Author: Denise

Blooms and Bugs? Karen Johnson’s Garden Paint-Out, June 9, 2011

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 Karen Johnson promises blooms as she hosts a paint-out at her home on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 9:30 am until 1 pm or so.  Karen’s garden includes such June favorites as peonies, iris, and honeysuckle, as well as many native plants.  There is a small pond with some goldfish, and Karen even suspects that a hummingbird or two may make an appearance! 

Karen also promises bugs!  If it rains, Karen has the unequaled ability to supply the group with insects, shells and other natural items (for those of you wondering why, it’s because Karen is an entomologist and the instructor of many insect-inspired art classes at the arboretum).  She has plenty of room at her kitchen and dining room tables, but suggests you bring your own light. 

Indoors or out, it promises to be fun!  Bring a lunch if you’d like to stay later, and please RSVP to Karen if you’re planning to come (you can find her contact information in our Yearbook).

Eggs-cellent job!

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The Nature Artists’ Guild liason to The Morton Arboretum, Suzanne Wegener thanked everyone at our meeting last night on behalf of the Arboretum for doing such a great job of painting eggs for their upcoming Cirque Du Soleil promotion.  Suzanne started out with 100 plain tan eggs, and as of last evening, only two were not yet decorated!

As artist Priscilla Humay pointed out after her awesome presentation last evening (thank you, Priscilla!), the Nature Artists’ Guild really does have one of the best settings in the Chicagoland area for an artists’ group.  The Morton Arboretum provides us with inspiring subject matter, a wonderful and helpful staff, quality instruction and promotion, and facilities for our workshops, shows and meetings that are not only modern and comfortable, but historic and absolutely beautiful! 

Sometimes it takes someone outside of the group to notice what we may take for granted.  So, thank you Morton Arboretum for everything you do for our group, and any time you need help in painting a hundred or so eggs, we’ll be glad to do it!

EGG-stravaganza this Thursday!

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You are invited to stop by this Thursday evening before our formal Nature Artists’ Guild meeting to paint an egg or two for Cirque du Soleil.  There will be paints available in Thornhill, Room C from 5-7 pm.

 The eggs will be used for a eggs-ceptional  promotional event at the Morton Arboretum.  Please join us in this wonderful opportunity (click here for more information) to get publicity for our group while also helping the Arboretum!

Please contact Suzanne with any questions.

Priscilla Humay’s Colored Pencil Landscapes, June 2, 2011

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Priscilla Humay is a talented, established artist, who will be sharing some of the inspiration and techniques behind the creation of her colored-pencil landscapes at the June 2, 2011 meeting of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum, from 7 to 9 pm. 

March Billows, © Priscilla Humay

Priscilla’s artwork is included in numerous private and corporate collections, as well as the Bauhaus Archive in Germany, the Chicago Historical Society, and the University of Illinois archives.  Priscilla also participates in and receives awards in such high profile shows as the CPSA International Exhibition.

Educated at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Charles University, Prague, Priscilla’s art has been featured in numerous publications, including the Best of Colored Pencil III and V. 

DesPlaines Settling Down, © Priscilla Humay

Some may know Priscilla as a Visiting Artist Instructor at The Morton Arboretum.  She is also a Certificate Program Instructor at the Chicago Botanic Garden, as well as the Peninsula Art School in Door County, WI and the Art Center in Highland Park.  Priscilla serves as creator and instructor of a host of her own workshops, including those entitled “ Introductory Plein Aire Colored Pencil”, “The Aerial Landscape – Clouds”, “Drawing the Color of Summer”, and  “Land, Sky and In-between”. 

Visit Priscilla’s website, www.humayfineart.com to preview her vibrant, rhythmic landscapes and then join us for an enjoyable and informative evening with Priscilla!

Beauty of the Earth Exhibit at the Burning Bush Gallery

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Even if you didn’t get a chance to participate in this lovely exhibit, there is still time to visit the gallery and view the artwork of some of your fellow Nature Artists’ Guild members.  The gallery is located at 224 North Main Street in Wheaton, and hours are listed on the flyer below. 

Artwork Copyright Paulette McDermott

Don’t be Shy!

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Even if you’ve never even considered publishing your artwork before, you can still experience the thrill of seeing your artwork in print!   The Nature Artists’ Guild’s publication for members, “The Quarterly” is a great place for getting your feet wet, and there’s still time to have your artwork included in the Summer edition.

