Nature's Little Joke

Sometimes, nature has a little joke in store for us.  I accidentally pulled these up while weeding.  

Have fun out there!

The Art of Invasion

by Judy Thomas

The Plants of the James River Project, developed by CVABA members Paula Blair, Susan Estes, Cheryl Exley and me, is presenting a public education event (complete with an invasive species coloring book we designed, with contributions from Winnifred Hebb) on Saturday, July 15, Bring friends and family! Celeste Johnston, another CVABA member, will be making paper from invasive plants with visitors! Details below:

Family Fun Day

FAMILY FUN DAY!

Saturday, June 3, 2017, 1-4
Tuckahoe Public Library
1901 Starling Drive
Henrico, VA

by Judy Thomas

Family Fun Day is Saturday, June 3 from 1-4.  It is fun for us, too!  This is our second public, educational event at the Tuckahoe Library, with the same theme as our exhibit: Groundwork: Bulbs, Corms, Tubers, Roots and Rhizomes.  We will have many activities, from a lesson in the botany of roots, to drawing activities, and even weaving.

Come help set up at noon, and bring kids and grandkids to participate.  See you there!

https://www.henricolibrary.org/events

A project in the making...

By Judy Thomas 

Four members of CVABA strike out to work with VCU, The Rice Rivers Center, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and the James River Parks System:


http://news.vcu.edu/article/As_invasive_plant_species_overwhelm_the_James_River_Park_System

Lizzie McCowen

From Three Weeks at Ginter by Executive Director, Shane Tippett

Shared by Judith Towers

"Lizzie McCowen has completed her Certificate of Competence in Botanical Illustration through our program.   After her final critique last Thursday, Lizzie also shared that she had applied for and been accepted in the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Course in Botanical Illustration, based in London.  Lizzie is one of 64 students internationally to be accepted for the two-year course.  She said that her submission of work she had completed in the Garden’s program was highly praised. 

Many thanks to Megan Compton, Education Assistant, who keeps track of student progress in certificate programs, and to Hazel Buys, the lead instructor for the Botanical Illustration certificate.”

ROOTS

Report on the CVABA Meeting March 27, 2017 

By Winnifred Hebb

Judith Towers and Gail Goodrich-Harwood gave us a wonderful program about roots, their parts, and examples of how to draw them today at our monthly meeting. Judith took the time to not only display a large table of all kinds of roots, but talked about the different kinds including bulbs, combs, rhizomes, and fibrous roots.

Also of interest to us was the way she actually displayed them, which you can see in the accompanying photos. After her lecture most of us chose a plant with a root or root part to draw from her table. This program was in anticipation of our upcoming June botanical art exhibit at Tuckahoe Library.

Gail Goodrich-Harwood obtained permission from well-known colored-pencil artist Wendy Hollender to share her instructional material on drawing roots.  Gail then led the group in a roots drawing exercise.  What fun!

We wish to thank Judith and Gail for the time they spent in preparing and presenting this very interesting program.

ASBA Conference: 2

By Paula Blair

I thought about making the title of this post "Pittsburgh - Who Knew?!"  I'd never been to Pittsburgh before - and now I'm so glad I went to the ASBA Annual Conference.  What a great city!  Attendees got to enjoy the benefits of being near the Phipps Conservatory and the campus of Carnegie-Mellon University.  

                                                                                            The Phipps:

First up was the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.  The Institute is part of the Library of Carnegie-Mellon. The Library holds a dazzling collection of books, manuscripts, and folios of botanical illustration through hundreds of years.  Along with the collection, they offer research services, and the International Exhibition.  This year's show featured work of 43 artists from 15 countries.  

                                                                              Some images from the Hunt:

The workshops I attended this year were the best from the three conferences I've attended so far.  Margaret Saylor got me excited about painting mushrooms (and taught us to mix some new combinations of brown!) Martha Kemp's class, "Drawing with a Lead Holder" got me reacquainted with an old friend.  My trusty lead holder had been sitting unused in a drawer for many years, but Martha's class prompted me to get it out and start using it again.  Finally, an all-day watercolor class with Margaret Best taught me new techniques, ideas, and ways of using the medium. All three teachers provided the right mix of lecture and "hands-on" practice.  They also all provided great handouts and worksheets to take with us.  

                                                                          WIP shown by Margaret Best:

The conference also provided free time to explore the city and the beautiful Phipps Conservatory.  I might also add that I got to eat at Primanti Brothers, a Pittsburgh tradition, and the largest sandwich I've ever eaten!  

ASBA Conference

By Judith Towers

Every third year the American Society of Botanical Artists holds its annual conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Five CVABA members attended the October conference and what an experience it is to find yourself among 227 botanical artists, many of whom are world renowned! The group was welcoming, sharing, and oh so inspiring!

https://www.asba-art.org/

Some favorite activities were the portfolio sharing where we could walk right up to tables of gorgeous work and talk to the artists about subjects, techniques, and materials.

Next came classes: Mushrooms: Painting Browns with Margaret Saylor was one of the highlights of the second day. Margaret brought many freshly picked mushrooms for our use, and taught us her technique for making the “ultimate brown” which was layered over short strokes of brighter blues, pinks, and yellows so that the colors mingled, creating a realistic but radiant glow. See some of Margaret’s work on the ASBA site:

https://www.asba-art.org/member-gallery/margaret-saylor

Each of us enjoyed the opportunity to visit the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, within walking distance from our hotel.

http://www.huntbotanical.org/exhibitions/current/

Well worth a long visit is the nearby Phipps Conservatory. From the photos you can see that several prickly things, even the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture, caught my eye!

https://phipps.conservatory.org/visit-and-explore/

November Program: Leaves

By Judy Thomas

     Judith Towers kindly presented a program at the November, CVABA 2016 meeting, titled "Leaves." She brought in a variety of information about leaves, including: leaf specimens, posters, books, and handouts. We discussed leaf morphology and shared information on the many varieties of leaves. Judith even shared information about making dye from leaves, her special interest as a fiber artist. Judith shared leaf rubbing and drawings as well.  Thank you, Judith!

30-Day Challenge 2017

by Judy Thomas

The next 30-Day Challenge begins tomorrow, Jan. 1, 2017!  By the end of today, Jan 31, everyone should have received instructions on how to post photos of your work to a Dropbox I have set up.  Create something every day, and post it to dated folder on the 30-Day Challenge Dropbox. You should be able to see all the work submitted.  Remember to put your last name in the file name of the photo, for example:
Thomasbegonia.jpg.

If I have the time, I will post entries to this blog.

What to post?  Anything with a botanical subject in any medium, including fiber arts.  A winner, selected at the end of the challenge, will receive a small prize, which will announced at our February meeting!

Happy Creating!  Happy New Year!

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon: Member Reports on the ASBA Conference in Pittsburgh!

Stay tuned......

A sneak peak...

Saw a special visitor to Pittsburgh:

Cathedral of Learning soaring high:

And LOTS of art!

America Society of Botanical Artists Convention Circle Report

by Judy Thomas

As you might know, the ASBA annual convention will be in Pittsburgh, PA this year, on Oct. 13-15 (welcome reception on the 12th).  Several of us are going and are we excited!  

Ever year there is a Chapters and Circles meeting, and this year, we were asked for a few slides to illustrate our activities for the year, Thought I would share screenshots of our slides, so, here is a very brief annual report summary!

Plants and Pollinators

by Judy Thomas

In celebration of National Pollinators' Week, our annual June exhibit theme was "Plants and Pollinators."  Members created works that included appropriate pollinators, and/or described the pollinators for the plant depicted on accompanying signs.  Some even included information on wind and water pollination, and self-pollinated plants. As we all know, insect and animal pollinators, so necessary to our survival, are under threat.  On June 25, 2016, CVABA held a community outreach event at Tuckahoe Library in Henrico, VA, in conjunction with the exhibit to educate the public about the importance of pollinators.  Twelve members of our organization presented activities about plants and pollinators.   Over 100 individuals attended, from children, parents, and grandparents, to entire families.  The library staff asked us to provide a similar event next year!  

