Just this Week for the Nature Artists’ Guild

Shady Lakes, pastel, copyright Laverne Bohlin. Used with permission.

This week the members of the Nature Artists’ Guild –

  • Can still contribute to the upcoming Quarterly by sending images of their autumn-focused artwork to Jane Kellenberger. Images must be sent by today, August 1, 2022.
  • Can try out pastels at this week’s Coffee and Art Club on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 beginning at 9 am. A few basic supplies will be shared by fellow artists so that interested members can give the medium a try. There is hope that our program presenter for Thursday (and fellow member) Laverne Bohlin will join us for coffee and a chat. Timed-entry passes will be required (usually available the same morning.)
  • Can attend a program by renowned pastel artist Laverne Bohlin on Thursday, August 4, 2022. Laverne will share some of her techniques and inspirations beginning at 7 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum. Visitors and guests are welcome to attend this program free of charge and can let the gate attendant at the Arboretum know they are there for the program to be admitted and directed to Thornhill. Timed-entry passes are not required for this event.
  • Will open a new exhibit at Gallery 200 in West Chicago. A reception, complete with refreshments and open to all, will be held at the gallery on Friday, August 5, 2022 from 6 to 8 pm.
  • Will learn more about a project to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Schulenberg Prairie at The Morton Arboretum. Details are still being worked out and will be shared with members as soon as they are finalized. The Schulenberg Prairie is “one of the nation’s oldest and most successful prairie and savanna restorations.” – mortonarb.org

As always, please click on the highlighted links for more information.

Nature Artists’ Guild’s Late Summer Events

Coleus, copyright Ann Lamoureux will be one of the lovely pieces exhibited at Gallery 200 during August 2022.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is returning to Gallery 200 in West Chicago this August. This spacious and vibrant gallery regularly showcases the work of thirty artists but has plenty of room for special exhibits as well. The artwork of participating Nature Artists’ Guild members will be featured from Thursday, August 4 until Friday, August 26, 2022. (Artwork drop-off will be from 11 am until 1 pm on Saturday, July 30, 2022.)

A reception will be held at the gallery on Friday, August 5 from 6 until 8 pm. All are welcome to drop in to meet some of the artists and enjoy the exhibit.


Red-tailed Hawk, copyright Alice Wych is one of more than fifty pieces of artwork in Visions of Nature at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center during July 2022.

Visions of Nature at Hidden Oaks Nature Center ends on Saturday, July 30, 2022. This wonderful exhibit includes more than fifty works of art by Nature Artists’ Guild members. (Artwork pick-up will be on Sunday, July 31, 2022 between noon and 2 pm.)


Wetland Tangle, copyright Laverne Bohlin

August also begins with a program sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild featuring Laverne Bohlin and her serene pastels. This program will be open to all, free-of-charge, on Thursday, August 4, 2022 beginning at 7 pm.

More details about these events can be found by clicking on the highlighted links.

Visions of Nature Continues through July 2022 at Hidden Oaks

Arrive for the Art and the Architecture and Stay for the Sights, Scents, and Sounds of Nature

Visions of Nature, an exhibit of more than fifty works by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will continue until the end of July 2022 at the newly reopened Hidden Oaks Nature Center.

Here is a quick look at some of the wonderful artwork included in the exhibit

Visions of Nature at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center is a collaboration between the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum and the Forest Preserve District of Will County and funded by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Detail of photo by Suzy Lyttle, Forest Preserve District of Will County.

Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit at Gallery 200 throughout August 2022

Gallery 200 is a lovely and vibrant artists’ cooperative located in West Chicago and features the work of 30 artists in a wide variety of media. Classes, monthly special exhibits, and other art events are held in the large open areas of the gallery’s new location.

Artwork by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be highlighted throughout the month of August 2022 in a special exhibit, Visions of Nature.

No Printer? No Postage? No Problem!

Hopefully, anyway. The Nature Artists’ Guild is trying out a new way for members to submit their registration for special exhibits. In addition to the option of mailing a completed registration form (previously emailed to members,) members will soon be emailed a link with the option to use an online form. In order to participate in the Gallery 200 exhibit, members must either submit the online registration or mail their completed registration by Saturday, July 16, 2022.

Welcoming New Members, a Television Appearance, Paint-Out, Exhibits, Program, and More

Porcini and Pinecones, copyright Jane Kellenberger. One of more than fifty works of art featured at the Visions of Nature exhibit at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center.

For those who have long been considering joining the Nature Artists’ Guild or those who have just discovered it and don’t want to wait until the new year to join, there is now a half-year (July through December) membership plan available for new members only. Please click on this link to the Membership page to read more.


Some current and upcoming events –

Suzy Lyttle of the Will County Forest Preserve District was interviewed recently by Naperville Community TV about the upcoming Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit and the reopening of the Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Please click on this link to view the short interview (and some of the artwork.) A reception and open house with light refreshments will take place at Hidden Oaks this evening from 4 until 7.

A Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit at Gallery 200 in West Chicago has been scheduled for the month of August 2022. The prospectus was emailed to members on June 24 and completed prospectuses for participating artists must be returned (postmarked) by Saturday, July 16, 2022.

Members will meet for a paint-out at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center on Monday, July 25, 2022 from 9 am until noon. More about the paint-out coming soon.

A program featuring Laverne Bohlin and her lovely pastels will be open to all, free-of-charge at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum on Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 7 pm.

The Nature Artists’ Guild will have an information table and artist demonstrations inside the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum during the Wine and Art Walk the weekend of August 20 and 21, 2022.

Finally, there’s an opportunity every Wednesday at 9 am to enjoy a few hours of chatting, sketching, snacking on delicious muffins, or just relaxing and watching the chipmunks scurry through the flowers at the Coffee and Art Club.

Reception this Friday, July 8, 2022 from 4 to 7 at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center

Postcard design by the Forest Preserve District of Will County. Artwork by Kumie Kim.

All are invited to visit the Hidden Oaks Nature Center on Friday, July 8, 2022 between 4 and 7 pm to celebrate the reopening of the center, support the artists, enjoy some light refreshments, and take in the wonderful view.

The reception is free and open to all – please share the invitation with friends and family!

Hidden Oaks Exhibit Drop-Off Next Week

Jack in the Pulpit, copyright Nancy Thyfault. Jack in the Pulpit will be exhibited at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center along with approximately fifty other works by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild.

Twenty-five members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be exhibiting approximately fifty wonderful pieces of nature-inspired art at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center from July 6 until July 31, 2022.

Participating artists will need to deliver their artwork to the Hidden Oaks Nature Center between 11 am and 1:30 pm on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 . Detailed driving directions (it really is somewhat hidden!) will be emailed to artists before the drop-off date.

An open house and exhibit reception is scheduled for July 8, 2022 from 4 until 7 pm. All are invited to stop in to enjoy the artwork, the beautiful surroundings, and some light refreshments.

This Week for the Nature Artists’ Guild

Blue Jay, copyright Jane Kellenberger. Blue Jay will be one of approximately fifty pieces of nature art in the Nature Artists’ Guild’s exhibit at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center in July, 2022.

This Wednesday, June 15, 2022 is the last day for Nature Artists’ Guild members to mail completed prospectuses for the upcoming exhibit at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center. A link to the prospectus was emailed to all members in the past few weeks.

Ground Cover Garden, The Morton Arboretum. Image credit (detail) mortonarb.org.

The Wednesday Morning Coffee Club for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will meet at 9 am in the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum. While there is plenty to sketch through the windows, the Ground Cover Garden is just a short walk away and offers a cool, quiet oasis for participants who want to get outdoors to sketch, paint, or photograph.

More information is available by clicking on any of the highlighted links.

Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit at Hidden Oaks Opens July 6, 2022

Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Detail of photo by Suzy Lyttle, Forest Preserve District of Will County, reconnectwithnature.org.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce the opening of an exhibit at a hidden gem of the suburbs, the Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook, IL, on July 6, 2022.

The Hidden Oaks Nature Center and surrounding 33 acres were recently acquired by the Forest Preserve District of Will County and they are looking forward to re-opening the building to the public in July. (Please click on this link to a video to learn more about the past, present, and future of the center and preserve.)

The Nature Artists’ Guild will be participating in the celebration with an exhibit of nearly fifty pieces of nature art created by its members. The exhibit will be held in one of the center’s light-filled rooms, which feature lovely panoramic views of the preserve’s wooded areas, until the end of July.

An open-house and reception will be held on the evening of July 8 from 4 to 7 pm. The reception will take place in a room adjacent to the exhibit space and on the balcony overlooking the preserve. Refreshments will be provided by the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer Begin

Summer Memories, pastel, copyright Laverne Bohlin. Click on image for link to Laverne’s website.

The Nature Artists’ Guild has a lot in store, from programs and paint-outs to special exhibits and projects, for the upcoming “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer (Nat King Cole, 1963.)

Members are invited to stop by Ginkgo Restaurant and Café in the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum at 9 am for informal weekly gatherings beginning tomorrow, June 1, 2022. These will continue throughout the season. (Timed-entry passes will be required.) Note – time has been updated to 9 am from previously announced 11 am.

The following evening, Thursday, June 2, 2022, the Nature Artists’ Guild will be sponsoring a program (open to all, free of charge) at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum at 7 pm. This annual program will feature three talented members of the guild sharing some of their artistic inspirations, tools, and techniques. (Timed-entry passes are not required.)

Paint-outs will be scheduled as the summer progresses, and special projects and exhibits are being planned for July and August. Award-winning pastel artist (and guild member) Laverne Bohlin will be giving a presentation at the August 4th program and teaching a workshop for the arboretum the following weekend. Many more details coming soon!

Please click on any of the highlighted links for more information.