We all love to see what our fellow members have been working on, and your piece doesn’t even have to be a completed painting or drawing – sketchbook pages are just as welcome for inclusion, and frequently even more fascinating than finished pieces!

All you need to do is to send a JPEG file to Evelyn Grala (her contact information can be found in your Yearbook).   If you don’t have a professional scan or a home printer/scanner, that’s not a problem.  Any office supply chain should be able to scan your artwork (usually up to 11 x 17 inches) for just a few dollars (just make sure the artwork is not under glass).  They’ll even e-mail the file to Evelyn for you for another small fee!  She’ll be able to crop off or clean up the edges of the scan if needed, and the next thing you know, you’re published!  (If there are too many to include, Evelyn will save your file for a later edition.)

The Nature Artists’ Guild is Joining The Circus!

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But thankfully, we won’t be on the high wire!  The Morton Arboretum’s Nature Arts Education Manager and our Nature Artists’ Guild liason, Suzanne Wegener, has asked us to help with a fun new adventure –

Have you heard of Cirque Du Soleil? They have a new performance scheduled in Chicago called OVO (egg). In conjunction with this event The Morton Arboretum will host an egg hunt for families and we have been asked to help out by painting eggs for the event. If you can help out we would greatly appreciate it! Paper eggs can be picked up in the Thornhill offices. Paint them, decoupage them, splatter them, but sign them with your name, they are artist created! I will have examples in the registrar’s office for you to see.  We will need them back by June 1st. Check out their website here to see a preview of the performance.

 I thank you for your help with this event. By participating we increase publicity for our events by raising awareness of our group and the education program at the Morton Arboretum.

 If you have any questions please contact me at swegener@mortonarb.org or 630 719-5642.

226th Anniversity of Audubon’s Birth

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Photo credit National Gallery of Art

As Nature Artists Guild members, maybe you already realized that today is the 226th anniversary of the birth of John James Audubon! 

Here are some links with more information about one of the pioneers of Natural History Art – Wikipedia, and National Gallery of Art.

What a great reason to take a little time today to sketch some birds!

But What About Spring?

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We may still be waiting for Spring (any day now), but at The Morton Arboretum there is much confidence that it will arrive and then shortly thereafter, lead to summer!   Summer class schedules for the Arboretum are now posted on their website, www.mortonarb.org or you can click here to go directly to the schedules.

 Whether you are concentrating on your Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate, or branching out into Photography, Natural History, Ornithology, or Gardening & Horticulture you’ll find many favorites in this summer’s schedule, as well as some new and exciting offerings.  The twilight classes always seem intriguing – there’s something very special about a summer evening at the Arboretum.

“Each moment of the year has its own beauty . . . a picture
        which was never before and shall never be seen again.”   

Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                                                        

Nature Artists’ Guild Invited to Exhibit in “Beauty of the Earth”

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We can all congratulate ourselves on a fantastic job at the Spring Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild.  The weather was mixed, but we still had about 1000 people come through and enjoy the results of all our efforts.  Every comment overhead was completely complimentary, and usually included one or more of the following – “ooh”, “how do they do that?” “wow!”  There was much leaning way, way over to get a closer look – perhaps next time we should hand out magnifying glasses at the doorway!  Congratulations to everyone who arranged, helped with and participated in the exhibit.

Whew! It’s a good thing that we have about a month off with no activities scheduled so that we can all take a rest.  But wait a minute, not so quick –

Our Special Exhibits Chairperson Paulette McDermott has been busy, and  announces that

We have a wonderful opportunity to show our work at the Burning Bush Gallery in Wheaton.  The Burning Bush Gallery is loosely associated with the Gary United Methodist Church, 224 North Main Street in Wheaton.

The exhibit will be titled “Beauty of the Earth”, will run from May 15 to June 12, and can be enjoyed on Sundays from 10 am to 12:30 pm and Wednesdays from 5:30 pm to 7 pm, or by special arrangement.   The exhibit space is limited so we are requesting that members submit one piece that has been juried for the Nature Artist’s Guild exhibits over the past five years.  Sculpture and fabric pieces are welcome.  

There will be an Artist Reception on Sunday, May 22, from 1 – 3 pm.  

Many thanks to Sally Hill for getting the Reverend Asta into contact with the Nature Artists’ Guild.

Please check your e-mail for all the details as well as the required entry form, which should be returned to Reverend Asta by April 27.    If you have questions, please contact Paulette McDermott (her contact information is listed in your yearbook).  Click here for an article about the Burning Bush Gallery.