-Perez and Schussler, 2013). Data collected were teachers’ “self-reported experiences in teaching about plants, in order to assess their comfort level and experiences in botanical instruction” (Link-Perez and Schussler, 2013).

The research questions Link-Perez and Schussler (2013) wanted to investigate were:

  • How do teachers feel about teaching plant content?
  • What types of activities are used to teach about plants?
  • How do students react to lessons about plants?
  • Is there anything teachers need to help them teach about plants?

After evaluating teacher interviews, Link-Perez and Schussler (2013) categorized themes according to their research questions above. Here is a quick summary of their findings:

    How did teachers feel about teaching plant biology?
    Teachers stated they were comfortable leading lessons about plants, even though most of the teachers claimed to have no (or very little) training in botany.


    How did teachers teach about plants in their classrooms?

    Teachers reported using their own activities to supplement the textbook given to them by their school district. Teachers also mentioned they do the same activities repeatedly and that some students complain about having to repeat a plant lesson they completed in an earlier grade.


    What did teachers have to say about how students react to learning about plants?

    Teachers stated that, while students like to grow plants, their enthusiasm and attention span for learning about plants dies quickly.


    What did teachers say they need to teach about plants in their classroom?

    Teachers expressed a need to find a better way of managing light, temperature and water in their classrooms. They also stated the need for more space.

Using teacher feedback and these themes as a guide, Link-Perez and Schussler (2013) offer two recommendations to anyone interested in enhancing botany instruction within their school district: 1) Provide teacher training in the plant sciences and 2) Help teachers develop curriculum so they can stop teaching the same lessons over and over again.

Learn more about the research conducted by Link-Perez and Schussler and the history of botany education by obtaining a copy of this article online. This article is available for free from the Botanical Society of America.


Literature Cited

Link-Perez, Melanie A. and Elisabeth E. Schussler. 2013. Elementary botany: How teachers in one school district teach about plants. Plant Science Bulletin. 59(3): 99-110. Web. http://www.botany.org/plantsciencebulletin/PSB-2013-59-3.pdf [accessed 2 October 2013]



Also See

WhatAPlantKnows What a Plant Knows
A free seven-week online course taught by Daniel Chamovitz, author of What a Plant Knows (2012) and the Director of the Manna Center for Plant Sciences at TelAviv University. This class started October 1. It involves video instruction, reading assignments, quizzes, a final exam and discussion forums. Sign Up Today



More About ArtPlantae’s Teaching & Learning Column

ArtPlantae is participating in Connected Educator Month. As a participant in this wonderful event, I would like to welcome readers who are reading this column for the first time. This weekly column is published on Friday. Through this column we explore the links between drawing and knowing (knowing plants, specifically). To read past columns by myself and guest contributors, please see the “Teaching & Learning” section in the right margin of this page. Thank you for joining us online.

Do you have information about new classes that you would like posted in the Classes Near You section? If so, please send your information so a listing can be created on the appropriate state page and an announcement sent to readers. To view examples of what your listing and a corresponding announcement would look like, view the following announcement about the new programming at the Lyceum of Monterey County and the announcement Chris Taylor’s upcoming workshops.

When you send information, please include links to course webpages, a media image you use for self-promotion, or flyer/poster when relevant. Please note that a new production schedule is now in effect. Course information received will be posted and announced in the news cycle for the following week. For example, information received this week will be announced next week. Please plan accordingly.

The oldest non-profit on the Monterey Peninsula, the Lyceum of Monterey County is expanding its botanical art program by adult and family classes to the extensive list of hands-on learning opportunities they provide for Monterey students.

If you live in the Monterey area and are interested in classes about botanical art and nature journaling, visit the Lyceum website to view their current schedule. Here is a class with Nina Antze that will be offered later this month:


Drawing Autumn Leaves in Colored Pencil

Autumn is the perfect time to explore colored pencil techniques with all the beauty of the changing leaf colors, seed pods, gourds and berries. Their unique colors provide the opportunity to practice mixing and layering color. Learn to create rich reds, browns and purples, and explore a variety of colored pencil techniques including burnishing and impressed line. Leaves and other natural materials to draw will be provided, or you may bring in your own beauties.

  • Ages: Teen – Adult
  • Dates: October 26, 2013
  • Hours: 10:00am – 3:00pm
  • Instructor: Nina Antze
  • Fee: $80 (half off additional family members)
  • Size: Limited to 8 students
  • Register Online

This information can also be found at Classes Near You > Northern California.

Visit Chris Taylor's website

Visit course details

Chris Taylor
www.cjtbotanicart.com
Horticulturist, historian, bookseller and artist, Chris Taylor has been drawing since childhood. A graduate of the distance learning diploma course by the Society of Botanical Artists, Chris now teaches botanical art in Wales.

Below is a list of Chris’ upcoming workshops:

    Harvest Fruit and Vegetables
    October 25, 2013
    Learn how to paint textures, form and home-grown produce. Cost: £55


    Seed Heads, Cones
    and Conkers

    November 22, 2013
    Papery seed heads, cones and shiny conkers! Cost: £55


    Evergreen Leaves
    and Berries

    December 13, 2013
    Paint holly, ivy and mistletoe this holiday season. Cost: £55

Click on the image at left to view course details.

This information has been added to Classes Near You > Wales.