Thursday, February 26, 2015

30-Day Challenge

Our "Show and Tell" of some of the 30-Day Challenge work at our recent CVABA meeting:

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Orchid Show

Paula Blair, CVABA member, won "Best in Show" at the recent Virginia Orchid Society Show held recently at Strange's Nursery.  Way to go, Paula!


Project Started, Inspired By, the 30-Day Challenge!

Ellen Keane, an enthusiastic participant in the 30-Day Challenge, was inspired to complete this lovely hibiscus!



Friday, February 20, 2015

Hawaii Workshop


By Judy Thomas
I am getting ready for Wendy Hollender's 2-week botanical art workshop at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai in March.  One task: make nature journals!


 I will post from there!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Printmaking at Lewis Ginter

         By Celeste Johnston

Printmaking series: these fun and quick classes introduced students to relief printing from
foam, Lino and wood blocks. Students carved their blocks and explored printing them on 
printmakers paper, rice, mulberry and handmade paper as well as cotton and linen fabric.
The blocks can be used multiple times for other projects. 

In in the future intermediate and advanced class would featured tools and techniques and
more printing options.



Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Fibonacci Sequence

 By Judy Thomas

In January, Celeste Johnston and I were lucky to take a class with Mary Ellen Carsley, a gifted teacher of art.  Mary Ellen teaches art at the Severn School in MD, the United States Bitnic Garden/ Corcoran School and other venues.  Celeste and I had both taken her scientific illustration class 2 years ago and, like last time, we were so impressed!  She is a great teacher, able to move students along on the process, demonstrating clearly and effectively and giving individual attention. Here are some scenes from the class:
Top left clockwise: creating the golden rectangle; the papaya, a great Fibonacci plant;
In-class review; "field sketching"in the USBG and: my thumbnails of tillandsias.

Mary Ellens next weekend class will be in April, and is a subject class: Cacti and Succulents.  I highly recommend it! By March 1, the sign up info should be available at: http://www.usbg.gov/programs-and-events

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Day 29: The 30-Day Challenge:

Ellen Keane:  Completed hibiscus:


Anne McCahill, Swiss Chard:


Judith Towers: Day 29 and 30: Loblolly Pine:


Sunday, February 1, 2015

THE END!

Day 30 of the Challenge:
Kay Lindberg (black flower) and
Judy Thomas: Cherries: both prints:
Barbara Chadwick: day 29-30:

Gail Goodrich Harwood: Day 23-30:

THE END!  Except for a few late submissions...

Day 28

Ellen Keane:


Judy Thomas:


Kay Lindberg:

Towers: Day 27 and 28:  Common teasel:

Barbara Chadwick: begonia leaf:

Day 27

Ellen Keane:


Anne McCahill: Magnolia cones:

Kay Lindberg:
Barbara Chadwick: almond:

Day 26 of the 30-DAY CHALLENGE!

Barbara Chadwick, still from Barbados:


Judy Thomas: A weed in Australia: the Peach:


Cheryl Exley:

Kay Lindberg: