Dear Friends:

The term “Masterpiece” does not necessarily set the standard for all art that came before or after the present time.  When reviewing the history of botanical art, which began on cave walls and in the early herbal journals, we are sure to understand that the basis for the use of the term then was perhaps the sheer understanding of the necessity to record botany.  The actual ability to render more than “acceptable” drawings developed as the need developed – and then so did the appreciation and the acclamation for the artwork.

Exploring further the term “Masterpiece,” once again we are made aware of that moment in time that made it possible to achieve such a state in art.  Skill, awareness, tools, techniques are thus products of time and place.  And therefore, our grand selection is based at every step by the influence of the moment.

Botanical art has enjoyed a wide history of accomplishment.  Most of the early renderings were in fact accomplished either by the hand of a botanist or with the direction of a botanist.  These early achievements were thus   dictated by the need of the botanist and he or she ruled when it came time to deciding how the plant portrait should look.  The artist had no say in the matter.  By the 19^th century botanical art was enjoying itself not only as a science, but also as an art form.  Artist’s made their own selection and design decisions till remaining scrupulously close to realistic plant portrayal.

Those of us who are now enjoying the work and art of botanical drawing and painting are remaining strong to our vision of realism.  In the 21^st century realism and modernism unite to open the way for distinctive artistry and botanical artists are among the many who uphold a broad view of contemporary realism.  No longer constrained by illustration itself, botanical artist’s through their vibrant perception of nature, reveal familiar forms and patterns with precision and beauty – a task no less daunting that a “masterpiece” of another genre, another time.

Today, in our present time, more and more awareness of this beautiful art form and the demands it takes to accomplish it, have lessened the challenge of obscurity and increased the appetite of knowledge for masterpieces by contemporary botanical artists.

God bless, OM

History of Mother’s Day

 Three special celebrations dating back to antiquity were the inspiration for Mother’s day.   The Greek Spring Festival in honor of Rhea (she who flows), both sister and wife of Cronus in Greek mythology who save her last child Zeus from being swallowed up by Cronus; Roman festival Hilaria in honor of Cybele, mother goddess 250 years BC who rescued Attis from the river bank (March 25 – Day of Joy); and the Celtic festival for goddess Brigid (later St. Brigid) on February 1^st referring to the life-giving forces of spring.  What followed was a “Mothering Sunday” celebrated on the 4^th Sunday of Lent in England.  In the United States, Julia Ward Howe, activist, writer, poet, and author of the Civil War song “Battle Hymn of the Republic, initiated a day of peace appealing to women to rise against war in her Mothers’ Day Proclamation of 1870.  However, Anna Jarvis is recognized as the ‘Founder of Mothers Day’ in US. Although she never married, nor did she have any children, the idea to honor mothers was the result of her beautiful relationship with her own mother. After her mother died, Ms. Jarvis petitioned for an official Mother’s Day holiday and on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution declaring the 2^nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is celebrated in 46 countries although not on the same date.

There have been so many poems written about Mothers. I listed a few quotes below.  If you are interested in purchasing a special book for your own Mother, then Seth Godin recommends, a book called “B.” You can purchase it here if you like, or visit the video, which you may want to send to your mom.

Book

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1612182798/permissionmarket/ref=nosim/

Video

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3QU517I0LEPGV/ref=ent_fb_link

Happy Mother’s Day

“And it came to me, and I knew what I had to have before my soul would rest. I wanted to belong – to belong to my mother. And in return – I wanted my mother to belong to me.”

 Gloria Vanderbilt

“But the mother’s yearning, that completest type of the life in another life which is the essence of real human love, feels the presence of the cherished child even in the debased, degraded man.”

 George Eliot

(Pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans)

“Women know the way to rear up children (to be just). They know a simple, merry, tender knack of tying sashes, fitting baby-shoes, and stringing pretty words that make no sense. And kissing full sense into empty words.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.”

 Rudyard Kipling

“Youth fades, love droops, leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

Sophia Loren

“This heart, my own dear mother, bends,
With love’s true instinct, back to thee!“

Thomas Moore

NEW YORK CITY

BOTANICAL ART WORKSHOP

SUMMER 2012

with Olivia Braida

For information: email Olivia@omartdesigns.com

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 LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

BOTANICAL ART WORKSHOP

SUMMER 2012

with Olivia Braida and Leslie Ramsey

For information: email Olivia@omartdesigns.com

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RESIDENCY & WORKSHOP

Friends of the the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts,

We are delighted to share that The Golden Foundation Residency and Workshop programs are now online and accepting applications for our inaugural year.  Please go to www.goldenfoundation.org for details of the facility and this unique residency program.

Barbara Golden
Executive Director
Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Inc.

