Botanical Illustration

EXPLORE THIS! 8

2012-01-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

(Flowering Cactus by Dorothy DePaolo, please click the image to enlarge)

Colored Pencil Society of America sponsors two exhibits annually: an International Exhibition in connection to the annual convention and an online exhibit Explore This! Dorothy DePaolo and Susan Rubin were among the 53 colored pencil artists whose work was selected into the online exhibition. They are also the only ones from Colorado and both within the BI-community. Explore this!8 can be viewed online from February 1st to the end of 2012.

(Mesmerize: Echinops tjanschanicus, Globe Thistle by Susan Rubin)

Congratulations Dorothy and Susan!

Perspective Special

2012-01-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

(for Perspective Special by Karla Beatty, Please click the image to enlarge)

Botanical subjects are sometimes tricky to illustrate without a detailed knowledge of the many theories of perspective. In our required curriculum we include a 15 hour course on linear and aerial perspective (Perfecting Perspective).
By request we are also offering an elective Perspective Special during which the students will challenge themselves in the 5 different types of perspective drawing. Please see more by clicking here.

More electronic and No more Latin -

2012-01-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

(Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol 32 (1810)

InternationalCode of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) was established in 1905 to govern the botanical nomenclature. This entity is under the umbrella of International Association for Plant Taxonomy and meets every six years at the International Botanical Congress. It oversees not only the taxonomy for plants but also that for fungi and algae. At its most recent meeting in Melbourne, Australia (XVIII IBC) several proposals to amend the code were discussed.

Among the passed proposals were:

- e-only publications will be valid from the beginning of 2012, the requirement to deposit a number of paper copies in libraries is no longer applicable either.

-as of January 1^st 2012 new name/species is published the diagnosis can now be written either in English or Latin.

Both of these a quite revolutionary decisions within the plant sciences.

(from Species Plantarum by Linnaeus 1753)

Cafe Botanique, January 26: Chambers of Silk

2012-01-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

Chambers of Silk - An Artistic Collaboration with Plant and Insect Life

Jill Powers, Fiber Artist, Boulder, CO

Silkworms have been domestically raised on Mulberry leaves for thousands of years. Observing the beauty and fascinating life cycle of the silkworms up close led Colorado artist Jill Powers to envision a project encompassing her sculpture and the creation of the silkworms’ cocoons. Her presentation is a visual journey into the plant and insect world of raw silk, from an artist’s perspective. Using the forms of antique silk weaving shuttles, Jill designed and created small chambers out of kozo bark fiber to house the final stage of cocoon creation. She raised over 90 silkworms in her studio, and made a series of sculptures around the chambers where the cocoons were spun. “I think of the silkworm as an ancient textile artist…and my secret collaborator.”

Jill Powers is an artist with a Master’s degree in fibers from Tyler School of Art. She is on the visual arts faculty at Naropa University, and teaches her own workshops and retreats specializing in unusual natural materials. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and has been featured in “500 Baskets,” “The Fiberarts Design Book,” The Crafts Report, American Style Magazine, and the New York Times. Her work won Best of Show in the Millennium Show at the American Museum of Papermaking in Atlanta.

Thursday, January 26

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

(Click here to reserve your seat)

Congratulations Estelle!

2012-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

(Salvia spathacea - Hummingbird sage by Estelle DeRidder, colored pencil - please click the image to enlarge)

Estelle DeRidder received an honorable mention for her Salvia spathacea at the California Native Plant Society's Botanical Illustration contest. This contest was arranged in connection to the Juried Botanical illustration show at the CNPS Conservation Conference in San Diego, CA.

Estelle had also a second piece juried into the show, pictured here below: Isomeria arborea.
Estelle DeRidder graduated from our Botanical illustration program in 2010 and resides now in southern California.

(Isomeria arborea by Estelle Deridder, colored pencil)

This is Colorado

2012-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

(Lonicera ciliosa , colored pencil by Kathleen Dolan)

The Heritage Fine Arts Guild of Arapahoe County features 71 Colorado artists from across the state in their annual juried art exhibit: This is Colorado in January 12 through February 23 at the Madden Museum of Art. Opening reception is on Friday, January 13th 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. (For directions, please click here.)

Kathleen Dolan is one of the featured artists with her colored pencil work: Summer cactus (below).

Kathleen's colored pencil illustration of the California native Lonicera ciliosa (above) was accepted to the California native Plant Society's juried show which is in conjunction with the California Native Plant Society's 2012 Conservation Conference in San Diego, January 12 - 14, 2012.

Kathleen received Botanical illustration Certificate in 2011 and is active part of our BI-community.

("summer cactus", Colored Pencil by Kathleen Dolan)

Marlene Haviland

2012-01-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

(Marlene Haviland at Hampton Court, London in April 2011 on the Arts and Archives trip - )

With heartfelt regret I announce that Marlene Haviland passed away on Friday, January 6^th. Marlene added greatly to our Botanical Illustration community and was a dear friend to many of us. She received the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate in 2008 and has actively participated in our program since 2003.

Marlene will be greatly missed -

Funeral services will be held at Englewood Bible Church, 3190 S Grant St.,Englewood CO 80113 Tuesday, January 10^th at 10 a.m. followed by internment at Fort Logan Cemetery. Please click here for the obituary.

Please keep the entire Haviland family in your thoughts and prayers.

BI-CLASSES FOR 2012 START NEXT WEEK!!!

2012-01-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

(Radiance in Realism - Magnolia, Renee Jorgensen, mixed media)

Our Botanical Illustration teaching is resuming next week and the 2012 program is opened by a great line-up of classes. There are still seats available in Light on Form, Elegant Hand Lettering (calligraphy I) and Radiance in Realism which are starting on Monday, January 9th.
For more information and to register, please click here, or call 720-865-3580. For our course program please click course program icon on the right hand column, or go to the Denver Botanic Gardens' Website. I will specifically encourage you to consider our Composition for Botanical Illustration, which typically sells out quickly, but have at the moment some seats available.

(please click the image to enlarge, © Marjorie Leggitt)

Composition is a class which should be taken in the early phase of your art and illustration studies (Some of the many testimonials that we have got in: "I WISH I'd had this very early on. I find it's the most important class since pencil one."; "This class should be one of the first requirements when starting the program. Everything builds on this class . . .")

Albrecht Dürer - Independent Businessman and a Genius Entrepreneur

2012-01-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

(The Great Piece of Turf, 1503; Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528); Watercolor and gouache on paper; 16 1/8 x 12 5/8 in. (41 x 32 cm); Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna)

Albrecht Dürer's watercolor, The Large Turf, is a masterpiece of realism and he portrays individual members of the different species with each blade and stem and leaf and flower given a differentiated identity. Das Grosse Rasendtück doesn't visually isolate or distinguish its various plants, it presents them in a state of natural disarray, confused, interleaved, entangled. Dürer introduced a new subject for the artists: Even the simplest detail in the nature is worth painting and documenting, nature should be studied for its own shake.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) is northern Europe's answer to the Renaissance man. In the range of his intellectual interests and pictorial accomplishments, this artist from Nuremberg has been set beside Leonardo da Vinci. He delighted in mystical symbolism, and as well as painting, he was, above all, a printmaker, engraver, writer and respected geometrician. Dürer’s shell curve was presented in his work Instruction in measurement with compasses and straight edge (1525).

The Economists recently featured Albrect Dürer in an article about the business model that Dürer invented in the 15th-16th century (Economist, December 17, 2011).

Dürer was mostly active in Nürnberg, Germany.

The Arts and Archives 2012 Europe tour will visit Albrech Dürer House and also Germanisches Nationalmuseum where the majority of Dürer's originals are kept. More information about the tour, please click here.

(Please, click the image to read the Economist's article)

'Denver's Delight' and 'Bea Taplin' -

2012-01-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

(Nymphaea 'Bea Taplin', colored pencil by Annie Reiser)

Both these cultivars belong to the waterlilies (Nymphaea) connected to the Berkeley Lake in Denver. Few days ago Denver Post published an article about a construction project that might affect their future.
Please click here to read more.

(Nymphaea 'Denver's Delight', watercolor by Susan Fisher - Flourish, page 122)

Time to throw the tin - Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

I am re-posting my blog from several years ago as I wish you all Happy new Year:

Since 1753 the Gregorian calendar has been in use in Finland and January 1st has been the first day of the year. Traditionally the night proceeding the first day of the year has been the time for magical tricks with the intention to open the door to the future.

Casting of tin is one of the most popular magical tricks in Finland on New Year's Eve. Everyone gets a small piece of tin (nowadays mostly lead) in the shape of a miniature horseshoe, which is a traditional symbol of good luck. The horseshoe is melted and the liquid metal poured quickly into a bucket of cold water, where it quickly solidifies in fantastic shapes.
The shape and shadow of the resulting cast is examined and interpreted to predict the various future events of the coming year. Different shapes have different meaning, promising good luck or health, wealth, happiness, sorrow, sickness etc. If the cast breaks down to pieces, it is a sign of "bad luck".
This tradition originates in ancient Greece. These Magical Tricks were later spread to Central Europe and today probably only used in Finland. Instead of tin also beeswax and lead were used.
Click here to see how it is done.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2011-12-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

(Lois Sanford, from watercolor II class)

Artist-In-Residence Opportunity in Boulder County, CO!

2011-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

(Sue Shoaff's nature journal page from our workshop at Caribou Ranch, August 2011)

Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department is announcing a Artist in Residence Opportunity for next summer at Caribou Ranch. The selected artists can stay up to 7 days in the historic DeLonde Barn at Caribou Ranch and work in and with the inspiring landscape of the Caribou ranch. For more information, please click here.

For application rules and guidelines, please click here. The application deadline is February 15, 2012.

Focus on Nature XII -

2011-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

(Amorphophallus titanum with Sarcophogid by Susan Rubin, Colored Pencil on Mylar)

At least two entries from the Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Illustration Program were accepted to Focus on Nature, the biennial exhibit on natural history illustration at New York State Museum of Natural History, Albany, NY. This FON XII exhibit will hang between April 28 and December 31, 2012. The prestigious exhibit series was incepted in 1990 and typically includes superior illustrations from 10-15 different countries.

Congratulations Susan and Randy!

(Sagittarius serpentarius, Secretary Bird by Randy Raak, graphite on paper)

Conservation and Communities

2011-12-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

(please click the image to enlarge, poster design incl. illustration by Randy Raak)

The Society of Ethnobiology is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the relationships of plants and animals with human cultures worldwide. The 35th Annual Conference will be held at Denver Botanic Gardens in April 11-14, 2012. For more information, please click here.

Happy Registration!

2011-12-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

(From Colored Pencil II by Sue Klebold )

Online registration for 2012 January-July courses starts on Monday, December 12, 9 a.m. -

Ink with Brush and Quill

2011-12-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

(Yucca, detail by Susan Curnutte; please click the image to enlarge)

We are used to see pen and ink technique in more technical illustrations, however quill and brush combined with ink have been used for thousands of years both for writing (calligraphy) and for creating images. Bird feathers and bamboo sticks have been used both in India and Egypt prior the beginning of the common era (Prisse Papyrus, 2000 yr BCE).In the more recent time Cicely Mary Barker is well known from the late 1800s England. She illustrated accurate plants with fairies. She also illustrated religious books and painted panel for churches. Arthur Rackham's ink illustrations and art is famous for the softened pen lines which were muted with watercolor. He often placed his scenes in gardens, like Royal Botanic gardens in Kew or Kensigton Gardens in London.

Within the Botanical Illustration Program in Denver Botanic students we using only quill, brush and ink at the "Expressive Ink" class instructed by Susan DiMarchi.

Next season we will be offering Drawing on Tradition: The World of Cicely Mary Barker and you can continue the exercises with ink, quill and brush combined with color.

You can see more images from the classroom by clicking here.

Mylar - Duralar - Herculene and Colored Pencil

2011-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

(Bougainvillaea by Susan Rubin, Colored Pencil on mylar)

We recently encountered some confusion about various types of drafting film and their suitability to Botanical Illustration media. Susan Rubin has been working with Mylar since 2002, and consequently has developed a bias toward that product. In an effort to be objective, she ran a test on the most common three: Mylar, Duralar, and Herculene, to see how they worked with colored pencil. The Texture on Mylar class tried the same experiment, and reported essentially the same results. NOTE: these results are only for Colored Pencil and do not necessarily apply for Pen and Ink or Graphite. We will be publishing similar type of test for these media later.

The following report is put together by Susan Rubin (our Colored Pencil/Graphite instructor for many years):

Mylar and Duralar and Herculene are all polyester drafting films and can be found in thicknesses, from 2 mil to 10 mil. All of the films can be found “double frosted”, with both sides matte-finished for drawing. All of these drafting films are archival and valid grounds for graphite, ink, and colored pencil.

(Test by Susan Rubin, please click the image to enlarge)

Susan lined up three little squares of the various films and worked across them with the same layers and the same pressure (2 on the pressure scale), using Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. She tried erasing, lifting with waxed paper, smearing, and layering color.

Susan's results: All types of film performed well for erasing and lifting and alas, they all will smear. The big difference is in the surface tooth and the depth of the tooth, which determine the total layers of colored pencil one can apply. All had limitations in accepting layers of waxy Prismacolor pencils, which filled the tooth very quickly.

Least compatible for COLORED PENCIL: Duralar. The very fine and shallow tooth accepted very few layers of pencil, and the surface did not allow for even blending. Save Duralar for ink work, where it is a wonderful surface.

FINE for COLORED PENCIL: Herculene. With a slightly smoother tooth than Mylar, Herculene accepts color and layering well, but with a more limited tooth than the Mylar. What does that mean? Fewer layers overall. Plan carefully!

BEST for COLORED PENCIL: Mylar .005. This surface will accept up to 20 layers of Polychromos colored pencil applied with a light (Pressure Scale 2) touch. Colors build and blend evenly and can be worked on both sides of the surface. The .005 thickness is sturdy enough to take repeated turning of the surface and erasing without buckling, but retains its translucent quality.

Thank you Susan for this report!

(Our Botanical Illustration Program frequently offers courses in Colored Pencil on Mylar (as an option for following classes in the coming season: Drawing on Tradition: Georgia O’Keeffe, Art Nouveau Botanical Tile Designs and FloweringFruit Trees.

Please note that the registration for these classes opens on December 12, 9 a.m., and at this moment the classes show as if they were sold out)

Birds and Plants Belong Together

2011-11-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

(watercolor by Karla Beatty)

When talking about plants we cannot forget the important roll of birds as pollinators, seed dispersers, and biological controllers. Birds have also been included in botanical illustrations for thousands of years, the probably oldest documentation of that has found in the Chalcotithic pottery from Persia (ca 5000-3500 BCE) .
This fall we included two "bird" classes in our curriculum: Eggs and Nests in Watercolor and Feathers in Graphite (instructor for both courses was Karla Beatty). For both classes we borrowed the scientific material from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. A bird specialists from DMNS also gave a related presentation in the classroom for the students. Some of the student work is displayed in the BI-Facebook, please click here to view them.

(graphite feathers of Susan Curnutte)

Capturing The Red Color

2011-11-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

Instructor for our Ravishing Reds Course was Constance Sayas - this is one of her class handouts for bright red flowers

Capturing the right red color is an interesting challenge for the illustrator. There should be more orange in the sunlight and more violet in the shadows, perhaps something else at the edges.

Among our elective courses selection we offer from time to time Ravishing Reds course in which the students learn to mix the red hues that are needed to create value and form in red. Please enjoy some student work (in-process) from that class by clicking here.

Judy Cochrane's poppy (in process)

2012 Arts and Archives Tour with the BI Program

2011-11-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

March 22 - April 3, 2012

Join Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Manager of Botanical Art and Illustration Programs for a unique exploration of art archives in Europe. This 12-day tour includes four nights in London with the remaining time in southern

Germany

. Discover the hidden jewels of Kew Gardens’ Library, Art & Archives and enjoy Dr. Shirley Sherwood’s company while exploring the current exhibits in the only gallery solely devoted to botanical art. Learn about published and unpublished art treasures in the Natural History Museum and British Library and enjoy a tour of the British Library’s Conservation Studios. Presentation of the extensive three year conservation research project of the outstanding ReevesCollection in addition to William Morris Red House and the newly re-opened DeMorgan Centre are in the program. Take a one day break from collections to visit the well-known artist and teacher, Ann Swan at her studio in Wiltshire, with a stop at the Lacock Abbey and the neolithic monuments at Avebury.

Travel by high-speed rail to Frankfurt (via Brussels) to explore Maria Sibylla Merian’s works from the 17^th century and spend time at the University of Tuebingen with Leonhart Fuchs’ collection. Learn about the scientific side of the great poet Goethe and visit the Gutenberg Museum. Explore Germany’s oldest town Trier, and on the way to Nürnberg, visit the Heidelberg Castle to learn about pharmaceutical history in this remarkable museum, which displays one of the finest collections of paintings, manuscripts and related objects from the past two thousand years.

The tour comes to an end in Bavaria, where you can sample special wines and famous gingerbread while discovering the secrets of Faber-Castell’s 250-year history on the tour of the company’s Jugend castle. Before leaving Germany, visit the Imperial Castle of Nürnberg and the Germanic National Museum, which boasts Albrecht Dürer collections and the unique Codex aureus, produced in the 10^th century.

For a detailed day-by-day program, please click here.

For more information about the program, please contact Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski or 720-865-3653. Please contact Sheridan Shamano or 303-860-6045 to reserve your spot.

The Saint John's Bible and it's illuminations in Santa Fe, NM

2011-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

(Genesis 28 - please click to enlarge)

Fourty-four illuminated pages from The Saint John's Bible are on display in New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe until April 7th 2012. Last Monday, November 7th a group of enthusiastic Botanical Illustrators went to listen to the artistic Director Donald Jacson's presentation about his 14 years with the project and then joined with him afterwards for a private reception at the Museum. It was unbelievable to see the folio sized illuminations on velum and study the calligraphic technique used for this mastodon task. Once again it became clear how poorly the digital reproductions compare with the original work. It was a great pleasure to connect with Donald Jackson and other members of the artistic team and also meet the representatives from the Saint John's Abbey, Minnesota.

While in Santa Fe we also had an opportunity to see the Book Arts Group Show at the Capitol Rotunda Gallery. Please see some of the photos form our Santa Fe trip by clicking here.

We are planning to organize another 3-day trip from Colorado to Santa Fe prior the illuminated pages leave the History Museum in April 2012. If you like to get more information about the trip, please contact Mervi

2012 Margaret Flockton Award - Call for Entries

2011-11-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

(Ceratozamia vovidesii by Edmundo Saavedra Vidal, 1st prize winner for 2011 Margaret Flockton Award - please click the image to enlarge)

Illustrators are invited to submit one or two original scientific botanical illustrations in black and white by close of business Monday 6th Feb 2012. Prize money - 1^st prize - $AUD5000, 2^nd prize - $AUD2000, plus three Highly Commended awards will be presented upon the opening of the exhibition on Friday 30th March 2012. Submission details for the Margaret Flockton Award can be viewed by clicking here.

Margaret Flockton (1861-1953) was the first botanical illustrator at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, serving from 1901 for 27 years. The Margaret Flockton Award commemorates the enormous contribution that she made to early botanical illustration for taxonomic research. The award is unique in that it promotes botanical illustration, as opposed to botanical art, it is annually sponsored by the Maple-Brown family and the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. This unique Award is now in its ninth year. In 2011, 31 competing works were exhibited, produced by 20 artists from all around the world.

For complete information to submit works in 2012 and to view 2011 winning works, please click here.

You can read more information about Margaret Flockton by clicking here.

Cafe Botanique, November 17 - Gates Hall

2011-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

The woods of 18th & 19th Century Chinese Furniture

By Carol Goldstein, Ph.D

The Qing dynasty (1644-1911) was the last imperial dynasty and the one from which the vast majority of furniture still available originates. However, the study of Chinese furniture and therefore the material from which it was made, is relatively recent. The materials used were not well documented and there is widespread variance in much of the information available. To say that opinions differ among botanists and connoisseurs regarding the identification of these woods is a gross understatement. The materials used for constructing furniture in today’s China and their current classification will be included in the presentation.

Dr. Carol Goldstein was born and raised in New York City, she moved to Denver in 1972 to earn a Masters degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. In 1988, Carol and her husband moved to Hong Kong where they lived, worked, traveled and most importantly, engaged in serious collecting of antique Chinese furniture and accessories for 10 years. Her home is filled with various collections ranging from antique Caucasian rugs, Neolithic pottery and antique Chinese furniture to contemporary art. In addition to her academic teaching activities, Carol has been active with the Asian Art Association of the DAM since returning from Hong Kong and currently serves as the Association’s immediate past president.
Click here to register -

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

NEW CATALOG IS OUT!

2011-11-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

(Daucus carota by Constance Sayas)

Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Art and Illustration Programs' new winter/spring 2012 catalog (January - July) is published and the courses for the first part of 2012 can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking the catalog image in the right hand column.

We have 84 course offerings for the coming period. Certainly everyone can find something of interest and suitable for the personal calendar. Registration for these classes opens on December 12, 9 a.m..
The Distance learning catalog for Winter/Spring 2012 will be out shortly .

(Detail from Susan Rubin's Poppies - this image refers to one of our new offerings: Color Layering II: Complementary Colors)

If you wish to download this document into your computer, the username is: biprogram and the password: student (use the option "already have a Scribd account").

Compositions with Charlotte Knox

2011-11-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

(Pineapples by Charlotte Knox)

Each year our Botanical Illustration program is enriched by several guest workshops. The last visiting instructor for 2011 was Charlotte Knox who is known for her meticulous technique, captivating realism and bold forms. Please see some of the artists works from our weekend workshop, November 4 - 6, 2011 by clicking here.

If you can draw...

2011-11-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

(coconut by Marissa Tiroly)

Please see some images from our graphite classes which were completed in October. You can access the photos by clicking here.

Special Collections at University of Colorado and Miniatures

2011-11-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

(Book of Hours from c 1420)

Our goal is to enrich the Botanical Illustration classes with special lectures, field trips, and visit to the experts on the field. Last month we visited the Special Collections Department, University of Colorado at Boulder. Ass. Professor Deborah Hollis gave us an overview of the Medieval manuscript leaves and other illuminated material included in the CU Boulder collections. We also got a glimpse of the numerous herbals in the collections. A large amount of the collections is digitized and can be viewed electronically over the internet. Nothing it better than look at the original though. Please see some photos from our visit and the material which we could study close by. Access the photos by clicking here.

This visit was a part of the class: Drawing on Tradition: Marie Angel's Illuminated Miniatures (instructed by Renee Jorgensen). Marie Angel was a renown miniaturist and calligrapher who melded together the medieval craft and her modern eye. She died in 2010.

Samples from art that was produced in the classroom can be found by clicking here.

(Students examining the old collections)

Be careful on the roads (if in Colorado)!

2011-11-02T05:26:00.000-07:00

Overpasses are icy and roads can be snow packed - The Gardens' operations are expected to start at 9 a.m. (no class delays)

Drive Carefully!

Snow for Wednesday -

2011-11-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Denver Botanic Gardens' SNOW ADVISORY LINE 720-865-3620

Special Evening with Donald Jackson and The Saint John's Bible

2011-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

(Donald Jackson, Artistic director for “The Saint John’s Bible”and senior scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II)

Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible, on exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum through April 7, represents Jackson’s crowning achievement—the fulfillment of a goal he began nurturing as a young boy. Jackson oversaw a team of scribes who hand wrote and illuminated every page of the Bible on behalf of the Benedictine monks at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. The project was completed this fall; after the History Museum’s exhibition of pages from the Wisdom Books and Prophets volumes of the work, the pages will be bound and placed in the care of the monastery.

Jackson began developing sketches that led to the project while at a Ghost Ranch workshop in northern New Mexico. In 1996, he took to Saint John’s Abbey an idea about collaborating on a millennium-worthy project, which was officially commissioned in 1998. By March 8, 2000, Jackson was able to pen the project’s first words on a page of vellum: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God ...” On May 9, 2011, he wrote the final word, “Amen.” The pages were publicly unveiled in September.

“Now that I have inscribed the final Amen,” Jackson said in a prepared statement for the event, “I realise that over the long years of this task, a boyhood dream, I have gradually absorbed an enduring conviction of the pin-sharp relevance of these ancient Biblical Texts to the past, present and the future of our personal and public life and experience. These texts have a life of their own and their life is a mirror of the human spirit and experience.”

Jackson created a script specifically for the project that was then learned by each of the scribes who worked on it. Mixing techniques used in creating ancient illuminated manuscripts with the modern technology of computers to plan the layout, the work reveals a modern interpretation of biblical traditions. Viewers will spy chain-link fencing, DNA models, people of many races, and imagery from a variety of faiths.

At the age of 20, Jackson was appointed a visiting lecturer at the Camberwell College of Art in London. Within six years, he was appointed a scribe to the Crown Office at the House of Lords. As a scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, he was responsible for the creation of official state documents and, in 1985, was decorated by the Queen with the Medal of The Royal Victorian Order, which is awarded for personal service to the sovereign. Jackson is an elected fellow and past chairman of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and, in 1997, was named master of the 600-year-old Guild of Scriveners of the city of London. He is the author of The Story of Writing and has trained and encouraged many of America’s top calligraphers.

Their finished project is the first handcrafted Bible commissioned by a Benedictine abbey in more than 500 years. Handwritten and illuminated on calfskin vellum using quills, hand-ground pigments, natural inks, and gold-leaf gild, the Bible contains more than 160 illuminations and countless text treatments and marginalia in seven distinct books: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Psalms, Wisdom Books, Prophets, Gospels and Acts, and Letters and Revelation. For more information on the project, please click here.

Download a high-resolution version of this image and other images from The Saint John’s Bible by clicking here

Our Botanical Illustration program is arranging a trip to Santa Fe on Monday, November 7th (coming back to Denver on November 8th) to visit the exhibit and attend the Donald Jackson presentation. We have one ticket left for the special reception. Please see more detailed information by clicking here.

FIRST SNOW STORM for the season_

2011-10-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

For possible inclement weather tomorrow (Wednesday, October 25) in Denver please call (720) 865-3615 for possible class cancellations!

From Outlined to Boneless

2011-10-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

(Peonies by Sharon Eaton)

The traditional Chinese brush painting goes back to at least 4000 before our era and it has always been very closely related to the other crafts, history and traditions in China. Flower painting was separated from decorative art to form an independent section around the 9th century. There is always a great deal of symbolism in Chinese painting. The traditional media was ink and ink washes, in the modern times the painters have mixed several colors with black inks resulting to more natural and richly varied colors. The Chinese brush paintings represent one of the oldest styles of art in the world today.

Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Art and Illustration Program has included Chinese brush painting in its elective curriculum since 2007. This is an excellent way to get familiar with this old unique technique and explore the abiding rhythms of nature and human culture in China. In all these years we have invited Ms. Sally Yu Leung from San Francisco, CA to teach us and her classes are always immensely popular and sold out. Ms. Leung specializes in Chinese culture and folk art, often producing and curating cultural exhibits. She has many active roles at the San Francisco's Asian Art Museum - including Mayor-Appointed Asian Art Commissioner, Board of the Society for Asian Art, and Senior Docent - and has served on the boards of the Asian American International School and the Chinese Cultural Foundation. Sally teaches Chinese calligraphy and brush painting regularly not only in Denver Botanic Gardens but also at Pixar Animation Studios.
Please see more photos from the class in the BI-Facebook.

(major part of the 2011- course participants with Sally)

Artistic Box for Art, Stationary or Precious Items

2011-10-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

(Button box, Clam Shell Box, Box for e.g., Stationary by David Ashley)

Over the coming weekend (October 21 - 23, 2011) we ore offering a Artistic Box making class with David Ashley, the renown calligrapher and bookmaker from Denver. You will learn to make a variety of sturdy and beautiful boxes, perfect for botanical note cards, stationary, pens and pencils or small precious objects. We will create a clamshell box, a hinged lid box and a box with a separate lid. They will be constructed of bookbinding board, covered with durable book cloth and lined with a variety of beautiful papers.

We do have 3 seats available, for on-line registration, please click here.

(Button box, Clam Shell Box, Box for e.g., Stationary by David Ashley)

May They Always Flourish

2011-10-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

2011 Botanical Illustration Graduates at Denver Botanic Gardens are presented in this publication available through Lulu. The graduation ceremony is today (2 p.m.) in connection with the opening reception of the Annual Botanical illustration art show Art Meets Science (Sunday October 9th, 1 - 3 p.m.).
To preview May They Always Flourish 2011, please click here (takes a while after clicking the preview).

Sally Yu Leung in Cafe Botanique

2011-10-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Blessings without Words: Botanical Motifs in Chinese Children’s Clothing and Accessories

Sally Yu Leung, Cultural Ambassador, Asian Art museum, San Francisco, CA

In China, children’s clothing and accessories are more than mere adornments of the body; they are bearers of the hopes and blessings for these tiny human beings. In this presentation, Sally Yu Leung, an independent curator of Chinese decorative arts, collector, teacher of Chinese brush-arts at Pixar Animation Studios and also a Cultural Ambassador at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco will reveal the enchanting mysteries behind the hidden meanings in Chinese children's clothing and accessories.

Book signing follows. A beautifully produced and illustrated 217 page book written in Chinese/English by Sally Yu Leung, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Children Clothing and Accessories, will be available at $45.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

(Register by clicking here)

Art meets Science - gallery opened for visitors today

2011-10-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

Our annual botanical illustration exhibit is at the moment showing in University of Denver Museum of Anthropology Gallery (October 4 - October 28, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.).
It is impressive to see this type of professionally presented Botanical illustration show in Denver. Rarely we have the opportunity to study 68 top level illustrations in the same locality. This selection includes also works from the 2011 Botanical illustration Certificate recipients (eight graduates) and our eight core instructors. Please see more pictures from the exhibit venue by clicking here.

Please remember the reception (and graduation ceremony) on Sunday, October 9, 1 - 3 p.m.

San Miguel in December -

2011-10-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

(Rudbeckia hirta bu Constance Sayas)

If you like to experience San Miguel de Allende in December, please join our Botanical illustration workshop:

Wildflowers in Watercolor

Put brush to paper and learn the skills to portray delicate petals, leaves and detail in transparent watercolor. Compose the perfect plant portrait and add build color to capture the beauty of El Charco’s flowers.

Monday - Friday, December 5 - 9, 2011 (10 a.m. - 1 p.m.)

Instructor: Constance Sayas

For more information or to register for the class, please click here.

This workshop is part of Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Illustration Program in El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden, San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico - we will return in 2012. (The detailed 2012 program will be published soon.)

- Please see also the article published today in Denver Post

Those who Loved, Collected and Recorded Plants ~

2011-09-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Celia Fisher describes in her recent publication The Golden Age of Flowers the fascinating story of flowers and botanical illustration during the 17^th and 18^th centuries (The Age of Discoveries). In the detailed introduction she elucidates the complex historical development of the plant documentation from the process of revolutionary engraving method on metal in the 1600s to the epic voyages of discovery. The botanists and plant-hunters from Clusius and John Parkinson in the late 16^th and early 17^th century to Ehret and Redoute in the late 18^th century are analyzed chronologically in a short but inclusive style.

To exemplify the development Celia Fisher has included 120 beautiful illustrations which are alphabetically arranged by the plants generic Latin name. Each of the plants has its own short interesting biography which illuminates the complementing connection between art and science. A large number of Mark Catesby’s, Ehret’s and Bauer brother’s works are included as well as works from more seldom presented plant hunters and illustrators like Hardwicke, de Ruyter and Sowerby.

This book touches all aspects from biography to geography and is warmly recommended especially for everybody who is interested in the history of botanical illustration.

The Golden Age of Flowers has 144 pages and is published by the British Library.

Celia Fisher is an art historian and plantswoman. Having researched economic botany at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she gained a Doctorate at the Courtauld Institute, University of London, on flowers in manuscript borders. She specializes in garden history , identifying plants in art and discovering their history and meanings.

(Christoph Jacob Trew and Georg Ehret, Plantae Selectae, Nuremberg, 1750-90. 460.g.15, f.62)

It is all about the line and stipple -

2011-09-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

Stipple, Stipple. Stipple - dot, dot, dot...

Line and expressive line is the foundation for art. Stippling is "a process of painting and engraving in which the effect if produced by dots and points" The gradation of light and dark (form and color) is produced by different size of dots. Stipples in curved lines can suggest form and almost overlapping dense stippling indicates areas of shadow.

During the entry level Pen and Ink (Pen and Ink I) the students learn techniques to create a line, expressive line and stipple. You can see some random progress photos from recently finished Pen and Ink I class as well as from other classes, to access the photo album, please click here.

International Space Station in Cafe Botanique - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - Gates Hall

2011-09-16T12:35:00.001-07:00

Utilization of the International Space Station: past, present, and future

Tara Ruttley, PhD, NASA ISS Program Scientist

Tara M Ruttley, PhD is the Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station (ISS) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. Her role in the Program Science Office consists of representing and communicating all research on the space station, and supporting recommendations to the ISS Program Manager and to NASA Headquarters, regarding research on the ISS.

This is a part of the NASA’s Destination: Station – Denver2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

Highlights from the Gardens ~

2011-09-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

Annual BI Art Show 2011

(Please click the image to enlarge)

September Graduates On-Line

2011-09-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

(Pneumonanthe parryi by Frank Andrus, please click the image to enlarge)

You can see a selection of works that the Botanical Illustration graduate candidates included in their portfolios. These were presented on September 12, 2011.Please click here or follow the link in the right hand column of this blog.

Congratulations once again!!!

(Lavandula angustifolia by Linda Gerstle, Please click the image to enlarge)

Mountainside Miniatures

2011-09-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

(Art by Randy Raak)

Mountainside Art Guild is hosting a national juried exhibit with over 100 miniature works in two-dimensional media at Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO.

Randy Raak, a vital member of our Botanical Illustration community has two botanical pieces accepted to this show.

The art will be displayed until October 29, 2011. (For driving directions, please click here

Congratulations September 2011 Botanical Illustration Graduates !!!

2011-09-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

(selection from the graduate works - please click to enlarge)

Join me to congratulate the five new graduates from the Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Art and Illustratioin Program: Frank Andrus, Kathleen Dolan, Linda Gerstle, Valerie Smith and Kimberley Zehr.
We are impressed with the level of competence, and we are thoroughly proud of you. The more complete presentation of the graduates' work will be on-line shortly.
The certificate awards ceremony in conjunction of the Annual Botanical Illustration Art Show will be held on Sunday, October 9th, 1 - 3 p.m. in the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology Gallery (fro driving directions, please click here). Artists, 2011 Graduates and their families are invited to attend!

Louisville Art Association honors Botanical Illustration

2011-09-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

(Magnolia ferrofolia 'Steel Magnolia' by Barbara McKee, Honorary mention)

The 26th Annual National Juried Fine Art Show by Louisville Art Association gave a merit award ribbon (with a monetary award attached) for Barbara McKee's work: Magnolia ferrofolia 'Steel Magnolia' which is one of Barbara's Peculiar Botanicals .

Barbara McKee, who is in the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program at Denver Botanic Gardens has two botanical pieces accepted in this show.

This Fine Art show as displayed at Louisville Center for the Arts from September 3 to September 11. There is a Special Wine & Cheese Reception today, Friday, September 9, 5:00-7:00 p.m.(Free for the public). The show closes at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Focus on Nature XII

2011-09-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

REMINDER: Entry deadline October 1, 2011

Focus on Nature XII: Natural History Illustration

New York State Museum

April 28 - December 31, 2012

Focus on Nature (FON) is a biennial exhibition of scientific, natural and cultural history illustration. Since its inception in 1990 the number and quality of submissions have risen, range of materials and media have expanded, and the geographic representation of artists has broadened. A five-member jury of scientists and artists selects artwork that accurately represent the subjects, or research results and processes.
FON seeks to demonstrate the connection between science and images; stimulate an interest in natural history art among practicing artists, aspiring artists, and the public; and bring natural history illustration to the attention of people who might not otherwise be aware of the important role it plays in research and the dissemination of knowledge.

Each exhibit invites a guest juror from among artists who have previously participated in FON. The guest juror for FON XII is Francesca Anderson.

To get the on-line entry form, please click here, call for entries, please click here.

(Image on the left by Susan Curnutte: Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah', watercolor, in process. Please click the image to enlarge.)

Greens are difficult...

2011-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

(5 green leaves in colored pencil and 5 home works, art by Barbara Weaver)

... and leaves are tricky.

Botanical Illustration program at Denver Botanic Gardens offers frequently classes on how to handle the green color, both in watercolor and in colored pencil. On these classes we also focus on the leaf structure: margins, texture and the venation. Variegated and translucent leaves are typically getting very special attention. You can see some photos from the recent Leafy Greens class by clicking here.

One Seat opened in Color Layering!!!

2011-08-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

(Student work from a recent Colored Pencil I class)

One seat has just opened in the coming Color Layering for Colored Pencils weekend workshop (Aug 19 - 21, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.). For registration, please call 720-865-3580 or follow the link by clicking here.

Not only Botanicals -

2011-08-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

(art by Renee Jorgensen)

In addition of botanical subject matter our Botanical Art and Illustration program also includes illustration of pollinators and birds. We recently concluded a class on illumination where the main subject matter was butterflies. Media used was mixed, mainly pen and ink and watercolor pencil. Instructor for the course was Renee Jorgensen. Please see more photos from the class by clicking here or access them through the BI-facebook.

(Michael Campbell working in the classroom environment)

Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible by Donald Jackson

2011-08-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

(The frontispiece to Matthew's Gospel - the first illumination made for The Saint John's Bible)

Special trip to Santa Fe, NM

November 7-8, 2011

Join us for a trip to Santa Fe, NM, to visit an exhibit of the original Saint John’s Bible and attend a presentation by Donald Jackson, Senior Scribe and Illuminator to Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office and Artistic Director of The Saint John’s Bible. He will share the story of his creative processes - design, interpretation and inspiration - in the making of The Saint John’s Bible. After 13 years’ work on seven monumental volumes, Jackson will talk about what that journey has meant to him as an artist and as a man. Lensic Theatre, Santa Fe, NM.

After the talk there is a special private reception at the New Mexico History Museum with Donald Jackson and viewing of this work of art. The exhibit will be one of the last times the pages of this masterpiece can be viewed before they are bound into book form and returned to the Saint John’s Abbey.

We drive in a minibus from Denver on Monday morning (8 a.m.) and return to Denver on Tuesday around 6 p.m. - space is limited (only three seats left)

For more information, please click here.

Nature Journal - Visual Diary

2011-08-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

(Sue Shoaff's journal page from yesterday's visit to DeLonde's Homestead - please click the image to enlarge)

Nature journal is the visual diary of a passionate observer, it often is a subtle blend of practical and philosophical notes mixed with more or less detailed scientific illustrations, drawings and illustrated references.

Our Nature Journal class with Maria Hodkins held in Nederland, CO was a balanced mixture of classroom instruction and nature observations in the field.

Please see some images from the two first days of the workshop in the BI-Facebook or by clicking here.

From Lichens and Rocky Mountain Wildflowers to Lyrical Flowers

2011-08-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

"Sweetpea My Sweetpea" ( lyrics and music by P Weller) in it's botanical environment (art by Judy Cochrane)

Our elective courses include classes focusing in many technical details that we do not have the possibility to teach within our regular curriculum. At the same time our goal is to increase the student's knowledge on not only botany and science but also environment, cultural history, archaeology, art history and even literature and music.
Colored pencil on Mylar film can be tricky, but provides a perfect combination and gives the artist a new dimension to work with. Please see more images from out recently completed courses in the BI-Facebook.

(Some of the participants on our Lichens' class)

Nature Journaling in the Colorado Rockies (8 500 ft - ca 11 000 ft elevation)

2011-07-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

(sketch by Maria Hodkins)

You have still time to register for the unique opportunity to record the wildflower displays close to the Denver-Boulder Metro area. The Nature Journaling workshop scheduled for next weekend (Aug 5-7) and held at the Caribou Ranch - Mud Lake Open Space will include a guided walk focusing on the cultural and natural history of the area. Some new photos from the area are posted in the BI-Facebook (Taken on July 29th). To learn more about the instructor, Maria Hodkins, please click here to come into her website, to see samples of her work, please click here.

(Please click the image to enlarge)

Nature Journaling in Caribou Ranch and Mud Lake Open Space

2011-07-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

(please click to enlarge)

Caribou Ranch is located between Nederland and the Indian peaks Wilderness Area in Boulder County, CO. The 2,151 acre property includes wetlands, meadows, streams and forests and lies mainly in the montane life zone between 8,300 and 10,000 feet (2500 - 3100 m) in elevation.
Geologically much of the ground is 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian Boulder Creek Granodiorite. Biotite gneiss is also found here and is even older (1,8 billion years old).
The Canadian Magloire DeLande established the DeLonde Homestead in the area in 1863 and the Switzerland Trail, the former route of Denver, Boulder & Western Railroad run through the area from 1904 to 1919. In the 1870s miners flocked to work at the many mines in the area. Remains of the Blue Bird Mine that was mining blue azurite and silver are still on the property. The ghost town of Caribou is a few miles away and gold is still mined there.
Caribou Ranch was well known also in the entertainment world in 1970s. In 1971 a music producer purchased the property and converted the barn to a recording studio. Celebrities such as John Lennon, Elton John and Rod Steward recorded here. The control room of this studio was destroyed by fire in 1985.

In July-August the Caribou and Caribou ranch area is extremely rich in wild flowers and compared to Crested Butte in abundance. The mixture of wetlands, meadows, streams, forests and woodlands provides excellent habitat to dozens of species of mammals (e.g., Elk, black bear, mule deer, mountain lion, coyote, bobcat, beaver, bat, short-tailed weasel). The property also hosts nearly 90 species of birds.
Today this property belongs to Boulder County Parks and Open Space and is subject for protection and conservation of wildlife habitats and natural resources.

(please click to enlarge)

The adjacent Mud Lake Open space ( also a part of Boulder County Parks and Open Space) is equally perfect learning environment with a unique wildlife habitat. Wild Bear Center for Nature Discovery organizes hands-on educational programs in the area.
For more pictures from this area, please see the BI-facebook, or click here.

Botanical Art and Illustration Program offers a 3-day Nature Journaling Class (The Art of the Nature Journal) at Caribou Ranch and Mud Lake Open Space with Maria Hodkins on August 5 through August 7. For more information and to register, please click here (There are still few seats left)

Watercolour -

2011-07-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our 2011 Arts and Archives tour had the possibility to view the excellent exhibit on Watercolor at Tate Britain in London. This exhibit explores the art of watercolor, which as a art medium has always been considered a distinctive part of British cultural heritage, from the medieval illuminated manuscripts, maps, early botanical art and natural science illustrations to examples from the contemporary British watercolor art.

Typically art connected to the scientific naturalism has been absent from the art historical discussions. It was traditionally considered somewhere in between science and art and claimed to be practiced by copyists who were more utilitarian workers for the taxonomic classification and identification than artists. This exhibit displays some of the greatest botanical illustrators in the history, such as Dionysos Ehret, Franz Bauer and Sydney Parkinson from the 18th century, Arthur Henry Church and Margaret Mee from the early 20th century in addition to the contemporary botanical illustrators from the 21st century.

The comprehensive exhibition catalog is finally available in the US. It has a wealth of information about this traditional medium and casts a new light on an outstanding British artistic tradition. The 208-page catalog edited by Alison Smith includes the following chapters:

1. Introduction by Alison Smith

2. Water + Colour: exploring the medium by Nicola Moorby

3. Watercolour: Practice to profession by David Baley Brown

4. Intimate Knowledge by Anna Austen

5. The Natural World by Tabitha Barber

6. Travel and Topography by Matthew Imms

7. The Exhibition Watercolou by David Baley Brown

8. Watercolour and War by Allison Smith

9. Inner Vision by Philippa Simpson

10. Watercolour Today by Katharine Stout

11. Abstraction and Improvisation by Nicola Moorby and Katharine Stout

Bean painting by Rachel Pedder-Smith - specimens from the Leguminosae family

Watercolour, February 16 - August 21, 2011

Tate Britain, London U.K.

Gymnosperms of the United States & Canada

2011-07-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Published already last year but perhaps not yet got the deserved attention Gymnosperms of the United States & Canada by prof. emeritus Elrey S. Nixon provides useful and beautifully presented taxonomic quide for 115 different species (6 families, 20 genera) within the North American Gymnosperm group. Most of the descriptions belong to the pine family (66 species, of which 38 are different pine species) and cypress family (30 species). The identification keys rely mostly on stem, leaf and cone characters. Both the genera and the different species within each genus are arranged alphabetically. The taxonomic nomenclature is after that of Flora of North America, Vol 1, Chapter 13 (Gymnosperms by Eckenwalder).

The publication is illustrated, designed and published by Bruce L. Cunningham who is well known for his unique style. He was also featured in the Today's Botanical Artists by Marcus and Kyer (pp.136-137).
The Gymnosperms is written for beginners in plant taxonomy, naturalists, foresters and dentrochonologists. It is very clear and the illustrations are outstanding and the text is easy to follow - warmly recommended also for every botanical illustrator.

(example of two different pages from the publication, please click the image to enlarge)

Looking forward to GNSI 2012 and Savannah Georgia

2011-07-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

This is how most of us remember Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (in the photo: Juna Kurihara from Japan and Alice Tangerini from Smithsonian, Washington DC)

The GNSI Annual Conference in Olympia Washington suffered from the same problem as all the previous meetings I have attended: The core conference days (Monday through Wednesday) were divided into three simultaneously running equally interesting 1-hour sessions and I could physically only attend one at the time. I also realized that this is one of the reasons I always want to go back to these meetings, hoping that 2/3 of the presentations would be repeated with updated information.

On Tuesday some of my personal highlights were Katura Reynolds' presentation on the history, development and future of stippling; Peggy Macnamara's explorations in the world of nature; Daniela Molnar's interpretation of the confluence of visual and verbal art with reference to scientific illustration. Michael Felber took us to Katmai National Park in Alaska where he has been observing the coastal Grizzly bears on several occasions at close range (15-20 ft). Finally on Tuesday we got a presentation on the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle and the invaluable work that the Great Plains Chapter of the GNSI has done to increase the awareness of this endangered species in Southern Nebraska. I missed all the paleo-talks and many more.
Wednesday was as interesting since it included the latest on Intellectual Property and a lively panel and open discussion on the future of botanical art with reference to the techniques (traditional versus digital). Here we generally agreed that the computer program (like Illustrator) is a tool that requires knowledge of drafting skills for effective use within scientific illustration. Tania Marien had a very interesting presentation about Plant Blindness. She also talked about the Botanical Capacity Assessment Project and the surprising findings which you can read about in the final report.
The most cutting edge presentation of this conference was given by Captain Suzan Wallace. Suzan represents the sailors who have throughout history been at the vanguard of (nature) journaling, blogging and navigation technology (such as time keeping, astronomy, GPS, etc). With the help of Skype Suzan provided a virtual appearance by Glydnis Ridley who documented Jeanne Barret, the first woman to circumnavigate the world. Danielle Eubank was also virtually present. Danielle is the expedition artist for the Phoenicia, a re-creation of a 6th century BCE Phoenician sailing vessel.
The core conference was concluded with a banquet at the Longhouse Education Center. Odin Lonning (Tlingit) and Orcha Annie (Choctaw/Five Tribes descent) performed and also introduced the Vashon Hydrophone Project to the GNSI community.

Thank you and congratulations for the GNSI NW Chapter that was responsible for the practicalities of this conference. Very well done!!!

After the core conference many of the 150+ participants stayed for field trips and/or workshops. Those of us who left immediately are eagerly awaiting the next conference in Savannah, Georgia:

42nd Annual GNSI conference begins in Olympia, WA

2011-07-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

In the techniques showcase various illustrators demonstrated their skills - here Marjorie Leggitt explains how to get textures right with pen and ink. Marjorie is one of the core teachers in our BI-program.

The GNSI Annual Conference in Olympia WA was opened with two exciting keynote presentations: David Craig talked about the intelligent crows and their ability to manage the art of facial recognition, and Fred Sharpe took us to the world of humpback whales.
With a techniques showcase and several additional presentations (e.g., Bryn Barnard's exploration of the history and politics of some of the past epidemics), and the annual art exhibit opening reception this week-long conference got very effectively started.
See more pictures from the first day in the BI-Facebook or by clicking here.

Botanical Illustrations for protection against plant thieves

2011-07-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

(The Late Duke Cherry, Pomological Magazine, vol. i. pl. 45; from The Fruits of America, p. 34, 1856)

In the most recent issue of Smithsonian Magazine (July-August, 2011: 76-82) Daniel J. Kelves discusses the very important roll of botanical illustration in the intellectual property questions prior to the modern Copyright Laws.

The American Pomological Society was established in 1848, one year after Hovey & CO began publishing a series of American Fruit illustrations. This was the time when many new varieties from England and other part of Europe were introduced into the US and a wealth of newly discovered indigenous fruit varieties had emerged in the country. The first volume of The Fruits of America was published in 1852 and Hovey (the publisher) indicated a special national pride in portraying the fruits of his own country.

Charles M. Hovey owned a 40-acre nursery in Cambridge, MA and was a well known horticulturist. He published fruit illustrations so that growers, sellers and buyers could reliably identify the different variates. William Hooker in London had published the Pomona Lodinensis already in 1818 for the purpose of resolving the nomenclature problems within the nursery business. American pomologists demanded accurate images to document the intellectual property and the Massachusets Horticultural Society and later the Department of Agriculture (1891) engaged a German immigrant Joseph Prestele and his son William to produce illustrations with extreme botanical detail. The illustration program employed around 65 different artists of which at least 22 were woman. A typical color plate was approximately 9" by 12" or the "pocket size 6" by 9" and approximately 7700 watercolors of the nursery specimens were produced. This program ended in the late 1930s and the Plant Patent Act was established 1930. The original Pomological collection is preserved at the National Agricultural Library Special Collections and many of them are digitized.

You can read the Smithsonian magazine article "Cultivating Art" by clicking here.

(Noblesse peach by William Hooker didn't meet the accuracy requirements of the American pomologists)

Experience for Yourself

2011-07-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Experience for yourself the story of the most extensive scribal commission in the world since the end of the Middle Ages. This documentary is about Donald Jackson and his monumental work with the Saint John’s Bible and it describes among other things the calligraphic techniques and tells about the imaginary which incorporates symbols from Navajo basket-weaving patterns to microscopic views of today’s viruses and the local flora and fauna of Minnesota and Wales.

TWO VIEWINGS of the video documentary at DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS:

Ø July 6^th, 6 – 7 p.m., Mitchell Hall

Ø July 7^th, 12 noon – 1 p.m., Mitchell Hall

The Saint John's Bible is considered the Sistine Chapel of the modern era and overseen by the Benedictine monks at Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota. It is the first modern-day Bible entirely handwritten and illuminated in 500 years and made for 21st century. It is a collaboration project between Saint John's Abbey, University in Collegeville, Minnesota and Donald Jackson's Scriptorium in Monmouth, Wales. Donald Jackson, the Artistic Director of the project is a renowned Western calligrapher and illuminator.
The original Bible when opened is 3 ft. wide and 2 ft tall, it includes 1150 velum pages divided in 7 different volumes. The first words were written on velum in early 2000 and the last volume was completed just a few weeks ago (the final presentation of the last volume was last week in Minnesota). Ancient techniques and tools were applied through the whole process, using old hand-ground ink on carefully selected calf-skin vellum for the text, gold and platinum for guilding, and turkey, goose or swan quills for the application.