Here is the crowd (and me, bottom left corner, teaching "How to Draw a Flower in Perspective"'):

Here are some of the other activities!

Minh-Chau Truong and Angel Zhao presented an activity in Chinese brush painting and calligraphy

Judith Towers presented activities about cotton in "Think Cotton!"

Celeste Johnston teaches botany

Susan Estes helps guest make a paper flower and add a pollinator.

Paula Blair helps guests make flower cards.

Kay Lindberg demonstrates needle felting

Gail Goodrich Harwood helps visitors make a "Pollinator 'Zine."

Ellen Keane (and special helper) teach watercolor

And not pictured, Winnifred Hebb helped guests make a field sketching journal.

Colored Pencil Exhibit

By Judy Thomas

Come by the Atlee Library and see the Chickahominy Colored Pencil Artists' exhibit (most of whom are CVABA members), on display until June 30. Also, Celeste Johnston, Angel Zhao and I are teaching free, beginning art lessons at the library again this summer. Please spread the word!

Atlee Library:  http://www.pamunkeylibrary.org/atlee.htm

Class titles and dates:

Learn to Draw

June 11, 1-4 pm

June 18, 1-4 pm

Ink It!

July 9, 1-4 pm

July 16, 1-4 pm

Beginning Watercolor

August 20, 10-1 pm

August 27, 1-4 pm

"Plants and Pollinators" Exhibit

By Judy Thomas

The annual CVABA exhibit opened June 1, 2016 at the Tuckahoe Public Library.  This year's theme is "Plants and Pollinators."  Each piece depicts, or shares information on, the pollinator that is associated with the plant illustrated. As many of you know, many pollinators are in decline. This exhibit hopes to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators, educate the public about the unique ways various creatures (along with wind and water) pollinate plants and display some beautiful art!

Also, on June 25, from 1-4PM, CVABA members will have a "Family Fun Day" at the library (registration required).  Come learn about pollinators, make a nature journal, try your hand at watercolors and more!

Contact the library for more information (see below). 

Come visit!

The exhibit is open through June 2016.

Infirmation about Tuckahoe Library can be found at: http://www.henricolibrary.org/locations/tuckahoe

Direct-Printing Lesson

[Note: Celeste Johnston gave our group a fun, interesting and informative "hands-on" lesson about nature printing during our April meeting, and here are her thoughts]:

                            About Nature-printing, Direct Printing/Monoprinting

                                                   By Celeste Johnston

I would like to start with a quote by Henry Bradbury when he addressed The Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1856:
He exclaimed "How powerful are the results direct from Nature herself", during the lecture
entitled 'Nature Printing: Its Origin and Objects.' He stated that nature printing had  "come to the 

aid of science".  Despite its decline as a scientific tool, nature printing  has stood the test of time and there has been a revival of this ancient art form.  The Nature Printing Society was formed in 1976 by a group of dedicated professionals employing nature printing as an extension of their scientific work.
The Nature Printing Society, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, is an international organization devoted to the artistic and educational pursuit of nature printing.

Artists and scientists have been inspired by nature printing. Leonardo da Vinci, in his manuscript Codex Atlantis, includes the first know written record of nature printing.  It is accompanied by a printed impression of a sage leaf. In the later half of the 1600's when the science of botany was born, nature printing was found to be extremely helpful to botanists who had no artistic talent. The first female botanist  in this country compiled a major volume describing the plants of New York and illustrated it with 340 nature printed specimens. Her name was Jane Colden 

Later techniques evolved and over a thousand impressions from one plant could be cast in soft metal. Out of this evolved the imprinting of plants on a copper plate coated with a soft ground. Nature printing will continue to evolve and I am glad to know  about this  important part of our botanical history. 