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AMERICAN SOCIETY OF BOTANICAL ARTISTS

ANNOUNCING NEW WEBSITE

View the new ASBA website at

www.asba-art.org

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Ringling College of Art and Design

Wildacres Art Workshops

A Retreat Experience

Session A: July 15-21, 2012

Session B:  July 22-28, 2012

Session C: October 22-28, 2012

Visit: www.ringling.edu/CSSP, click on Wildacres

]]> http://myartteacher.com/likes/art-eventsworkshops-announcements/feed/ 0 http://myartteacher.com/likes/art-in-print/ http://myartteacher.com/likes/art-in-print/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:20:57 +0000 admin http://myartteacher.com/?p=1206

Dear Friends:

Jack Kramer is the author of more than 130 books.  His best selling book, Women of Flowers, celebrates the art of botanical painting produced by women during the Victorian era.  His book, The Art of Flowers, is filled with information on how the genre evolved.  The many plates of botanical images are accompanied by poetry and observations into the lives of the various artists that make up the book.

You don’t need to be an artist to enjoy this lovely book, but if you are you’ll find interesting examples of how to draw and paint botanicals that are taken directly from the notes of the artists themselves.

In Professor Dr. H. Walter Lack’s book, Garden Eden, we have an opportunity to view the outstanding works of botanical illustration now housed in the Austrian National Library in Vienna.  With 487 colored plates, the book offers a chronological, geographic, thematic and technical profile of botanical art from the 6^th to the 20^th century.  In addition, the book is printed in three languages: English, French, and German.

Dr. Brent Elliott, Librarian and Archivist of the Royal Horticultural Society, is author of Victorian Garden, The Country House Garden, and Treasures of the Royal Horticultural Society.  In his book, Flora, he illustrates the history of the garden flower by exploring the world of adventurers and plant hunters who collected seeds and specimens from exotic lands.  The exquisite illustrations include works by artists of that period some of whom were considered the greatest scientific botanical illustrators of their day.

“…During the 18^th century the beginnings of an engraving and copperplate printing branch of the book trade began to emerge. Largely confined to the great urban centers of Boston, New York and Philadelphia, their work was seen in early engraved maps, maritime charts, battle plans during the War of Independence, illustrated architectural books, some Bible illustrations, and so forth, some of considerable competence…

American illustrated botanical literature made only slow progress…Nevertheless, major works on American botany were still being printed and published in Europe [around 1812)…Over the next few years the American output increased gradually…but quality and quantity of plated produced increased significantly, in several instances matching European standards.

…America’s botanical printmaking always had a more utilitarian goal.  Botanical exploration was to continue right through the century; the last great American wilderness being explored by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899…Almost the first need was to produce verbal and pictorial descriptions of the native flora of this great New World.

…Alongside the great need to describe and illustrate American plants for scientific purposes was an interest in their practical value, medical botany being a major feature of their exploitation.  Again, illustration was an important element since the correct identification of significant healing plants was crucial, mistakes perhaps proving fatal.

…Another great field for plant exploitation was the rapidly burgeoning horticultural industry.  Apart from the personal needs of American gardeners the creation of great urban centers stimulated immense attention on the identification, selection and production of plant resources for the dinner table, the parlor, the kitchen and the flower garden.

…By mid-century, fruit became a highly important element in the horticulture industry…In 1847-1856 C.M. Hovey published The Fruits of America...The third volume of Ebenezer Emmons’ Agriculture of New York; published at Albany in 1851, dealt with fruit…The Illustrated Pear Culturist of 1857…was soon outclassed by…W.D. Brincklé edition of Hoffy’s North American Pomologist…with 60 remarkable colored plates described by McGrath (1966) as “almost good enough to eat.”

A broad miscellany of popular “colored” books straddled the middle years of the century.  One of the more numerous groups are those on the language, symbolism and poetry of flowers…Some books of this genre sought to improve their fanciful content by adding a simple outline of botany.

[By the end of the 19^th –century], all the highly developed skills of [hand drawn printmaking]…were no longer essential for commercial book illustration.  Specialized graphic-arts technicians, …photo-mechanical printing surfaces, had replaced them all, and sophisticated power-driven machines put the images on paper.

[However,]… in the 20^th century, [printmaking] is free to become the sole province of artists who could use its various traditional, and some innovative, techniques to produce creatively conceived and executed images of plants in the form of what we now speak of as true “prints.”      Excerpt from American Botanical Prints of Two Centuries, Gavin D. R. Bridson, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.   This certainly sounds like a call to arms, or hand!

I hope you’ll have an opportunity to visit these wonderful books and enjoy the glorious art.  And when you hear a voice within knock at the door of your own creativity, put your book down and paint.  God bless. OM

And God sent flowers to beautify

The earth, and cheer man’s careful mood;

And he is happiest who hath power

To gather wisdom from a flower,

And wake his heart in every hour

To pleasant gratitude.

         Mary Howitt, 1867

As we experience God meeting our needs and doing things that could only be described as miraculous,

we gain a peace and happiness that’s beyond what we had imagined gaining from other people.

Gary Smalley

If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

Vincent Van Gogh

The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible.

Arthur C. Clarke

If you’re an artist, you try to keep an ear to the ground and an ear to your heart.

Bruce Springsteen

When you see what you’re here for, the world begins to mirror your purpose in a magical way.

It’s almost as if you suddenly find yourself on a stage in a play that was written expressly for you.

Betty Sue Flowers

Although, the oldest evidence of soy milk production is from China dated around AD 25-220.  Buzz over soy milk in America was light years away from its original use in China.  It was not until 1967, that Cornell University made an important taste discovery that sky rocketed soy awareness.  The woody flavor was not from the beans they learned, but from the processing.   Regaining their spirit of adventure, soy manufacturers like “Silk”, “Edensoy” “Soy Dream” and “Soy Fresh” to name a few developed a range of both organic and “natural” flavors to suit the taste of any one daring enough to try the stuff.

As a vegetarian, and lactose intolerant, I’ve been consuming soy milk and soy products for years.  I might even call my self an “action figure” on the campaign to promote soy cheese at our local pizza restaurant.  Most restaurateurs still react to vegetarians and dairy issues like were from another planet.  Perhaps we are, but also perhaps the whole vegetarian thing is rather hard to accommodate considering there are several types of vegetarians.

As a result, restaurants never truly identify their menus and leave the questioning to the patron.  This is often at great risk to the patron, as the servers, in many cases, cannot respond accurately to the questions of ingredients.  So, why all the fuss you might ask.  If it says, “vegetarian” then that should be enough.  Right?  Well, no, wrong!

There are many motivations that cause individuals to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. These include religious, health, animal rights, environmental, and economic to name several. There are those that simply do not enjoy the taste of meat or fish.  Others are strictly religious and so avoid products or by-products from animal slaughter.  Others have allergies that prevent them from eating dairy, fish, or eggs.

So here is where things get complicated and why your local restaurant is willing to roll all their meatless dishes into one category that they call “vegetarian.”  Serious, or what is often referred to as Lacto-Vegetarians practice eating fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts and dairy products.  Even more serious are Vegans who eliminate the use of all animal products, including dairy products, eggs, and honey. Vegans especially avoid dairy for reasons of that might include lactose intolerance or because many dairy products contain rennet especially cheeses.  There are many that practice a semi-vegetarian diet that includes eggs and quite often some fish. The Ovo-Vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products and an Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.  No wonder restaurants are confused.

I have been a Lacto-Vegetarian since 1973.  At that time it was very difficult to eat in restaurants, as the menus were very limited.  By 1980 I became seriously allergic to cow’s milk so that ended eating milk cheeses until I discovered that I could eat goat or sheep cheese and enjoyed the sharp and spicy soy cheese.  Finally in the 1990’s more and more restaurants served goat cheese with various salads and vegetables.  This was ground breaking and made eating out more tolerable, but still no soy.

Unfortunately, lack of understanding, and lack of market power are the enemies of vegetarians. Of minor concern to the fast food industry, and major concern to vegetarians, is that fact that fast food French fries were made with animal fat.  When Starbucks sold Latte’s with Soy milk, I was thrilled at their market ingenuity. A few years later, but happily on target, Panera sold Soy milk. Bravo to all you soaring entrepreneurs.

So what will it take for the restaurant associations to educate their members on some simple, practical, and customer-appeal menu planning?  Not to speak of educating staff about menu ingredients.   For example, not all “vegetarian” Boca Burgers are made without cheese.  Why not get the Vegan Burgers and add cheese for an extra 50 cents and keep both Lacto and Vegan customers happy?  Sounds so ridiculously easy that I wince at mentioning it.  I only hope this blog letter gets into the hands of the president of the Restaurant Association and not Mr. Potato Head.

Now for all of you naysayers, let me mention that the absolutely best VEGAN restaurant I have ever eaten in was located in San Francisco, California. The Millennium Restaurant, located at 580 Geary Street, Telephone (415) 345-3900.  According to their website, the “Millennium Restaurant is dedicated to supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, small farms, sustainable agriculture, recycling and composting. We cook with fresh produce delivered every day, and choose organic whenever possible. We believe that a gourmet dining experience can be created out of vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods. We are proud to state that our restaurant is completely free of genetically modified foods.”

Over the past 39 years, I’ve managed to come up with a few delicious VEGAN recipes, some of which include the use of either soy milk or soy curd (tofu).  You might like to try this rice dish, which sent a recent corral of guests to the moon and beyond!  Enjoy.

God bless. Olivia

Olivia’s Brown Rice Pilaf

Cooking Instructions:

• 1 Package of NASOYA EXTRA FIRM TOFU (14oz size) cut into ½ inch cubes.
• San-J Organic Tamari (Soy Sauce that is also available “wheat free”)
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) sliced fresh mushrooms (your choice)
• 1 medium onion diced
• 4 stalks of celery diced
• One large bag of frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz Pinoli Nuts (pine nuts)
• 3/4 cup of freshly chopped parsley.
• 1-lb bag Lundberg® Wild Blend Rice
• 2 Herb Vegetable Bouillon Cubes
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Begin by rinsing the rice. Add four cups of water to a two-quart saucepan.  Add two vegetable cubes.  To boiling water add 2 cups rice and stir (If you use the whole bag of rice, then simply measure double the amount of water).  Place the lid back on the pot. Turn the flame all the way down to low. The rice will take approximately 45 minutes (take more time for softer rice, less time for crunchy rice.) After 45 minutes, turn the flame off and keep the lid on.  Let sit until you have your vegetable mixture completed.
• While the rice is steaming, cut up the tofu into ½ inch cubes and toss with Tamari Soy Sauce. On a cookie sheet, lined with aluminum foil, which you have brushed with olive oil, place the cubes of tofu.  Put the tray into the oven to brown.  Check often and rotate the cubes so that all edges are browned.
• Place Pinoli nuts on a pie dish and toast or broil in oven until slightly browned.  This is quick so be careful not to burn the nuts. Remove and set aside.
• Cut up mushrooms and toss in soy sauce.  Heat a large deep skillet.  Then add oil. When oil is hot, add mushrooms and sauté mushrooms until slightly browned and tender.  Do not crowd the mushroom if you expect them to get evenly browned. Remove mushrooms to a side dish.
• In the same sauté pan, add a little more oil.  When oil is hot, add onions.  After a few minutes, add celery.  Toss and stir in pan until both are tender.
• Add peas to a pot of boiling water or place in the microwave.  Heat through, but do not overcook. Strain the peas.
• Mix together in the skillet, onions, celery, mushrooms, and peas.
• Remove the tofu from the oven and add to the skillet mixture.
• Add ½ cup of chopped parsley to skillet and toss all gently.
• When rice is cooked, transfer to a large bowl in sections.  Between sections add your vegetable tofu mixture until all is blended.
• Top with toasted Pinoli Nuts and ¼ cup of parsley.
•  Makes 6-8 servings.

presents

Essentials for Design & Decorative Arts

an ABA Certificate Program

The Academy has received many inquiries into this new design program and as a result has made many changes that will now offer students a greater opportunity to explore the world of design and decorative arts.  The program can be taken for fun, or for a Certificate.  The Certificate can be combined with the Botanical Art program for Dual Certification. There are now ten (10) design courses, one (1) business course, plus access to an additional five (5) tile painting courses students may take.  Students who would like to obtain a certificate may do so in this program by accumulating 240 credits.  Students who wish to be enrolled, or are already enrolled in the Academy of Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate Program, may accomplish their electives requirement by applying as many as 60 design program credits toward their botanical art certificate.  If they wish to pursue, dual certification, then students must accrue the necessary 280 Botanical Art & Illustration credits, plus 150 Design credits, for a total of 430 credits.

The artistic results that are already being seen from the first enrolled students is a very promising beginning to this program.  We hope you will join us for one or more of these exciting courses.

The Academy is happy to introduce your Design Program Professor: 

Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli

Elizabeth Trostli received her artistic education at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in Illustration. Since 1981, Liz has been a successful free-lance artist and designer, serving the advertising, stationery and giftware industries.

Liz Trostli’s creation of advertising materials includes logos, brochures, point-of-purchase displays, catalogs, packaging, and direct mail. She is adept at various hand and computer-enhanced illustrative techniques. Her projects included architectural rendering and fashion illustration, textile, stationery and jewelry renderings. She is experienced in all aspects of print and Web-based graphic design and production, from concept through finished project. Her specialty is surface and product design for the giftware industry. She combines her passion for tropical flora, antiques, travel and historical decorative arts in the creation of the images that include poster-sized collages, exquisite hand-painted embellishments, and an array of products including wall decor, tabletop, needlecraft, stationery, textiles and giftware.

In addition to her artistic talents, Liz speaks fluent English, Portuguese and German, and has a working knowledge of Spanish and Italian.The Academy is grateful to Liz for her contribution to the Essentials for Design & Decorative Arts program of syllabi content and development. Students will find her delightful nature helpful as they explore the courses offered in this program. Learn more about Liz from her website: www.etrostli.com.