A 3BM Television Production for BBC Wales and Saint John’s University with support from Target Corporation.

Approximate running time, 49 minutes

Happy Independence Day Holiday!

2011-07-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

This plate was produced from the "Flowers and Shakespeare" class. Along the same lines we offer an advanced colored pencil class "Lyrical Flowers" starting on Tuesday July 5th (1 - 4 p.m.). This course is a studio class focusing on Mylar film and its extensive benefits. Registration for this class is still open - for more information and online registration, please click here, or call 720-865-3580.

Barbara McKee: Notes from a Peculiar Garden

2011-06-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Botanically correct but Not Entirely Botanicals -

Barbara McKee is exhibiting her art at Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery until July 17th. The artist reception is on Friday July 1st, 6 - 8 p.m. (refreshments with wine).
Barbara McKee studied art in Switzerland and at Cornell College. She has worked thirty years with stained class design and production and has also authored five books on that subject. Her most recent passion is Botanical illustration and she is a very active part of our BI-community.
Barbara's botanicals follow all the Botanical illustration rules for a correct plate, however she has given a peculiar twist to all her illustrations which definitely make you smile. To see more of Barbara's art from the exhibit, please click here.

HOT Botanicals: from Notecard designs to Umbrellas and Emboydery patterns

2011-06-29T15:40:00.001-07:00

(Susan Curnutte's poppy-notecard)

From time to time in our program we leave the traditional illustration style and practice the more contemporary style. In the HOT botanicals' Mixed-media class the student produced designs e.g., for cards, plates, embroideries, kitchen towels, pillow cases and umbrellas. The instructor for this class was Annie Reiser.

(Umbrella design by Patricia Greenberg)

For more images from this class, please click here, or go to the BI-Facebook site. (Please click the images to enlarge)

Patricia Greenberg's winter project is now available!

2011-06-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Mutt & the Mustang - based on true story

by Judy Archibald

Illustrated by Patricia Greenberg

This is not exactly anything botanical, however it shows how the learned skills are also applicable in other subject matter than plants.
This children's picture book writes about rescue dogs and horses in the Colorado Rockies.
The illustrator, Patricia Greenberg lives in Estes Park, CO and is an active part of our BI-community. Copies of this book can be found in bookstores, Horse rescues and humane societies - also by contacting Pet Pals Publishing (you can also read more about the main characters in this book).

Congratulations to the author Judy Archibald and Congratulations Patricia!

A Midsummer Night's Dream -

2011-06-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

But they do square, that all their elves, for fear,

creep into acorn-cups, and hide them there. (Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare was not a botanist but in his poems, plays and sonnets he refers to 180 different plants.The play A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most popular works and is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. In that play alone 41 different plants are mentioned. He was a master of describing what he saw in nature and did it in a way as if any particular plant was the only one that could be mentioned on that occasion. His writings can also be tied to the plants in a historical perspective as he writes about species which have not yet been introduced to the American continent at the time of writing.

Our botanical illustration program offered an elective colored pencil course on Flowers and Shakespeare - you can see some of the student work in the BI-Facebook or by clicking here. In July we are continuing along a similar theme by offering a course on Lyrical Flowers (more information and to register, please click here).

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's 2011 Season opens on June 25th with Romeo and Juliet (preview performance on June 24th).

Since today is the Summer Solstice you might like to read more about midsummer night magic and the supernatural aspects which are often linked to the midsummer night in the northern countries, please click here (scroll down to Midsummer night magic).

Susan DiMarchi: Botanical artist, Illustrator, Glass artist etc...

2011-06-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Susan DiMarchi graduated from the Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Art and Illustration Program in 2010. She is a visual artist with a diverse background in painting, commercial art, glass design, botanical illustration and plant landscapes. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan, and featured in many publications. Susan’s glass is in the permanent collection of Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum in New York.
Susan DiMarchi was the featured cover illustrator for Penstemons to Pines: Illustrating Rocky Mountain Natives - extended exhibit catalog. Susan's illustrations are also found in Botanical Interests, Inc. seed packages and she co-authors Botanical Interests blog "Creative Inspirations" (mainly the "Inspired" part).
We are excited to welcome Susan DiMarchi back to the program, as she will be the most recent addition to our core instructors. Susan D. will be mainly teaching Colored Pencil and Pen and Ink.

[Artichoke (watercolor) on the left and Rubus idaeus (Pen and Ink) on the right ©Susan DiMarchi, please click the image to enlarge]

I also want to thank Annie Reiser who cannot continue teaching regularly in our program because of her new work related commitments. Annie, we are going to miss your talent and creativity but know that you will return in the future to teach special weekend workshops.

Colored Pencil Magazine

2011-06-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

Ann Kullberg's "From My Perspective" has been published online for 11 years and now this ezine has gone to print. The monthly issues of Colored Pencil Magazine will be packed with step-by-step tutorials, colored pencil tips, art critiques, book reviews, product reviews etc. You can preview the monthly issues online before purchasing or you can subscribe the publication with an annual subscription membership.
This is certainly a welcome addition to the ever growing collection of art magazines!

BI SUMMER GET TO-GETHER

2011-06-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 18th, 2011 (1 p.m. -3 p.m.)

At Vanessa's home (21494 E. Greenwood Pl. Aurora, Co)

Vanessa has a large backyard with lots of beautiful flowers, trees and bushed to sketch, draw and paint. She is willing to host this wonderful meeting and will supply with cheese, crackers and fruit plus wine and non-alcoholic beverage ($5 donation for the wine and food). This fun and casual get together is open for everybody – please come and meet your artist friends outside the classroom.

RSVP by June 16th

St John's Bible - 1150 hand written velum pages with over 140 illuminations

2011-06-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

NOW FINALIZED!

The Saint John's Bible is made for 21st century readers and is called the "America's Book of Kells". It is a collaboration project between Saint John's Abbey, University in Collegeville, Minnesota and Donald Jackson's Scriptorium in Monmouth, Wales. Donald Jackson, the Artistic Director of the project is a renowned Western calligrapher and illuminator.
The original Bible when opened is 3 ft. wide and 2 ft tall, it includes 1150 velum pages divided in 7 different volumes. The first words were written on velum in early 2000 and the last volume was completed just a few weeks ago (the final presentation of the last volume was last week in Minnesota). Ancient techniques and tools were applied through the whole process, using old inks, gold and platinum for guilding and turkey, goose or swan quills for the application.
The illuminations are combinations of old and modern techniques, on several pages the local flora and fauna of Minnesota and Wales are shown, e.g., the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly to symbolize life, death and resurrection.
You can page through the Bible by clicking here (to go to the next page click in the upper right corner of the right hand page).
(Monarch Butterfly and milkweed on the left)

(please click the image to enlarge)

The lay-out and text was first composed on the computer. The final text for each of the vellum pages took seven to ten hours to write and errors in hand writing sometimes occurred. Corrections were made by carefully scraping away single words and recreating the correct text. On 8 pages a whole line was accidentally omitted and the missing line was added at the end of the page with creatures capable of flight pulling the lines into place (see above).
At the moment 25 of the illuminations (giclee prints) can be viewed in St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Denver, CO until June 28, 2011 (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.).
(Newsweek published an article about the project in 2000, you can read it by clicking here)

Distance Learning Program for Botanical Illustration

2011-06-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Our Distance Learning Summer and Fall 2011 program is out! Registration for the online courses with on-site component starts on June13th. (to download and/or print the program, please use the username biprogram and password: student when existing account information is requested.)

(Final plate for the Colored Pencil I distance learning course by Stephanie Dickson, please click the image to enlarge)

Paper Grounds with Velvet Surfaces - option for pastels

2011-06-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

(Please click the image to enlarge, from left: UArt Sand Paper (400 grid), Pastel board and Velour paper)

Most of us get certain associations while talking about art and velvet surfaces. The Botanical Illustration Program had a weekend workshop on velvet surfaces where the artists explored how colored pencils work on UArt Sand Paper (400 grid), Pastel Board and Velour paper. All these surfaces are available in many different colors.

Velour surface certainly works perfectly with hairy, silky textures like the leaves of Stachys lanata. Colored pencil on Pastel Board and/or UArt is a nice alternative for the sometimes messy traditional pastel painting. Especially the Pastel Board can give an extremely detailed final result. See more photos in the BI-Facebook pr by clicking here.

The Saint John's Bible - Exhibit at Highlands Ranch

2011-06-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

(Please click the image to enlarge)

Registration for summer and fall classes opens in few hours -

2011-06-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

(Aquilegia caerulea - watercolor, Constance Sayas)

On June 6th you can register for courses offered within the Summer/Fall 2011 Botanical Illustration Program Catalog. Be early and avoid the disappointment - our class size is limited to only 12 students. You can register on-line by following this link (not earlier than Monday morning). You can view our catalog here (if you like to download it, please use the username: biprogram and the password: student)

Cafe Botanique, June 2, 6:30 p.m. - Morrison Discovery Center

2011-05-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Tend and Tell: Developing and Interpreting an Ethnobotanical Garden
Marja Eloheimo, Environmental and Medical Anthropology, The Evergreen State College, University of Washington

Working as a multidisciplinary project team in a year-long academic program at The Evergreen State College, students engaged in hands-on work to revitalize a fledgling ethnobotanical garden at Evergreen’s “House of Welcome” Longhouse. This presentation will describes the innovative project, its academic framework and embedded interdisciplinary and intercultural learning. Students refined existing habitat and theme areas, and developed the sayuyay Sister Garden (a medicinal portion of the garden patterned after a project on the Skokomish Indian Reservation). Students also collaboratively developed interpretive and educational materials; an important component was the beginning of a poly-vocal book about the garden, its history, its habitats and its potential for interactive teaching and learning. Through this work, students began to create a valuable educational resource and contributed to multiple communities, including Evergreen, local K-12 schools, local First Nations, and a growing global collective of ethnobotanical gardens that promote environmental, and cultural diversity and sustainability.

Marja Eloheimo has taught at The Evergreen State College since 1987. Her academic and professional foci are ethnoecology and medicinal botany with an emphasis on First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest, Tribal Peoples in eastern India, classical Chinese “five-element” philosophy and local community herbalism.

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall
6:30 – 8 p.m.

