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Archive for the ‘Sketching & Journaling’ Category

Draw Plants Outdoors, Hike & Have Fun This Summer

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, natural science illustration, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , , , on May 21, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Now at Classes Near You > New York!


Gretchen Kai Halpert
www.gretchenhalpert.com
Gretchen Halpert is a scientific illustrator and biologist with many years of experience creating illustrations for the medical field, for scientific research, and for commercial clients. Gretchen also teaches classes in the book arts and leads journaling classes.

    Botanical Illustration and Drawing Workshops
    Choose one of the dates below or register for all four workshops!

    June 1, 2013
    June 2, 2013
    June 29, 2013
    June 30, 2013

    Botanical illustration and basic drawing. Each session above is a full-day workshop using botanical specimens to learn basic drawing techniques. Students will focus on tools and techniques to create realistic and accurate drawings along with observation exercises and botanical study. The first session will focus on graphite sketches, transfers and tonal drawings on white paper. Individual attention and small class size allows participants to receive help with their particular challenges and interests. This workshop is an opportunity for beginners to get your feet wet. As interest dictates, classes can meet during the week – days or evenings – as well as weekends. More advanced students may benefit by having a set time to draw with others and will be given more advanced exercises.

    Each workshop is scheduled for 10 AM – 4 PM. From 4:00-6:00 PM, students may remain to draw outdoors, hike or socialize. There are trails, fields, woods, a pond and plants specific to each ecosystem. Cost: $100. Location: Elmira, New York.

    (Note: Students may sign-up for multiple sessions, the exercises will be different each time so the workshops may progress as in a series.)

    Contact: Gretchen by email or at 607-767-6936.


    Nature and Travel Journaling in Tuscany, Siena, Italy
    June 16-23, 2013
    $2475pp double; $2750 single

    Includes 7 nights lodging in 16th-century villa, 19 meals, wine, field trips, daily classes and evening presentations. This workshop is about creating a journal, focusing on plants and nature and expanding to architecture and travel. Daily lessons in pen and ink, watercolor, composition, text, observation, and writing give participants the tools to document their time in Italy and wherever they go in the world, including home. All takes place on one of the first privately-owned wildlife sanctuaries in Italy. Flower and vegetable gardens, animals, trails and an abandoned castle offer plenty of subject material. Afternoons are set aside for field trips and working on your own, relaxing by the pool, hiking, reading, exploring and enjoying life. The weekends with a wine and cheese opening of our work.  

    For more information, go to Nature and Travel Journaling in Tuscany.

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Botanical Drawing for Teens & Adults at Brenton Arboretum

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Drawing in Graphite, Drawing to Learn, Education, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , , , on May 21, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Here’s the latest at Classes Near You > Iowa.

Sign-up today. This class begins in less than 2 weeks!


Brenton Arboretum, Dallas Center
www.thebrentonarboretum.org
The Brenton Arboretum is a 140-acre arboretum established in 1997 featuring 2,600 trees and shrubs. Most of the more than 175 species of trees and shrubs are organized by species to ease learning and to emphasize the importance of trees in our world. Plant classes for children and adults are offered year ’round.

    Botanical Drawing
    Saturday, June 1, 2013
    10 AM – Noon

    Instructor Teena Case will teach participants how she creates her botanical illustrations. Participants will learn how to begin a botanical drawing and will receive individual attention. Teena is an art instructor specializing in biological illustration and watercolor.

    Cost: $30 members, $40 nonmembers
    (includes graphite pencil set and sketchbook)

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Create a Mixed-Media Sketchbook for Summer

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, nature, san diego, Sketching & Journaling, travel, tagged , , , , on May 21, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Regardless of where you live, you can learn how to create an expressive journal for summer with mixed-media artist, Jane LaFazio.

See what’s new at Classes Near You > Southern California:


Jane LaFazio
janeville.blogspot.com
Jane is a mixed media artist and a member of the San Diego Sketchcrawl group. Jane teaches at conferences across the U.S. and leads classes in Italy and Greece too. In addition to sketching classes, Jane teaches workshops in collage, mixed media, and quilting. There are always many, many opportunities to learn from Jane in-person. Below is a short list of classes that may be of interest to you. To view all of Jane’s upcoming classes, see her teaching schedule online.

