Category: Outside Exhibitions

Aurora Public Art Exhibit Registration Ends This Friday

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Jewels of Spring, copyright Beth Berry

‘Jewels of Spring’ by Beth Berry is just one of the stunning pieces to be exhibited at the Nature Artists’ Guild’s special exhibit at the Aurora Public Art Commission Gallery from June 7 through July 13, 2024.

Members of the Guild who would like to participate in this exciting new opportunity to exhibit their art can register up to three pieces by this Friday, March 29.

The city of Aurora, IL has a thriving art community that includes a modern and spacious public gallery located in a historic building in the heart of their downtown. The opening of the Guild’s special exhibit will be part of Aurora’s lively First Fridays event in June, ‘a collective downtown open house with offerings of art, music, and more.’

Aurora Public Art Commission Gallery. Image credit APAC.

Participation in this exhibit is easy for Nature Artists’ Guild members –

  • There is no exhibit fee
  • Accepted artwork includes pieces either previously shown in a Guild exhibit or approved by emailing an image
  • Extended hours and a dedicated parking location make dropping off artwork convenient
  • Substitutions will be accepted for artwork that has been sold or is no longer available before the drop-off date
  • All the details and a link to register are right here!

Note – Exhibitors are encouraged to send images of their exhibit artwork to Exhibit Co-Chair Cheryl Holz by April 1 for possible use on exhibit postcards or social media. Proposals by participants interested in teaching a workshop for the Aurora Public Art Commission must be submitted to Cheryl by April 5.

Nature Artists’ Guild’s Special Exhibit at Aurora Public Art this Summer

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Alpine Glacial Melt, mixed fiber, copyright Patty Koenigsaecker will be included in this summer’s Nature Artists’ Guild’s exhibit at the gallery of the Aurora Public Art Commission.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce a special exhibit this summer at the gallery of the Aurora Public Art Commission in Aurora, IL.

Art Inspired by the Earth: Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will open on June 7, 2024 with a reception at the gallery during one of the city’s popular First Fridays celebrations, and continue through July 13.

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can learn more about participating in the exhibit here. This one is easy – there is no fee, and artists can choose pieces that have already been included in a former Guild exhibit (framing, titling, pricing, and labeling are already done!) or new pieces that will just need to go through a simple email approval process.

Registration is required by March 29, 2024, and Special Exhibits Co-Chair Cheryl Holz is accepting images of artwork by April 1 for possible use on exhibit postcards or social media.

Rachel Davis with “Paintings, Prints, and Textiles” on March 7, 2024

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Rachel Davis natural dyed fabrics and sketchbook details. Click on image for more of Rachel’s work.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is proud to sponsor a program featuring multi-talented artist Rachel Davis this Thursday, March 7, 2024 at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum.

Rachel Davis will finish teaching her class, Natural Dyes on Silk at The Morton Arboretum just one day before the Nature Artists’ Guild welcomes her back to the Arboretum to share some of her knowledge, inspirations, and tools and techniques with the Guild and visitors at Thornhill from 7 until 9 pm.

This program will be open to the public, completely free of charge. There is no requirement to be a member of the Arboretum or the Guild to attend, and there will be no fee for entering the Arboretum or for parking. Visitors can let the gate attendant at The Morton Arboretum know they are there for the program to be admitted and directed to Thornhill.

Dyed and printed silk scarf, Rachel Davis

More for Nature Artists’ Guild members –

  • Posters and postcards for the 2024 Spring Nature Art Exhibit will be available at the March 7 program for members and visitors to take and share with their friends and local businesses or groups.
  • Any Guild member who has not already registered can drop off their completed prospectus and fee (cash or check) for the 2024 Spring Art Exhibit in person at the March 7 program. The final day to register (postmarked by, online, or in person) is March 8, 2024.
  • Members who would like to contribute items for the fund-raising raffle baskets can drop them off at the March 7 program. (A list of suggestions was recently emailed to members.)

Coming Soon for the Nature Artists’ Guild

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Hail to the Kingbird, copyright Lindsay Sandbothe. Lindsay will be the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Featured Artist of the 2024 Spring Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum.

As spring begins to peek around the corner, the Nature Artists’ Guild looks forward to all the wonders that it brings.

For the Nature Artists’ Guild, spring brings not only the return of all the wonderful flora and fauna of the season, but also an exhibit at The Morton Arboretum, paint-outs, and a presentation by a talented artist.

  • A spring tradition for the Nature Artists’ Guild is the annual paint-out at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine College in Lisle, IL. The Guild will have exclusive access for sketching, painting, and photographing some of the bird, mammal, insect, and reptile specimens in the museum’s collection on the morning of March 7, 2023. While members are welcome to drop by any time that morning, registering in advance will ensure that they receive any emails with details and updates about the paint-out.
  • The March 7, 2024 program sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild at The Morton Arboretum will feature Rachel Davis, a talented artist who will share techniques and inspirations for her fabulous and fun work in “painting, prints, and textiles.” The presentation, from 7 until 9 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of the Arboretum will be open to all, free of charge. (Copies of the Spring Nature Art Exhibit’s postcards and posters will also be available that evening for members to take and share with friends and local businesses.)
  • The Nature Artists’ Guild’s annual Spring Nature Art Exhibit has marked the beginning of the season at The Morton Arboretum for more than 30 years. This year’s exhibit will include approximately 200 works of art by more than 50 members of the Guild, including Featured Artist Lindsay Sandbothe, from April 5 through April 7, 2024. Members of the Guild were emailed a link to the prospectus and online registration form on February 5. Much more to come soon!
Towards Arctic Shores, lithograph, copyright Lars Jonsson, Sweden. Photo courtesy of Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

Note – While the Nature Artists’ Guild was unfortunately unable to organize a field trip to the Plum Creek Nature Center to experience the internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibit, we encourage our members to consider visiting (about an hour’s drive from The Morton Arboretum) before February 25, 2024. 