Inside or outside the BI-classroom - Always inspiring

2011-05-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

(Watercolor II, final plate in process by Karen Genoff-Campbell)

The last sett of courses for our Spring semester are soon in session as we are entering the month of June. Even though most of the offerings are sold out, you can still find some openings in some of the electives, such as Spring back Bookbinding, Watercolor I, Painting Succulents in Watercolor (one seat opened) and HOT Botanicals.

Registration for our July through December 2011 courses (Summer-Fall Catalog) start on June 6th. We are also this year offering scholarships for talented new students.

Please see see some random photos of the student work by clicking here.

(Susan Curnutte, Champion Trees in Watercolor)

11 days in 60 minutes -

2011-05-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

The Botanical illustration program’s Arts and Archives 2011 Europe Tour to London and Madrid took place from March 31 through April 12.

If you are interested to see some number of photos from the trip and hear more in detail about it, please join us in Mitchell Hall today, May 24^th, 7 p.m.

Beatrix Potter painted this in 1883 when she was 13 yr old

FIVE: a sensory garden

2011-05-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

(Please click the image to enlarge)

Solo exhibit by Susan Rubin May 26 - June 19

Spark Gallery (for directions, please click here)

Opening Reception on May 27, 6 - 9 p.m.

(To see Susan's classes at Denver Botanic Garden's Botanical Illustration program, please click here)

Contemporary Botanical Aquatint Etchings by Bryan Poole

2011-05-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

(Heliconia bihai with female Eulampis jugulatis by Bryan Poole, published in The Art of Plant Evolution, Kress and Sherwood, 2009, p.23.)

Bryan Poole is trained as a botanical artist through his illustration work with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew since the early 1980s. In his newly published book the New Zealand borne contemporary botanical artist Bryan Poole describes the method of aquatint etching in great detail. He successfully combines the traditional illustration methods with modern approach to botanical art and design. While admiring Sydney Parkinson's early work he is creating striking copperplate aquatint etchings printed onto acid-free paper in an intaglio press. The intalgio method was commonly used in Europe in the 16th century. The aquatint technique gives a look and feel of watercolor but might be more vivid, saturated look.

"Bryan Poole's work is outstanding in a number of ways beyond his re-introduction of painstaking printing techniques pioneered by Redoute" writes Shirley Sherwood in her foreword for this book which presents one hundred plates from Poole's work and absolutely worth of the investment. Bryan Poole was elected as a member of Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 2002 and became a Royal Etcher (R.E.) Five years later he was awarded the Royal Horticulture Society's Gold Medal. To view more of his art and read about the process, please click here .

Bryan Poole - Contemporary Botanical Aquatint Etchings with a Foreword by Shirley Sherwood.
Edited by David F Marks . Published by art-n-stuff, 2011.

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators - GNSI

2011-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

(Enteroctopus dofein by David Ehlert)

GNSI 2011 Conference and Annual Meeting

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

July 10 - July 16, 2011

This is the one of the top events of the year that the illustration communities are looking forward to annually. The first 3-4 days (Sunday through Wednesday) are open for everybody and filled with program sessions (key note, topics of technique, education, business and legal themes), portfolio sharing, members art exhibit, auction, banquet etc.), while rest of the week is filled with workshops (both traditional and electronic). See the whole program by clicking here. To get an idea what all these presentations are about please see here and you are ready to click the register button, here.
If you can stay the whole week (the accommodation is in affordable dormitory setting, but you need to move fast as the rooms sold out quickly) and participate in one or several of the workshops, you can see that selection here (the workshops typically cost $100/day or $50/half day). Parallel to this exciting program is a series of excursions and field trips to explore the surroundings - that line-up can be viewed here.

WARNING! If you go to one of these conferences, you'll be going to the following one too, and the following there after, and ...

The first GNSI conference was organized in 1979 making the 2011 conference to the 34th Annual Event.

To read more about the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, please check out the excellent website with full of resources for illustrators.
More information about the benefits to join, please click here.

Denver Botanic Gardens' Botanical Illustration Summer and Fall 2011 schedule is out!

2011-05-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

We will be teaching in the Hibiscus classroom over 950 hours during the period from July to Thanksgiving, which means that there will certainly be something offered for everyone. Please take a moment to browse through the 65 different courses, the registration starts June 6^th (both online, in person and per phone and fax). You can view, print or download the program by clicking here or clicking the catalog icon on the right hand column of this page.

[If you like to download the document into your computer or print it, click the download button on the right hand column of the Scribd page (under the file title and above the "Info and Rating") - you'll choose the option "Already have a Scribd account?" - click that and use the username: biprogram and password: student.]

(Eustoma grandiflora by Constance Sayas)

We have three exciting guest workshops during this season:

Pastels with Susan Fisher. – Susan was our program coordinator in 2000-2005 and now directing the Art Institute at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We are excited to get her back as guest instructor for this pastel workshop in July. This is one of the first pastel workshops in our curriculum ever –

Painting Peony and Lotus the Chinese Way with Sally Yu Leung. Since 2008 we have had the honor to host Sally Yu Leung’s workshops in Denver and include the Chinese brush painting in our curriculum. Her classes typically sells out very fast as this method is only taught once a year in our program.

Look, Paint and Enjoy with Charlotte Knox. This is a really unique and exiting opportunity: Charlotte specializes in watercolor and tempera paintings of foods, plants, and landscapes from around the world, with an emphasis on strong colors and striking, simple design. As far as possible she paints food and plant specimens from life and depicts them actual size.

This time we do offer also 32 other elective courses in addition to the required core classes (30 offerings divided in between the 13 courses which are required for the Botanical Illustration Certificate).

Enjoy the catalog! Registration for the classes starts on July 6.

(Our distance learning program for the fall season will be published soon.)

William Morris - Inspiration and Realization for 150 years

2011-05-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

(Presentation Pack to accompany the Morris & Company stamps, produced by Royal Mail and released on May 5, 2011)

Morris and Co. inspired a generation of designers and manufacturers and was a shaping influence on the Arts and Crafts movement that flourished during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. William Morris (1834-96) developed early on two life long passions: a love of nature and creative interest in history. He was briefly trained in architecture but was primarily an artist focusing on applied rather than fine art. He designed furniture, painted tiles, wallpapers, textiles, embroideries and stained glass. He had met Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rosetti while studying at Oxford University and formed a Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood group with them. In April 1861 they formed their own firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company. The other partners of the firm were the painter Ford Madox Brown, Brown’s associate Peter Marshall and their friend Charles Faulkner who was a mathematician This partnership was usually shortened to Morris & Co.

William Morris revived the pre-industrial techniques for his textiles, he taught himself dyeing with natural, organic colors and also tapestry weaving and was always striving for the highest standards in materials and workmanship. The original Morris & Co. was closed in 1940 but purchased by Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd who is continuing in the same tradition of designing timeless patterns.

To commemorate the continuous influence and inspiration of William Morris and Morris and Co for designers from the Arts and Crafts Movement to Modernism around the world, Royal Mail has produced a new stamp set which was released on May 5th 2011.

William Morris' work is pictured on two of the recently released stamps: Cray furnishing fabric (left) and Acanthus tile panel (right)

Margaret Flocton Award 2011

2011-05-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

(Ceratozamia vovidesii by Edmundo Saavedra Vidal, Mexico - please click to enlarge)

The winner of the 2011 Margaret Flocton Award competition is Edmundo Saavedra Vidal from Mexico (Xalapa, Veracruz).

Margaret Flockton Award is a prestigious Australian competition commemorating the enormous contributions that Margaret Flockton made to early Australian botanical illustration and taxonomy. This competition is most likely the only international art competition for black and white scientific botanical illustration.

This year (2011) 31 entries from 20 different artists and from eight countries were submitted into the competition where the first prize is $5000.
The second prize of $2000 went to Lucy Smith (U.K.) and the three highly commended works were by Edmundo Saavedra Vidal (Mexico), Sarah Adler (USA) and Klei Sousa (Brazil).

(Nymphaea thermarum by Lucy Smith, U.K. - please click to enlarge)

Congratulations !

Dugald Stermer - always working toward Grace

2011-05-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

In our series Drawing on Tradition we recently studied the working style and application techniques of the contemporary illustrator Dugald Stermer. He has created a vast collection of drawings, book illustrations and editorial work that combine expressive drawings with descriptive calligraphy.

Dugald Sterner earned American Institute of Graphic Arts AIGA 2011 Fellow Award. This award recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to their community by raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct. AIGA was founded in 1914.

Please read more about Dugals Stermer here, or browse through his illustrations on different subjects by clicking here.

Examples from our course work can be viewed by clicking here. The instructor for this course was Renee Jorgensen.

Royal School of Needlework - Embroidering Royalty

2011-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Royal School of Needlework was founded in 1872. Its aim was to employ gentlewomen and restore ornamental needlework to its original respected position among the decorative arts, create new needlework and restore the old. In the late 19^th century it employed over a hundred women who were working on designs created by e.g., Burne-Jones, Lord Leighton and Water Crane. William Morris who was instrumental in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement was undoubtedly the most significant among these artists as he was directly concerned with the development of the needlework.

Today the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace is considered the best in the world for the art of hand embroidery: silk shading, goldwork, crewel work and blackwork.

The wedding dress of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge (designed by Ms Sarah Burton) paid tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition. The bodice and the skirt were hand embroidered with floral motifs at the Royal School of Needlework using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique which originates in Ireland. Kate Middleton’s shoes were designed also by Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton and the florals were hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. During the embroidery the workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, the needles were changed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean.

Watch the CNN video about the Royal School of Needlework – A very nice reminiscence for those of us who recently visited this school.

Gathering of the GUILDS, Sunday May 1st

2011-04-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

(please click the image to enlarge)

CRITIQUE BOTANIQUE APRIL 28, 6 - 8 p.m. CANCELLED

2011-04-28T07:55:00.001-07:00

SOS- Seeds of Success: today in Cafe Botanique

2011-04-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

(Little bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium – BLM CO932, Seeds of Success)

Seeds of Success - Building a National Collection of Native Seeds

Peter Gordon, Ph.D., Botanist, Bureau of Land Management

Seeds of Success (SOS) is the national native seed collection program created under the umbrella of the Native Plant Materials Development Program (NPMDP), led by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). SOS was formally established in 2001 in partnership with the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) to collect, conserve and develop native plant materials for restoring and rehabilitating public lands in the

United States

. The initial partnership between BLM and MSB quickly grew in scope and evolved to include many additional partners, such as botanic gardens, arboreta, zoos and municipalities. To date, SOS has well over 9,000 collections representing more than 3,000 species of wild land native plants in its National Collection.