Also see this interview with Jane and her Ask The Artist Q&A with readers.


Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style
Six-week online class.
Learn how to record your life, your summer vacation and other adventures using a loose and quick style of journaling. Participants in this online class will learn a new technique or subject each week and will receive links to supporting material. Communicate with fellow participants and see each others’ projects progress. Designed for beginners. Cost: $85. Online classroom open June 16.
View Details/Register.


Sketching and Watercolor in a Mixed Media Journal
Six-week online class.
Learn to draw from life using Jane’s quick approach to drawing. Take your art journaling to a whole new level! Cost: $90. Online classroom open June 16.
View Details/Register


Learn from Jane In-person:

  • Lavender Sage Art Retreat with Pamela Underwood – June 10-14, 2013. Mixed media retreat in Taos, New Mexico. View Details/Register
  • Walking and Watercolor in Italy – October 7-13, 2013
  • ArtWalk: San Diego – January 13-19, 2014
  • ArtWalk: Italy – May 24-30, 2014
  • ArtWalk: The French Riviera – June 1-7, 2014

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The Art & Science of Gardens and Nature

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, gardening, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Welcome EE Week visitors! Hope you enjoy your visit.

A popular feature on this site is the Classes Near You section. Today there are great examples of the types of classes you can find in this section. Allow me to introduce you naturalist and artist, Maria Hodkins from Colorado and to North Cascades Basecamp in Mazama, WA.

Maria Hodkins has announced her schedule of classes for Spring and Summer. You are invited to join her in Colorado.

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


Maria Hodkins, Windword Writing Services
www.windword.net
Maria is a naturalist, mixed-media artist and book artist who teaches classes in journaling, creative writing and bookbinding in Colorado. Visit her website to learn more about her and the books she has written.


    Garden journal-squash final 72 res     Illustrated
    Garden Journals
    May 18-19, 2013
    9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
    Carbondale Council on Arts & Humanities (CCAH)
    Carbondale, CO

    Do you love gardening? Keeping a garden journal is a way to celebrate your garden in an artful way. Gardening is more than just digging holes, planting seeds, pulling weeds, and watering your plants — it’s about nurturing your soil and your soul. A garden journal will help you remember all that beauty and delicious bounty for years to come. It’s a visual record of gardening dates, ideas, plant and flower documentation, and personal stories. In this weekend workshop, you will learn nature sketching & watercolor, page design, lettering, and artful journaling techniques with artist-naturalist Maria Hodkins in the classroom. After learning these techniques, you will tour local gardens and sketch plants plein air with field notes. By the end of the workshop you’ll experience the joys of keeping a garden journal and discover how it can be used to plan your garden and serve as a lasting record of your gardening trials, triumphs, and treasures.
    Cost: $90 CCAH members, $100 nonmembers. View Details/Register


    Handmade Art Journals
    June 1, 2013
    9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
    Carbondale Council on Arts & Humanities (CCAH)
    Carbondale, CO

    Learn to make a practical and beautiful journal for your own daily use to capture images and writings. In this one-day class you will make a simple hand-made book, with multi-media paper, a decorative cover, and a beautiful exposed spine binding using the ancient 2-needle Coptic stitch. We will then explore a variety of options to personalize the journal with cover embellishments, colophon, and dedication page. This journal can be used for sketching or journaling with any mixed media, such as watercolor, pen & ink, or collage.
    Cost: $40 CCAH members, $50 nonmembers. View Details/Register


    Plant Portraits: The Confluence of Art & Science
    June 27-28, 2013
    9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
    Aspen, CO

    Come for an artistic romp in the field, sketching and painting plant life in flattering illustrations, botanical-style. Participants will study leaves, wildflowers, trees, and lichens, creating artful portraits focused on form, function, habitat, plant surfaces, gestures, and growth patterns. This two-day workshop will hone observational skills and art techniques, including basic nature sketching to more formal methods in botanical illustration. Work in the field as you explore pencil and ink sketches, and finish portraits in the classroom with beautiful watercolor and colored pencil. These portraits will be rendered with both botanical accuracy and beauty. Anyone with an interest in drawing plants will discover the charm and appeal of this art form–gardeners, hikers, nature guides, biology students, informal science educators, and teachers. All skill levels are welcome! 1 College Credit available.
    Cost: $125 members, $160 nonmembers. View Materials List/Register