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DDA Course #1:  PRINCIPLES & ELEMENTS OF  DESIGN  – 15 Credits – with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
Objective:  To introduce the principles and elements of design. Familiarity with terminology, concepts and basic materials used in the studio by artists will be explored.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.   Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

DDA-1:1-4
Tuesday, February 28, 2012…………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, March 6, 2012…………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, March 13, 2012………………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, March 27, 2012…………………………10am to 3:30pm

This course will repeat itself again in the Fall 2012

Tuesday, November 27, 2012…………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, December 4, 2012……………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, December 11, 2012………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, December 18, 2012……………………..10am to 3:30pm

                                                                                      —————————————————————————————————-

 DDA Course #2:  ESSENTIALS OF PATTERN & COLOR  – 4 Classes – 15 Credits with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: To  learn how to create effective surface designs by using patterns, borders, and color.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students. Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

DDA-2:1-4
Tuesday, April 3, 2012……………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, April 10, 2012……………………………10am to 3:30pm
Thursday, April 12, 2012…………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, April 24, 2012……………………………10am to 3:30pm

This course will repeat itself again in the Winter 2013

Tuesday, January 8, 2013………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, January 15, 2013……………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, January 22, 2013………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, January 29, 2013………………………10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #3: EXPLORATIONS IN LINE & LETTER EMBELLISHMENT – 15 Credits with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: To learn about “line” and how to embellish letters, initials, and written text with this and other decorative elements as used in Medieval  illuminated manuscripts, Celtic art, and other traditions.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

DDA-3:1-4
Tuesday, May 1, 2012………………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, May 8, 2012………………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, May 15, 2012………………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, May 29, 2012……………………………..10am to 3:30pm

This course will repeat itself again in the 2013

Tuesday, February 5, 2013    ……………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, February 12, 2013……………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 ………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 ……………………..10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #4: COLORED PENCIL FOR DESIGN- 15 Credits  – with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: This is a program designed to introduce the artist to another medium with the same ease as graphite pencil but with far better reproduction quality.

Tuition:  $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.) 

DDA-4:1-4
Tuesday, October 2, 2012…………………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, October 9, 2012…………………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, October 16, 2012……………………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, October 23, 2012……………………………….10am to 3:30pm

This course will repeat itself again in the 2013

Tuesday, March 5, 2013    ………………………..……..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, March 12, 2013………………………..……….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 ………………………..………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, April 2, 2013 ……………………………..…….10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #5: INFLUENCE OF OTHER CULTURES IN DECORATIVE DESIGN – 15 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: To learn how other cultures have  incorporated symbolism and meaning into their decorative arts and designs.  Students will select one of these influences and apply this language of design to their individual project.

Tuition:  $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

DDA-5:1-4
Tuesday, October 30, 2012………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, November 6, 2012………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, November 13, 2012……………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, November 20, 2012…………………….10am to 3:30pm

This course will repeat itself again in the 2013

Tuesday, April 9, 2013    …………………………..10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, April 23 2013…………………………….10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, April 30 2013 ……………………………10am to 3:30pm
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 ………………………….…..10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #6:  CREATIVE APPLICATION I – TEXTILE DESIGN – 15 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
Objective:  To learn how to apply the design process; tools and techniques in designing patterns and repeats for textiles.

Tuition:  $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

Friday, January 04, 2013……………………..10am to 3:30pm
Friday, January 11, 2013…………………..….10am to 3:30pm
Friday, January 18, 2013………………..……10am to 3:30pm
Friday, January 25, 2013………………..……10am to 3:30pm

                                                                                    —————————————————————————————————-

DDA Course #7:  CREATIVE APPLICATION II – PRODUCT DESIGN – 15 Credits – with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
Objective: To learn how to apply the design process in the creation of designs for a product of their choice. Students will form teams and be encouraged to expand their creativity, craftsmanship and communication skills.  The team activity objective is to emphasize brainstorming and collaborative experience.  

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)Friday, February 01, 2013……………………..10am to 3:30pm
Friday, February 08, 2013…………………….10am to 3:30pm
Friday, February 15, 2013…………………..…10am to 3:30pm
Friday, February 22, 2013………………..……10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #8: CREATIVE APPLICATIONS III – INDEPENDENT EXPLORATIONS OF DESIGN – 15 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: To learn how to apply the design process in the creation of surface design for product, textile, or other of student’s choice.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)Friday, March 01, 2013………………………10am to 3:30pm
Friday, March 08, 2013……………….…….10am to 3:30pm
Friday, March 15, 2013………………………10am to 3:30pm
Friday, March 22, 2013……………..…….…10am to 3:30pm

                                                                                     —————————————————————————————————-

DDA Course #9: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN BLACK & WHITE – 15 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: Students will work with pen and ink to create more elaborate designs for book covers, posters, or advertisement.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)

Friday, March 29, 2013…………………..10am to 3:30pm
Friday, April 05, 2013…………………….10am to 3:30pm
Friday, April 12, 2013…………………..…10am to 3:30pm
Friday, April 19, 2013…………………..…10am to 3:30pm

                                                                                       —————————————————————————————————-

DDA Course #10: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN COLOR – 15 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Elisabeth Trostli
OBJECTIVE: Students will develop their painting skills using Gouache Paints to illustrate designs for various purposes.