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin selected 112 pieces from many of the best bird artists from throughout the world to be included in their 48th annual Birds in Art exhibit for 2023. 60 of those pieces are now traveling to a limited number of venues on their touring exhibition throughout the United States, and their first stop is in Illinois, brought to the Forest Preserve District of Will County through funding by the Nature Foundation of Will County (a recent sponsor of a Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit).

Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit at the Downers Grove Library through January 28, 2024

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The special exhibit by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum is now open at the Downers Grove Public Library.

Nature Artists’ Guild members have filled the walls of the library’s exhibit area with works celebrating nature in a variety of media, sizes, styles, and subjects. Large multi-media collages share the space with intricate botanical pieces and bold landscapes painted en plein air.

Many of the more than thirty works have been previously exhibited at The Morton Arboretum and some will be making their Guild exhibit debut at the library.

The exhibit will be open to Downers Grove Library visitors through January 28, 2024 during normal library hours.

This Week for the Nature Artists’ Guild

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Nature Artists’ Guild members registered for the 2024 Downers Grove Public Library exhibit can drop off their artwork tomorrow, December 16, between 10 and 11:30 am (specifics are in the prospectus emailed on November 18). 

Guild members participating in the 2023 Holiday Card Exchange should send their handmade cards by tomorrow, December 16.

Members should renew for 2024 (or new members join) by the end of this month to ensure receiving all the benefits of membership for the new year.

Top to bottom: Detail of January 9, copyright Maggie Capettini, 2022 Holiday Card Project samples, Nature Artists’ Guild logo.

Downers Grove Library to Feature the Nature Artists’ Guild throughout January 2024

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January 9, oil, copyright Maggie Capettini

A flash of color in the subtle landscape is often a welcome sight for artists, photographers, and other wanderers of the woods and fields during the winter months. Maggie Capettini found her inspiration and depicted it with wonderful exuberance in ‘January 9’.

Two of Maggie’s winter landscapes will be exhibited along with botanical, wildlife, garden, and other scenes of nature in all seasons by fellow members of the Nature Artists’ Guild at the Downers Grove Public Library throughout January 2024.

The Downers Grove Public Library has a long history of supporting the visual arts, with an expansive gallery area and numerous works by local and internationally-renowned artists in their permanent collection. Each January, the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum adds to the library visitors’ artistic experience with its own special exhibit.

Guild members were emailed the prospectus and all the details on December 8. Registrations (online or by mail) must be submitted by December 11, 2023 to participate.

A Peek at December for the Nature Artists’ Guild

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Hide and Seek, copyright Jeffrey Zawada

The Nature Artists’ Guild has a busy December ahead, with a party, handmade cards, and the beginning of an exhibit. Here is a quick look –

  • Guild members are invited to attend the annual Holiday Party at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum on the evening of December 7, 2023. Members were recently emailed an invitation with all the details. (Reminder – tickets for the raffle will be available by cash or check only.) Volunteers are already hard at work making preparations for a lovely and enjoyable event!
  • December 7, 2023 will also be the last day for Nature Artists’ Guild members to register to participate in the fun and creative annual tradition of exchanging a handmade holiday card with a fellow artist. Details were emailed earlier this week, and members can complete this form to sign up. For those participants who would like to use them, blank white cards will be available, free of charge, at the Holiday Party. Here is a sample of the cards created for last year’s exchange.

Did you know? If you received this post by email, you can always click on Nature Artists’ Guild at the upper right corner of the email to visit the website, where you can scroll through former posts, use the menu to view member artwork, check the Important Dates page, or use the Search bar to look up a name or keyword.

Celebrating Summer with the Nature Artists’ Guild

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Tomato, copyright Lisa Kanellos

The Nature Artists’ Guild begins the season with gatherings and events to celebrate the special sights, sounds, and scents (as well as textures and tastes) of summer.

  • The exhibit at the McCord Gallery continues through July 7, 2023. More than 30 unique works of nature art created by Guild members adorn the walls of this historic gallery.
  • A paint-out at the recently opened Grand Garden of The Morton Arboretum has been planned for the morning of Wednesday, July 12, 2023 (rain date July 13). Interested members can register here and be added to the attendee list to receive email details and updates.
  • The August 3, 2023 program (open to all) sponsored by the Guild will feature multi-talented artist John Fleck from 7 until 9 pm. John will be sharing his methods and materials for creating landscapes in charcoal. More details to come soon.
  • Weekly Art and Coffee gatherings continue every Wednesday morning (except on days of paint-outs) at the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum from 9 to 11:30. Members and guests are welcome to stop by and chat, sketch, or simply enjoy the quiet morning in a lovely atmosphere.

Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit at McCord Gallery Opens June 10, 2023

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Postcard artwork by Alice Wych. Postcard design by McCord Gallery & Cultural Center. Right click to download a copy for sharing.

All are invited to a reception on Sunday, June 11 between 1 and 3 pm for light refreshments and an opportunity to meet and support participating artists while enjoying the exhibit at this lovely historic gallery.

The exhibit will continue through July 7, 2023 and is open to the public during regular gallery hours at the McCord Gallery & Cultural Center.

Postcard design by McCord Gallery & Cultural Center. Right click to download a copy for sharing.