    Partners in Wonder: Sharing Nature Through Field Journaling
    June 29, 2013
    9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
    Aspen, CO

    Discover a world of magic with your child in the tiniest leaf, a bird’s feather, and the puffy clouds overhead. Ask “what is happening outside in nature today?” then tromp outdoors together, journals in hand, to take in the world with all of your senses. Map out and find the incredible creatures contained in one square yard of ground. Become keen observers and adventurers together while recording the wonders that you see. This one-day workshop will acquaint you with basic instruction for keeping a nature journal, including observation skills, sketching, writing, and playing with color. Parents, relatives, friends, or teachers – this is your chance to learn how to develop a deep and lasting connection to nature together with your children.
    Cost: $110 members, $130 nonmembers (1 adult & 1 child); $40 each additional person. View Materials List/Register

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Journals, Landscapes, Butterflies and Hints of an Expedition at North Cascades Basecamp

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, natural science illustration, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , , , , on April 16, 2013 |

Ready for Summer in the Cascades?
Here is the latest update at Classes Near You > Washington:


North Cascades Basecamp, Mazama
www.NorthCascadesBasecamp.com
A bed-and-breakfast style lodge surrounded by acres of protected cedar forest, the North Cascades Basecamp serves as a homebase for outdoor adventures such as hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and a host of other activities offered through the camp’s Ecology Center. Biologists Kim and Steve Bondi purchased the recreation center in 2010 and created the Ecology Center to offer learning opportunities for guests. Visit the website to view the entire course schedule.

    Nature in Art and Science: A Field Journaling~Naturalist Workshop with Hannah Hinchman and Bruce Thompson
    May 24-27, 2013
    Explore the richness of our mountain habitats, opening windows to nature’s many secrets and learning to personalize these experiences through journal entries, both drawn and written. Cost: $299 Locals Rate includes partial meals; $515 shared lodging and 9 meals. View Details/Register


    The Art and Science of Nature Presentation by Hannah Hinchman
    May 24
    Cost: $5/person
    Register at 509/996-2334 or info@northcascadesbasecamp.com


    Painting Balsamroot Landscapes with John Adams
    June 15, 2013
    10 AM – 2 PM
    Learn techniques to paint the beautiful landscape at North Cascades Basecamp. John Adams will demonstrate techniques and discuss composition and color. Cost: $40/person. View Details/Register


    Treasured Landscapes of the Methow Valley
    Monday, July 29 – Thursday, August 1, 2013
    US Forest Service, National Forest Foundation, and the North Cascades Basecamp
    Daily outings all week to exploration, educate, and participate in hands-on learning projects where you will learn from experts in the field about the North Cascades Ecosystem. Projects include : beavers, wolverines, wildflowers, and native plant restoration. Be a part of the Treasured Landscape Initiative to restore and revitalize this amazing landscape.
    Register at 509/996-2334 or info@northcascadesbasecamp.com.


    Monarchs in the Pacific Northwest Presentation
    by Robert Michael Pyle
    August 16, 2013
    Cost: $5/person
    Register at 509/996-2334 or info@northcascadesbasecamp.com


    Butterflies of the North Cascades Workshop
    with Robert Michael Pyle
    August 16-18, 2013
    Explore high valleys, slopes, meadows, and peaks of the North Cascades seeking butterflies. Discover how to find, harmlessly detain, identify, and learn about their lifeways, needs, and natural history. Cost: $225 Locals Rate includes partial meals; $385 shared lodging and 6 meals. Clock hours: 8. View Details/Register


    Plein Air Watercolor Retreat with Maria Coryell-Martin
    September 6-8, 2013
    Explore the summer landscape of the Methow Valley with expeditionary artist Maria Coryell-Martin and learn techniques for painting expressive skies, wooded forests, and rocky peaks. Cost: $185 Locals Rate includes partial meals; $345 shared lodging and 6 meals. Clock hours: 8.
    View Details/Register

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Tips & Tools: What’s in Your Paper Drawer?

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , on March 27, 2013 | 6 Comments »

In the January reader survey, a respondent mentioned he/she wanted to know what kind of paper other artists were using. This person didn’t include any specifics, so I am pulling this out of the request pile and posing these questions to you this week:

What kind of paper do you use for drawing, painting or sketching? Why do you use them? Is it paper quality or simply because these kinds of paper (or brands) are readily available and usually on sale?

Please post your comments below.


Join the Conversation!

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Study & Draw Carnivorous Plants at Splinter Hill Bog

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Sketching & Journaling, travel, tagged , , , , , , on February 12, 2013 |

Valerie Webb of The Illustrated Garden will lead a three-day workshop at Splinter Hill Bog in Alabama, a preserve that is home to several species of carnivorous plants, including five species of pitcher plants.

Here is what’ new at Classes Near You > Alabama!


The Illustrated Garden, A Studio Blog
www.valwebb.com
Val Webb is the 2013 Artist-in-Residence at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. This year Val will work at the gardens and encourage others to sketch the garden’s collections to learn about plants, gardening and all that the Mobile Botanical Gardens has to offer. Visit Val’s website to view her online tutorial, Botanical Drawing with Pencil and Watercolor. Connect with The Illustrated Garden on Facebook.

    Botanical Drawing: Splinter Hill Bog and Beyond
    April 25-27, 2013
    This class is offered through the Mobile Botanical Gardens. On the first day of this workshop, participants meet at the garden to board a bus that will take them to Splinter Hill Bog. The second and third days of this workshop will be held at Mobile Botanical Gardens. View a detailed itinerary and registration information on the Mobile Botanical Gardens website. Cost: $225.

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Preschool Botany: Play, Explore, Draw

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2013 |

With spring and Earth Day fast-approaching, here is a resource you’ll want to refer to the next time you need to talk about plants with preschool children. It will also help you introduce young audiences to the subjects of inheritance and traits.

In Plants, Alike and Different professor Kathy Cabe Trundle and doctoral students Mandy McCormick Smith and Katherine N. Mollohan explain how they use a learning cycle involving play, exploration and discussion to teach students how plants and insects are alike and different. Below is a general overview of their process. For a thorough review that includes the prompts they use in class and how they bridge one activity with another, read their enlightening paper.

During the Play Phase of the learning cycle, Trundle et al. (2013) provide children with unstructured playtime in a play area that has been stocked with silk flowers and plants. The authors state they often observe children pretending to pick flowers and pretending to plant a garden. Trundle et al. (2013) explain that unstructured playtime with plants gives children time to think about plants and to ask questions about them. Instructor-guided learning begins later in this phase and begins with a conversation about how humans are similar and different. This then leads to a conversation about how plants are similar and different (Trundle, et al., 2013).

During the Exploration Phase, students compare two types of marigolds, two types of pansies and two types of coleus plants to make observations about flower size, flower number, leaf shape, leaf color, textures, stem length and stem shape (Trundle, et al., 2013). Children document observations by drawing them, by creating leaf rubbings and by tracing leaves. The visual data recorded by children are then shared, much like how works-in-progress are shared at the end of a botanical illustration workshop. The sharing of data enables students to more easily see patterns in color, shape, size etc.

This visual information created during the Exploration Phase is paired with detailed discussion during the Discussion Phase of the learning cycle. Student observations are grouped and then arranged in a graphic organizer (i.e., chart). This chart helps students compare traits for each plant they studied.

The process of observing similarities and differences described above helps establish a foundation for more detailed conversations about traits and inheritance, concepts that are the focus of Part II of this activity by Trundle, et al. (2013). A link to their activity about inheritance is included in their paper.

Also included in their paper is a link to the rubric the authors use to evaluate student drawings and assess student understanding. The rubric serves as a checklist of objectives and targeted behaviors and is based on a project about helping children draw and sketch from observation from Illinois Projects in Practice at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Published just this week, Trundle et al. (2013) can be purchased online for 99¢.


Literature Cited
Trundle, Kathy Cabe and Katherine N. Mollohand and Mandy McCormick Smith. 2013. Plants, alike and different. Science and Children. 50(6): 52-57


Related


ArtPlantae is a member of the American Booksellers Association and an affiliate of the IndieBound program. Visit ArtPlantae on IndieBound

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You’re Invited to Explore ‘The Spirit of Observation’

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, Learning Opportunities, natural science illustration, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, Special Events, tagged , , , on January 23, 2013 |

The Russell Day Gallery invites you to the closing reception of The Spirit of Observation: From the Art of Scientific Illustration, an exhibition inspired by techniques scientific illustrators use when presenting scientific information in a visual way.