Tuition:   $ 250 Non Certificate Students/ $300 Certificate Students.  Includes: (4) 5- Hour Classes; ABA Course Registration and Syllabus.   (Instructor Handouts $25 additional payable first day of class to Instructor.)                                                                   

Friday, April 26, 2013………….………..10am to 3:30pm
Friday, May 03, 2013…………………….10am to 3:30pm
Friday, May 10, 2013……………….……10am to 3:30pm
Friday, May 17, 2013……………..………10am to 3:30pm

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DDA Course #11: The Business of Art – 30 Credits - with Certified Academy Instructor: Susan Walker
OBJECTIVE: To help serious students enter the professional art market.

Tuition:   $ 499.00 For All Students.  Includes: (5) 1/2 Hour Telephone Coaching Calls; ABA Course Registration, Volume 11 and Course Pak #11

Instruction dates are arranged with your on-line tutor and can therefore be made at any time that is mutually convenient. 

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The Academy is  happy to welcome Tile Art Ltd. as an approved school, to the Academy of Botanical Art’s  “Design and Decorative Arts” Program.  Artist, designer and educator, Paddy Dugan teaches the art of hand painting tile using porcelain paints and welcomes academy students to take courses towards a certificate program or as an elective requirement fulfillment for the Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate Program. You can read more about her on her website www.handpaintedtiles.com

Paddy Dugan is an award-winning, nationally published master tile artist who started her business, Tile Art Ltd., over 2 decades ago.  Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Paddy Dugan is a graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Interior Design. She specializes in the art of porcelain painting by creating custom designs on tile and sinks. Paddy has been voted one of Sarasota’s Best Women in Business and does commissions on a national level.

Please call for Paddy Dugan for directions to the Sarasota Tile Art Studio (941-266-1239)

HPT Course #12:  DESIGNING & PAINTING ON TILE -  Qualifies for Academy Certificate Students as 15 Elective Credits

Objective:  To introduce materials, tools and principals of porcelain painting on tile. Learn how the elements, methods and standards learned in previous design courses are applied to tile.  Knowledge of surface design, color technique, incorporating patterns with borders, glazes, the art of firing, demonstrations and more will encourage development of your personal design technique. Student presentation/discussion, introduction to next class and creative ideas for porcelain painting on ceramics.  

Class Tuition $325.00 for 3 Saturday Classes or 2-Day Weekend Workshop.  Tuition includes Level 1 Foundation Paint kit, supplies, tools and paint for this class and future classes, and firing service; plus Course Information Package with syllabus, written course instructions, and Tile Facts & Info.

Session #1

Saturday, April 07, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, April 21, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, April 28, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm

Session #2

Sunday, April 08, 2012………….……….…..…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, April 22, 2012………….………..….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, April 29, 2012………….………..………10am to 3:30pm

Session #3

Weekend Workshop: April 14 & 15, 2012….9am to 4:30pm                                                                                    —————————————————————————————————-

HPT Course #13:  TILE PAINTING WITH PEN WORK  Qualifies for Academy Certificate Students as 15 Elective Credits

Objective: Refine your current level of painting and take it to the next level with incredible detail only created with the fine drawing pen. Incorporating pen work in your design will encourage creativity and personal expression. Learn to layer paints and embellish tile while incorporating design elements studied.

Class Tuition $300.00 for 3 Saturday Classes or 2-Day Weekend Workshop., includes firing service; plus Course Information Package with syllabus, written course instructions, and Tile Facts & Info.
Session #1

Saturday, May 05, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, May 12, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, May 26, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm

Session #2

Sunday, May 06, 2012………….……….….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, May 13, 2012………….………..….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, May 27, 2012………….………..……..10am to 3:30pm

Session #3

Weekend Workshop: May 19 & 20, 2012….9am to 4:30pm                                                                                          —————————————————————————————————-

HTP Course #14: DESIGN & PAINT TILE KITCHEN BACK SPLASH. LEVEL 1 -  Qualifies for Academy Certificate Students as 15 Elective Credits

Objective:  To cover all the elements necessary to create a hand painted tile back splash including a mural and sidewall design.  Scale, weight of color, balance of design, sidewall design options and more will be taught. Paddy specializes in kitchen tile design; she will assist you in creating a mural that will instantly give your kitchen a designer look.