The BLM Colorado State Office has coordinated over 500 wild land native seed collections from very diverse habitats, ranging from sub-alpine forests to sand dunes to shale cliffs and has been involved with SOS since its inception. Our staff works to collect seed, mentor interns, manage collection information and promote the development of native plant materials in Colorado.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

Pop-ups and Movables -

2011-04-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

(The Elements of Geometrie of the Most Auncient Philosopher Euclide of Megara printed in 1570 by J. Daye)

By folding the paper and creating movement, paper engineers and pop-up artists change the two dimensional forms to three-dimensional experiences. Movable books have flaps, pull tabs and volvelles (wheels) initiating the movement on the surface. Pop-ups utilize different folding devices that makes the structure to lift, pop up, unfold or rise when the page is opened. These books were originally constructed for leaning purposes.

The earliest known examples of movable books are by Ramón Llull (c.1235-1316) of Majorca, a Catalán mystic and poet. He used volvelles or revolving discs to illustrate his complex philosophical search for truth. This was before the printing techniques were discovered.

"Turn-up" or "lift-the-flap" mechanisms were in use as early as the fourteenth century. They were especially helpful in books on anatomy, where separate leaves, each featuring a different section of the body, could be hinged together at the top and attached to a page. Andreas Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome, printed in Basel in 1543 features a movable illustration in which the human anatomy is shown in seven detailed superimposed layers.

Movable books were not created for young audiences until the latter half of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.

Read more about the history of this book-art form by clicking here. Photos from the Smithsonian Libraries Exhibition Gallery displays has at the moment an excellent exhibition “Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn”. The downloadable exhibition brochure is available here.

Last weekend the Botanical Art and Illustration programs had an excellent two-day pop-up engineering workshop on flowers instructed by Shawn Sheehy.

See some photos from this workshop in the BI-facebook of by clicking here.

(Shawn Sheehy with Denver Botanical Illustration Programs)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

(from the Botanical Illustration Pysanky class)

In almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life. The sun’s return from darkness in the springtime was also considered as an annual miracle and the egg was regarded as a natural wonder and a proof of the renewal of life. Within the Christianity the egg was adopted as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection from the tomb. The concept of all living beings born from an egg is also a foundational concept of modern biology.

Thus, the eggs in different forms are a fundamental tradition for Easter and the spring time.

Photos from our Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter Egg class can be viewed by clicking here. Our instructor was Annie Reiser.

"Omne vivum ex ovo” - all life comes from an egg

Dutch Flower Painting of the 17th century

2011-04-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

(Dirck de Bray, 1635-1694 - Private Collection)

Dutch flowers are an iconic image of Holland that also inspired many artists of the 17th century. Now an everyday item, cut flowers were prized luxuries at that time. Only the most affluent could afford to have them in their homes and gardens. As a result, the first flower still life paintings appeared in Holland in the 1630s and 1640s as a means of meeting the demand for flowers. After all, a painting of a flower was much less expensive then than an actual bouquet and lasted longer.

In our series Drawing on Tradition the very popular course of Dutch Flower Painters of the 17^th Century (in colored pencil) has just had its final session for this season, please check out the photos from the last session. (Instructor was Susan Rubin)

– Happy Easter!

Scratchboard with Trudy Nicholsen

2011-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

(Sycamore by Trudy Nicholson)

Modern scratchboard also called scraperboard as we know it was introduced in Britain and

France

during the 19^th century. Scratchboard became popular for its "finer" line appearance. Up until the 1950s it was used mainly for advertising and editorial illustrations. In more recent years it has made a comeback as an appealing medium. It can easily be reproduced and it also closely resembles either wood engravings or woodcuts.

Last weekend our Botanical Art and Illustration program had a weekend workshop in scratchbord with Trudy Nicholson as the instructor. Trudy has illustrated several books, offers workshops especially within the GNSI-community and samples of her work can be viewed here.

Student work from the workshop can be viewed at the BI-facebook photo album: Scratchboard.

Natural Science and the Trade of Illustration tomorrow -

2011-04-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Arts and Archives 2011 Europe Tour: two additional days in London and five days in Madrid

2011-04-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

(The Bauer Unit at the Natural History Museum in London)

At the Natural History Museum we were delighted to have Mr. Armando Mendez to guide us thru the library collections. We were focusing on the Endeavour material, Ferdinand and Franz Bauer and Arthur Henry Church. We saw some of the gems from the Bauer unit and also the brand new exhibit “Images from Nature”. Some of us followed this to Tate Britain to see the extensive Watercolor Exhibit where 800 years of watercolor history was displayed from manuscripts and miniatures to supplies and historical watercolor palettes.

[Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70) - Bull BAy (Magnolia grandiflora) 1743; Victoria and Albert Museum]

Our final day in London was as intriguing as the others: In the morning we went through botanical material at the Victoria and Albert Museum where Ms. Annemarie Bilclough had selected for us 12 boxes of rarities from both medieval material and material from the 19^th and 20^th century arts and crafts movement – unbelievable. We also saw the botanical display in the “lightbox” as well as Beatrix Potter’s paintings from her teenage –years.

Before boarding the plane to Madrid we attended the press viewing of the SBA’s 2011 exhibit with its overwhelming number of 751 entries.

(Seed pod packages packed in 1785 waiting for to be opened, Royal Botanical gardens, Madrid)

Everything in Madrid was on a large scale, the art collections were huge, the architecture was beautiful and the material was ancient and in copious quantity. Our absolute high point was the visit to the Royal Botanical Garden to see the material which had been collected from South America during the 18^th century (plants, seedpods, wood etc.). We also saw a very nice selection from over 7000 original illustrations which are kept in the gardens.

(from Training in Real Fabrica de Tapices, page 69)

Another highlight from the Madrid tour was the visit to the Royal Tapestry Factory (founded 1721). We were completely overwhelmed. Many of us later saw huge tapestries in the Royal Palace made by this factory . Tapestry weaving continues there today for Royal and contemporary clients(please click here for tapestries; - here for rugs and here for aplique)

(Detail from a tapestry in process; From Real Fabrica de Tapicer. A living History, page 62)

We saw the Prado, Thyssen, and numerous churches with magnificent art. Many of us went also to Reina Sofia. We also were introduced to other botanical applications: tiles and other ceramics and also damascene work of gold inlay and engraving (flower details and plants in the case of Toledo damascene work).

To summarize the whole trip, in eleven days we had seen more botanicals and related items than many of us had even been able to dream about. I could count the same number of participants on the last day as we had on the first, and all of us had a nice suntan. Our muscle tone had surely improved because of all the walking we had done during the 11 days of travel. We had had a marvelous time – and are now looking towards 2012 and two new countries which are waiting for us to come and explore.

(Please see the photo albums recently posted in the BI-Facebook)

Cafe Botanique: Barbara Rogers about the art on Allure of the Seas

2011-04-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

Allure of the Seas: The Story Behind 17 Paintings

Barbara Rogers, Prof. - University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

“I want to remain vulnerable to beauty. I want to be stopped in my tracks by something I call beautiful that I have never noticed or seen before.“ (Barbara Rogers)

Barbara Rogers is inspired by nature, art and the way people use botanical forms as the basis of their ornamentation in clothing, architecture and body decoration. She loves botany, travel and has a great respect for the arts of Asia and the Middle East.

Professor Rogers was commissioned to create a 30 by 18 foot painting for The Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, and 16 companion paintings, all sized 10 by 4 feet. This commission required buying the biggest Mac computer on the market, hiring a full-time assistant and working with a sizeable committee of stake holders—each of whom had to approve every one of Professor Rogers’s sketches and trust her to complete the project to their satisfaction.

Prof. Barbara Rogers holds a degree in Art Education from Ohio State University and an MA in Painting from The University of California at Berkeley. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including one-person exhibitions at major university and commercial galleries and museums in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Scottsdale, Pakistan, Germany, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Her work can be found in many major art museums and private art collections.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Denver Botanic Gardens – Morrison Center

6:30 – 8 p.m.

Arts and Archives Europe 2011 tour, Day 3: Kew Gardens and the Blythe House of Victoria and Albert Museum

2011-04-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

(Salvia foerskaelei illustrated by Ferdinand Bauer in Flora Graeca, published 1806 and colored by him self - Kew Gardens' Collections)

On our third day of our London stay we went to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In addition to a two hour presentation and viewing of the hidden treasures from Kew's rare collection we visited the Marianne North and Shirley Sherwood galleries which are now connected to each other. We also visited the Blythe House of Victoria and Albert Museum and were shown a very rare collection of Beatrix Potter paintings. More details can be seen here.

Arts and Archives Europe 2011 tour, Day 2: Visit with Ann Swan April 3rd 2011

2011-04-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ann Swan demonstrating some of her latest works and work-in-process

Ann Swan is one of the most skillful colored pencil artists what we have around. She is very well known in Denver and an always welcome visiting instructor. She has been awarded five RHS gold medals.so far. Her studios are located in Rowde Court, Wiltshire. You can see our visit with photos in the BI-Facebook.

Arts and Archives Europe 2011 tour, Day I

2011-04-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

(Musella lasiocarpa by Annie Patterson, Hampton Court Florilegium)

Our first day in London was spent in Royal Hampton Court. We did get an excellent presentation about the Royal School of Needlework's Floral designs and embroidery techniques. This school is globally unique and only one on it's field. It's 2-3 year curriculum is heavily focusing in different embroidery techniques, conservation and Restoration of old pieces.

The Royal Hampton Court is also the home for Hampton Court Palace Florilegium Society. Our group had the honor to visit the headquarters, get a informative presentation and see about half of the present collection.

Please see some further images from our initial day at the BI-Facebook.

Denver Botanic Gardens' Index Seminum 2010

2011-03-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

(Digitalis obscura by Ann Fleming)

You can now view and download the Denver Botanic Gardens' Index Seminum 2010 by clicking here. This year we have 401 selections of seeds included. The catalog was sent over 200 institutions around the world.
The cover illustration was made by Ann Fleming. Ann is a graduate of Edingburgh College of Art in Scotland and the Botanical Art and Illustration Program at Denver Botanic Gardens.

(Rhamnus smithii by Ann Fleming)

Different Applications for BI-Skills

2011-03-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Karen Cleaver, an active member of our Botanical Illustration community and a graduate of the program has decorated these fans for the wedding of a family member. See more of these beautiful fans in the BI-Facebook, or clicking here.