The closing reception will be held this weekend on Saturday, January 26th from 1-3 PM at the Russell Day Gallery at Everett Community College in Everett, WA. Bring your family and friends. There is plenty of parking and parking is FREE!

Directions to Russell Day Gallery


Also See…
Exploration of scientific illustration featured at the Russell Day Gallery

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New Botanical Art Group Forms in Chicago

Posted in botanical art, botanical illustration, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, tagged , , , on January 16, 2013 |

Attention Chicago-area artists, naturalists and educators! Discover a new opportunity for you to learn about botanical art in a casual and supportive environment.

Members of Chicago Botanical Artists would like to extend to you this personal invitation to join their monthly gatherings:

    Chicago Botanical Artists is a new group open to all, beginners through advanced, who want to sketch together, share works in progress and develop a supportive community that exhibits and educates. Starting on February 11, we will meet from 1 to 3 pm on the second Monday of every month at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago. We will sketch native plants in and around the Nature Museum’s gardens, working outdoors when weather permits, or indoors with specimens. There is no cost.

    To register: Email adultprograms@naturemuseum.org or call 773-755-5100, Ext. 5028.

This information has also been posted to Classes Near You > Illinois.

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Thinking on Paper

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, tagged , , , on January 11, 2013 | 1 Comment »

From speaking with many of you, I think it is safe to say that many of us find sketches to be more interesting than polished paintings and drawings. We each have our reasons for thinking this, however articulating these reasons and our emotional reactions to sketches isn’t always easy to do.

Words may come easier to you after today though, thanks to Gabriela Goldschmidt and her interesting article, The Backtalk of Self-Generated Sketches.

In her paper, Goldschmidt (2003) discusses how the sketching process generates and strengthens ideas. She provides an example of how this process can occur with a young child and with an adult designer. Goldschmidt (2003) thoughtfully describes the creation of sketches and how a sketcher reads a sketch to develop an idea into something with many layers.

Goldschmidt’s insights are fascinating and includes some history about the origins of sketching. It appears that sketching can be traced back to the late 1400s and is a direct result of the invention of movable type, printing presses and an emerging book printing industry that includes the birth of the paper industry. As paper became more affordable, designers and artists began consuming paper to create study drawings (Goldschmidt, 2003). This was the time of the Renaissance and the thoughts artists placed on paper were called pensieri, the Italian word for thought (Olszweski 1981, as cited in Goldschmidt 2003).

So what is it about sketches that make them so interesting?

It’s simple — they tell better stories.

Goldschmidt (2003) explains how more information can be read from a sketch than a finished drawing. Hard-lined drawings, she explains, are created “according to strict rules” and imply a finished product. Because anyone can create a line drawing, this makes a hard-lined drawing no different than any other type of generic visual information (Goldschmidt, 2003). A hard-lined drawing is no longer telling a story or, as Goldschmidt says, no longer “talks back”. She explains that self-generated sketches reflect a sketcher’s innermost thoughts and ideas and this is what makes them better stories.

Goldschmidt’s 17-page paper is very interesting and I feel you would enjoy it. I have no doubt you will recognize your own process in her discussion.

Goldschidt (2003) can be purchased directly from MIT Press Journals for $12 or obtained at your local college library.


Literature Cited
Goldschmidt, Gabriela. 2003. The backtalk of self-generated sketches. Design Issues. 19(1): 72-88

Olsweski, E.J. 1981. The Draughtsman’s Eye: Late Renaissance Schools and Styles. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art/Indiana University Press.


Also See
Practical Drawing as a Thinking Tool

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Collecting Visual Information in the Field

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , on January 11, 2013 |

Imagine that you are out in the field somewhere, discover a plant you just have to draw, but only have minutes to record information about the plant. What do you record?

I presented this scenario to Anita Walsmit Sachs.

She replied:

When you are in the field and meet an interesting plant, you can do one of two things — forget about it or try to describe the plant with words being as detailed as possible…

Read More

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