Class Tuition $300.00 for 3 Saturday Classes or 2-Day Weekend Workshop., includes Course Information Package with syllabus, written course instructions, and Tile Facts & Info. 

Supplies required: Tile, available in class for purchase. Additional paint supplies, or refills are also available for purchase in class.

Session #1

Saturday, June 02, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, June 09, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, June 16, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm

Session #2

Sunday, June 03, 2012………….……….….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, June 10, 2012………….………..….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, June 17, 2012………….………..……..10am to 3:30pm

Session #3

Weekend Workshop: June 23 & 24, 2012….9am to 4:30pm                                                                                  —————————————————————————————————-

HTP Course #15: DESIGN & PAINT TILE KITCHEN BACK SPLASH. LEVEL 2 -  Qualifies for Academy Certificate Students as 15 Elective Credits

Objective: Completion of hand painted tile kitchen back splash with demonstrations for finishing technique individual tile designs and discussion on coordinating plate design for glass cabinets to compliment tile.

Class Tuition $300.00 for 3 Saturday Classes or 2-Day Weekend Workshop., includes Course Information Package with syllabus, written course instructions, and Tile Facts & Info.

Supplies required: Tile, available in class for purchase. Additional paint supplies, or refills are also available for purchase in class.

Session #1

Saturday, July 07, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, July 14, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, July 21, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm

Session #2

Sunday, July 08, 2012………….……….….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, July 15, 2012………….………..….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, July 22, 2012………….………..……..10am to 3:30pm

Session #3

Weekend Workshop: July 28 & 29, 2012….9am to 4:30pm                                                                                    —————————————————————————————————-

HTP Course #16: HOW TO HAND PAINT A SINK – Qualifies for Academy Certificate Students as 15 Elective Credits

Objective: Theme based design motifs and color schemes applied to a bathroom sink, vessel or bar sink.
Students will create their own personal expression with an added element of painting on tile.  Learn the tricks to avoid dripping with new methods of painting technique.

Class Tuition $300.00 for 3 Saturday Classes or 2-Day Weekend Workshop., includes Course Information Package with syllabus, written course instructions, and Tile Facts & Info.

Supplies required: Sink. Bring a new sink (without metal) up to 22” or we can provide one for you for 85.00.

Session #1

Saturday, August 04, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, August 11, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm
Saturday, August 18, 2012………….………….…..10am to 3:30pm

Session #2

Sunday, August 05, 2012………….……….….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, August 12, 2012………….………..….…..10am to 3:30pm
Sunday, August 19, 2012………….………..……..10am to 3:30pm

Session #3

Weekend Workshop: August 25 & 26, 2012….9am to 4:30pm

PLEASE NOTE ALL CLASS DATES, ART SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS,  & TUITION SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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Olivia Marie Braida-Chiusano
Artist, Author, Educator
Academy of Botanical Art
an OM Art Designs Company
2068 Sunnyside Lane
Sarasota, FL 34239
941-953-9999
941-952-9990 Fax
olivia@omartdesigns.com
www.omartdesigns.com
www.academyofbotanicalart.com
www.myartteacher.com
www.drawingflowers.net

MARIA SYBILLA MERIAN

Maria Sibylla Merian was born on April 2, 1647 in Frankfurt, Germany, into the family of Swiss engraver and publisher Matthaus Merian, the Elder. Her father died three years later and in 1651 her mother married still life painter Jacob Marrel.  Marrel encouraged Merian to draw and paint. As a small child she began collecting and studying insects. She learned that to simply raise her own moths and butterflies, made them easier to paint.  This early training was the beginning of a scientifc journey where one woman’s discovery changed the scientific world.  Her journals and drawings depicting insect metamorphosis, in which all life stages of the inset (egg, larva, pupa, and adult)  describe the life cycle of 186 insect species. Her work places her among one of the first naturalists to have observed insects directly. This approach gave her much more insight into their lives and was contrary to the way that most scientists worked at the time.

In 1665 Maria Sibylla Merian married her stepfather, Marrell’s,  apprentice, Johann Andreas Graff – an architectural  and portrait painter.   Their financial difficulties forced Sibylla to find ways to earn money. She worked as a botanical artist.  She also did crocheting for clients, taught art to students, created her own little art supply store that sold among other things her prized recipes for her paints.  She continued to collect and record her insect/plant specimens and also wrote and published three collections of engravings of plants in 1675, 1677, and 1680.