Maymont

Maymont Tour 

by Judy Thomas

with photos by Gail Goodrich Harwood

On April 1, CVABA members had a real treat, a wonderful tour of the Maymont Estate house by our own Paula Blair. 

The Maymont Estate, now a public park, was the home of James and Sallie Dooley, who lived there from 1893 to 1925, during America's "Guilded Age."  Maymont was bequeathed to the City of Richmond after the death of Sallie Dooley in 1925, and  is now run by the Maymont Foundation.  For more information:  https://maymont.org/estate/mansion/upstairs-belowstairs/

Paula gave us an excellent tour of the home/museum. We learned a lot about the Dooley family, how the wealthy (and the not-so-wealthy) lived during that era, and the decorative and fine arts collections in the home.  The website states there are over 900 period objects in the mansion, about 60% of them original to the Dooleys: 

(go to: https://maymont.org/estate/mansion/upstairs-belowstairs/mansion-collection/  ).

For example, the mansion is home to several pieces of Tiffany glass, including a large window.  The Dooleys also purchased a full, duplicate set of Presidential china (made by Haviland), each piece different, that was sold to raise funds for its manufacture for the Rutherford B. Hayes White House:

The design on each piece is based on an original watercolor by Theodore R. Davis.  For more images of some of the plates, go to: http://travelphotobase.com/u/OH/OHEBD.HTM

It seems that everywhere we looked we found a treasure, many nature themed!

Thank you to Paula, and kudos for a great, personalized tour!

Juliet Kirby to Exhibit at the RTD Gallery

by Judith Towers

     Works by Juliet Kirby, Botanical Illustration Advanced Watercolor instructor at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden will be featured at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Gallery, 300 E. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA, 23219, beginning with the show opening Friday, April 1, 6:30-8:00 as part of RVA First Fridays Art Walk, and 9-5, Monday through Friday until April 29, 2016

     If you missed the colorful article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Sunday, March 27, follow these links to see some of Juliet’s work and read about her early experiences in art school in England, her studies at the New York Botanical Garden, and classes that she has taught in Williamsburg, at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, and here in Richmond: 

http://www.richmond.com/life/collection_370428c6-82bd-5f55-959d-997dc973f0ca.html

http://www.richmond.com/life/article_c5b46d11-099d-5e60-ad7b-e3055b31b9de.html

     Don’t forget to check the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden website where the new spring/summer schedule of art classes soon will be posted!  At http://www.lewisginter.org/

Member Happenings!

By Judy Thomas

[ Note: Please let me know if you would like me to post any botanically-related news about you on the blog!]

Our very own Winnifred, drawing a plumeria branch that she found on the ground in HI!

Having fun there, eh Winnifred?

What Fun!

Skills and Techniques Showcase

by Judy Thomas

As part of our "teaching/learning" model, we held our first "Skills and Techniques Showcase," with thanks to MinhChau Truong, Angel Zhao and Gail Goodrich Harwood!

Angel and MinhChau teaching

Angel began the first session by discussing the traditions, methods and materials of Chinese calligraphy (photo above).  She described the process to make the character for the word "flower" and members tried their hand at it, first on simple newsprint, then on xuan paper.  Angel gave the members handouts for other Chinese characters that we can try on our own.

Members practicing Chinese calligraphy

MinhChau demonstrated the various ways to paint orchids with black ink, in many different spatial orientations and stages of development, using black ink and Chinese brushes.  She made this difficult task look easy, and also demonstrated how to create different shades with ink and water.

MinhChau demonstrating painting orchids

The "Four Treasures of the Study" of Chinese brush painting and calligraphy.

Angel and MinhChau shared papers, tools and displayed traditional tools and materials.

In the second showcase, Gail showed members how to paint and draw (with colored pencil) water or dew drops.  Gail learned this method at an ASBA workshop.  She provided prepared papers, showed how to lift dry watercolor off the paper to create the water drop reflection, and how to use several colored pencils to draw the drops.

Thanks to these member/teachers, our first showcase was a success!