Author: Denise

Nature Artists’ Guild to Celebrate Joy’s Vision at Daffodil Glade

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Daffodils, copyright Alice Wych

Joy’s early plans for the Arboretum included Sargents Glade on the West side of the Thornhill ravine, but most guests today know this beautiful area by a different name, Daffodil Glade. Beneath widely spaced old oaks, spring rolls out a grassy carpet filled with waves of cheerful, varied daffodils. The first daffodils here were planted in 1946.

– The Morton Arboretum

Joy Morton shared some thoughts about his vision for The Morton Arboretum with his colleague Professor S.C. Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in 1921 –

Excerpt of document archived by the Sterling Morton Library

And again in 1924 –

Excerpt of document archived by the Sterling Morton Library

The Nature Artists’ Guild is planning to honor Joy’s Vision with a exhibit this autumn of artwork created at or inspired by Daffodil Glade (originally “the Sargent Plot” or “Sargent Glade”), Joy Path, and Lake Marmo. These areas were all part of Mr. Morton’s original vision for the Arboretum, near his house in an area that he predicted would “ultimately become one of the prettiest parts of the Arboretum.”

A paint-out at Daffodil Glade has been scheduled for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild on Thursday, April 13, 2023 from 9 am until noon (rain date April 20 if required). Participants will meet near the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum, enjoy some muffins, and wander off to choose a spot among the daffodils. They should bring their sketchbooks and art supplies, a portable chair, their favorite drink, and plans to enjoy a wonderful morning filled with the sights, scents, and sounds of Daffodil Glade.

Members can let Celia Rodee know they plan to attend by email or by completing this registration form. Celia will have some 8 x 8 surfaces available for members to use or bring home for later use if they plan to participate in the Joy’s Vision project.

2023 Spring Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum April 15 and 16, 2023

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Poster artwork by Featured Artist Patricia Mroczka. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

The 2023 Spring Art Exhibit by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild at The Morton Arboretum will be open throughout the weekend of April 15 – 16, 2023. A reception for the artists and their guests will occur on the evening of Friday, April 14.

This exhibit will include over 200 pieces of nature art by more than 50 Guild members and will be open to all visitors to The Morton Arboretum.

Please click here to learn more about Featured Artist Patricia Mroczka.

Preserving and Presenting Artwork Workshop on March 21, 2023

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Photo credit Colbertcustomframing.com

On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, from 6:30 until 8 pm, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will have the opportunity to learn about preserving their artwork and presenting it in ways that will enhance, and never detract from, the viewer’s experience.

Colbert Custom Framing & Art Printing has more than thirty years of experience in matting, framing, and preserving fine art. Third generation owner Stephanie Colbert Randall has offered to share professional knowledge about preparing and presenting artwork and a tour of their production and warehouse areas at their facility (click here for a short video) in Naperville, Illinois.

Interested members should contact Terrie McComb by email or by clicking here to complete a registration form before March 19 to reserve a seat. Space is limited and recent Nature Artists’ Guild events have been filling quickly!

Reminders –

  • Registrations are being accepted by for the Nature Artists’ Guild’s 2023 Spring Art Exhibit through March 20, 2023. Links to the prospectus and an online registration form were emailed to members on February 20.
  • The Nature Artists’ Guild will be sponsoring a presentation by watercolorist Thomas Trausch next Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 7 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum. This event will be open to the public, free of charge.
  • All spots have been filled for the paint-out at Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum on March 9, 2023 but a wait-list is available.
  • Coffee and Art gatherings take place each Wednesday morning between 9 and 12 at the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum. Guild members and guests are welcome to stop by to sketch, chat, or sip!

We Just Can’t Wait!

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Leaning Tulips, copyright Patricia Mroczka

It’s that time of year when we just can’t wait …

– For the 2023 Spring Art Exhibit by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild at The Morton Arboretum, so we’ve posted above, and on the header, samples of artwork by the Featured Artist, Patricia Mroczka. Patricia, along with more than 50 other members of the Guild, will be displaying over 200 works of nature art on April 14, 15, and 16, 2023. A link for the prospectus will be emailed to members early next week.

– For the spring flowers to bloom, which is why we will have some purchased ones to share and sketch at the next gathering of Coffee and Art on Wednesday morning, February 22, 2023 beginning at 9 am (weather permitting) in the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum. Guild members and guests are welcome to stop by and spend a little time chatting, sketching, or enjoying the view.

UPDATE – We will have to wait for the spring flowers after all! The February 22 Art and Coffee gathering has been canceled due to the weather forecast.

– To get moving on the “Joy’s Vision” project, so Celia Rodee has announced a paint-out at Daffodil Glade at The Morton Arboretum in April, 2023, with the exact date and details to be determined (depending on the weather and bloom report.)

There is still time to renew membership or join the Nature Artists’ Guild for 2023 and receive a link to the prospectus for the Spring Art Exhibit.

Click here to read more about membership

Thomas Trausch’s Light and Color on March 2, 2023

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Selection of watercolors by Thomas Trausch. Copyright Thomas Trausch.

Award-winning watercolorist, illustrator, and instructor Thomas Trausch will be sharing some of his inspirations and techniques with members of the Nature Artists’ Guild and visitors on Thursday, March 2, 2023 from 7 until 9 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum.

Thomas’s work is included in numerous private, corporate, and public collections, and he has been exhibiting his work for more than 3o years. Often completed en plein air during his travels, Thomas’s watercolors are “driven by the use of both light and color … driving forces that add energy to the work.”

Guests and visitors are welcome to attend this presentation. Visitors can let the gate attendant at The Morton Arboretum know they are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild program to be admitted to The Morton Arboretum and directed to Thornhill. There will be no charge for admission to the Arboretum, admission to the program, or parking for this event. No registration is required.

Nature Artists’ Guild’s Yearly Safari on March 9, 2023

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Photo credit Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum

No need to book a flight or pack (except for a few art supplies and possibly a folding chair) for the Nature Artists’ Guild’s annual trip to the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum.

Members of the Guild will have the opportunity to visit the museum at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL on Thursday, March 9, 2023 between 9 am and noon to sketch, paint, or photograph specimens from the museum’s vast collection. Exotic predators abound, but there are also thousands of less ferocious mammals, birds, insects, and aquatic species to study or sketch.

Nature Artists’ Guild members who would like to attend the paint-out can reserve a spot and receive detailed directions for parking and visiting the museum by contacting Celia Rodee by email or by completing this registration form. Attendance is limited to fifteen members and previous paint-outs have filled quickly!

Coming Soon for the Nature Artists’ Guild

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The Nature Artists’ Guild is determined to add a little warmth and color to the cold and dreary days of late winter and early spring in Chicagoland.

  • This Thursday, February 2, 2023, members and guests of the Nature Artists’ Guild will have the opportunity to attend an online presentation by artist and author Amy Lindenberger beginning at 7 pm.
  • Next Thursday, February 9, 2023, a paint-out at the renowned Orchids by Hausermann will begin at 7 am. The promise of incredible color and warmth might be enough to convince artists to set their alarm. Registration is required and a few spots are still available.
  • From the tropics to the jungle! A paint-out is scheduled for Thursday, March 9, 2023 at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University. More details to come soon.
  • Nature Artists’ Guild members (and guests) can sketch nature while sipping a warm beverage inside the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum each Wednesday between 9 and 11:30 am at the Art and Coffee gatherings.

Also coming up soon for the Nature Artists’ Guild –

The “Joy’s Vision” project of creating 8 x 8 pieces of artwork for display at the guild’s autumn exhibit has begun. Participants who would like to include a snowy scene in any of their works still have time to visit The Morton Arboretum for inspiration and reference material! 8 x 8 surfaces (watercolor paper, pastel paper, and others) will be available at no charge at the March paint-out and future events. (Artists’ may also use their own surfaces, but the finished size must be 8 x 8 inches.)

Members who would be willing to share images of their spring artwork in the upcoming issue of the Quarterly (a members-only publication) should email them to Jane Kellenberger by February 3.

The workshop co-sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild featuring Heeyoung Kim is full, but artists who would like to see Heeyoung’s work along with the work of numerous other accomplished botanical artists, are invited to attend an “Artist Walkthrough” at the Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods on February 5, 2023 from 1 to 3 pm.