The work that Maria Sibylla Merian published, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung — The Caterpillars’ Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food, became very popular in certain sections of high society as a result of being published in the her native language, but her growing success as a painter placed a strain on the married couple.   In Amsterdam, Sibylla and her botanical art work attracted the attention of various contemporary scientists. Following the interests of her brother in the rapidly growing religious sect known as The Labadistes, Sibylla  herself became a member. The Labadistes were a 17th century protestant religious community movement founded by Frenchman Jean de Labadie (1610–1674), roman catholic Jesuit priest who eventually was ordained as a Protestant minister in 1650. The Labadistes advocated  a revival of practical and devout Christianity and celibacy.

In 1685, at the age of 38, she sold most of her worldly possessions in order to leave Amsterdam for the Labadiste colony in Holland. Her decision to leave Amsterdam was perhaps based on three important issues.  In the first instance, it gave her legitimate freedom.  The Labadiste marriage tenets proclaimed that no valid marriage could exist between a Labadiste and a non-Labadiste. Further, she had learned that the communal living was, in fact, more affordable. Finally, because her work with spiders, insects, toads, and dead animals aroused suspicion that she practiced witchcraft – a crime for which resulted in execution – leaving Holland seemed the best thing to do. With her mother and two daughters in tow, Sibylla set out for the Labadiste commune in Wieuwerd in Friesland, Holland.  A year later, Johan traveled to Wieuwwerd to reclaim his family.  Sibylla refused.  She sent him away and reclaimed her maiden name of Merian.

Merian remained in Wieuwerd for six years where she was restrained from practicing her art because of religious doctrine. She made good use of her time, however, by recording the natural world around her and learning to speak and write Dutch.   The Labadiste colony began to dissolve and break apart and thus their restrictions upon members to leave off the practice of art was now no longer binding upon Merian.  In 1691, less than a year after Merian’s mother dies, Merian, at the age of 43, returns to Amsterdam and the world with Johanna and her younger daughter, twelve year old Dorothea.
Known to the world of academia for publishing, art, and science, Merian gained entrance to some of the more powerful families of Amsterdam.  Nestled in her new home with her two daughters, she continued her notes on collecting and began teaching young women the art of flower painting.  Only a year later, she learns of the new Labadiste colony in Surinam. Her older daughter, Johanna Helena, marries merchant Jacob Herolt and moved with him to Surinam, which was at that time a recently acquired Dutch colony.

Around this time the English were recording the flora of Virginia and the Caribbean but no one yet had published anything on South American flora or fauna. Merian hungered to study the insects and flora of South America and its jungles.   Father Charles Plumier at the behest of King Louis XIV, was the first to describe the natural world of the southern hemisphere.  With her inspiration tipping the scales of fate, soon the city of Amsterdam sponsored Merian to travel to Surinam along with her younger daughter, Dorothea Maria aboard the ship, Willem de Ruyter.

The Willem de Ruyter followed the Portuguese route initiated by Columbus -  from Lisboa to the African bulge, the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, on to Cape Verde Islands, the Island of Santiago, around the coast and finally reaching the mouth of the Surinam River and the port of Paramaribo in early August of 1699.  With help not as much from the members of the Labadiste community, but rather the Indians and Negro slaves, Merian and her daughter Dorothea were able to collect and record specimens from the jungle .  She would ultimately illustrate the symbiotic relationship between numerous plants and insects and collecting twenty huge boxes of specimens.

In 1701, malaria forced Merian to return to Netherlands. Back in the Netherlands she sold specimens she had collected and published a collection of engravings about the life in Surinam. In 1705 she published a book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium about the insects of Surinam. She used Linnaeus’ classification of natural species.

Maria Sibylla Merian died in Amsterdam on January 13, 1717. Her daughter Dorothea published Erucarum Ortus Alimentum et Paradoxa Metamorphosis, a collection of her mother’s work, posthumously.

Resources

Patricia Kleps-Hok: Search for Sibylla: The 17th Century’s Woman of Today, U.S.A 2007, http://astore.amazon.com/theomartdesig-20/detail/1425743129

de Bray, Lys (2001). The Art of Botanical Illustration: A history of classic illustrators and their achievements. Quantum Publishing Ltd., London. http://astore.amazon.com/theomartdesig-20/detail/1845730712

Kim Todd: Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis. Harcourt, USA, 2007. http://astore.amazon.com/theomartdesig-20/detail/B0025VL8YO

Natalie Zemon Davis: Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Century Lives

http://astore.amazon.com/theomartdesig-20/detail/0674955218

“We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character”

 Henry David Thoreau

(American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862)

******

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

 Henry David Thoreau

(American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862)

******

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where

I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

 Rosalia de Castro 

(The most outstanding modern writer in the Galician language, 1837-1885)

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“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.”

 William Somerset Maugham 

(English short-story Writer, Novelist and Playwright, 1874-1965)

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“It is only in adventure that some people succeed in

knowing themselves – in finding themselves.”

 Andre Gide

(French writer, humanist and moralist, 1947 nobel prize for literature, 1869-1951)