An in-person presentation by watercolor artist Thomas Trausch will be held at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum on Thursday, March 2, 2023 from 7 until 9 pm. Guests and visitors are welcome and more details will be coming soon.

There is still time to join the Nature Artists’ Guild and receive a prospectus for the upcoming 2023 Spring Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum. The prospectus will be emailed to members on February 20, 2023.

Amy Lindenberger To Bring Color on February 2, 2023

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Anyone living in the Chicago region could certainly use some color about now, and the Nature Artists’ Guild’s guest speaker for February, Amy Lindenberger, who literally wrote the books (and magazines) on it, will bring it!

Many of Amy’s popular books give instruction on using colored pencils on different surfaces – black paper, clayboard, pastelmat, and watercolor paper. Her latest, Colors: A Workbook and Even More Colors: Workbook 2, provide guidance on using color in almost any medium (focusing on colored pencil) and cover “a range of skills for handling color, beginning with color perception – the ability see color accurately – and color analysis – the ability to classify a color according to its hue, value and intensity.”

The Nature Artists’ Guild is proud to present a live online meeting with Amy Lindenberger on Thursday, February 2, 2023 beginning at 7 pm. After her presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to ask Amy questions about color (and colored pencils) from the comfort of their own home. Guild members will receive a link for attending and instructions by email. Guests and visitors are also welcome to attend this online presentation and may request a link by using the contact form on our About page.

Note – The previously scheduled presenter, Lynne Railsback, asked to be rescheduled and the Guild looks forward to seeing Lynne and her wonderful work soon.

Nature Artists’ Guild’s Annual Trip to the Tropics

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Detail of photo by Linn Eldred

On Thursday, February 9, 2023, from 7 until 10 am, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can experience some of the warmth, sights, and scents of the tropics at the annual paint-out at Orchids by Hausermann, one of the world’s oldest and largest growers of orchids.

Paint-out participants will be able to sit and paint or wander and photograph numerous varieties inside the display area of the vast greenhouse before it opens to the public. One participant will be chosen at random to receive a gift certificate for an orchid to take home!

Attendance at the paint-out is limited to the first twelve members to register with Celia Rodee by email or by completing this form. Celia will contact participants with further details and instructions.

Also please note –

  • The weekly Coffee and Art gathering will not take place this Wednesday, January 18, but will return on January 25.

Mr. Morton, Mr. Potter, and the Chauffeur

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The wonder we now know as The Morton Arboretum all began when “while touring by automobile in 1909, Joy Morton, his friend E.A. Potter, and their chauffeur jumped from their car to stamp out a grass fire and stumbled upon the spot that captured Joy’s vision for a home, and ultimately his legacy. ” 

Beginning in 1922, Mr. Morton began to establish some of the delights of the original 175 acres of his “museum of trees.” Some of those landmarks still exist in much their original state up to 100 years later – Joy Path, Lake Marmo, and Sargents Glade (now affectionately known as Daffodil Glade.)

Details from previous works by Terrie McComb, Alice Wych, Laverne Bohlin, and Pat Mroczka, cropped to squares to simulate display of four seasons at The Morton Arboretum.

This year, the Nature Artists’ Guild will celebrate “Joy’s Vision” with artwork created throughout the year at these favored locations of Mr. Morton. Similarly to last year’s Schulenberg Prairie Project, members will be asked to create artwork at, or inspired by, Joy Path, Lake Marmo, and Daffodil Glade.

  • Each participating artist may contribute up to four pieces. Some may choose to do one location in all four seasons, others may complete three pieces (one from each location) and some may prefer depicting just one or two locations or seasons.
  • The artwork must be completed on 8 x 8 inch surfaces, which can be obtained free of charge at various paint-outs, programs, or other gatherings throughout the year. Artists can also use their own surfaces as long as they measure 8 x 8 inches and are less than 3/8 inches thick.
  • Paint-outs may be planned in upcoming months at these locations.
  • Finished pieces will be exhibited at the Nature Artists’ Guild’s 2023 Autumn Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum.
  • No framing or preregistration is required for participating.

Much more about this celebration of “Joy’s Vision” coming soon, but those who want to include all four seasons should take note that winter is already half over!