Category: Exhibitions

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.

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.

Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Exhibit at Sterling Morton Library

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On your next visit to The Morton Arboretum, consider taking a break from your hiking, biking, walking, running, drawing, painting, photographing or just appreciating the scenery, to stop in for a visit at the Sterling Morton Library.

Featured in the library through June 4, 2011 is an exhibit of artwork by The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI),  Art in the Service of Science.  GNSI was founded in 1968 at the Smithsonian Institution, and a number of Nature Artists’ Guild members, as well as instructors in the Morton Arboretum’s Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate program are also members of GNSI. 

Please click here for more information about the exhibit from the Arboretum, or here for the Sterling Morton Library blog.  You can visit the GNSI website at www.gnsi.org.

The library is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.

Nature Artists’ Guild Spring Exhibit This Weekend!

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 A quick glimpse of some of the artwork being dropped off last evening for the Spring Exhibit of The Nature Artists’ Guild was enough to convince us that the exhibit, which opens this Friday evening for artists, their families, and Morton Arboretum members, and remains open to the public this Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5, will be another fine example of the creativity, quality and variety we’ve come to appreciate from our members.

Along with amazingly detailed and delicate botanicals in watercolor and colored pencil, there were soft pastel landscapes, striking acrylics and oils, and as always, birds and other creatures represented in a variety of media. Along with many of your favorite returning artists, we’re also welcoming a number of first-time exhibitors this year, who’ll be adding their own styles to the exhibit! 

Please feel free to invite your friends, family and neighbors – why not make a day of it?  Even if you’re not exhibiting, you’ll get new ideas and inspiration, not only from the exhibit, but from the Arboretum grounds.  Check Bloom ‘N Color here for the Arboretum’s latest weekly color report!

 

Are You Ready for the Spring Exhibit?

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Just for fun, let’s see what really goes on with members of the Nature Artists’ Guild a week before an exhibit.   Please check one of the three choices below and click on the vote button (don’t worry, we don’t know who you are)!  No matter where you fit on the spectrum, don’t forget that the drop-off evening is less than a week away (next Wednesday,  April 6, 2011)!

 

The Nature Artists’ Guild Spring Exhibit Featured Artist, Kathleen Tomasek

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You’ve probably noticed by now our lovely new header, contributed by our Spring Featured Artist, Kathleen Tomasek. 

© Kathleen Tomasek

Please click on the Featured Artist tab above to read more about Kathleen and to see more of her artwork. 

Don’t’ miss the Spring Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild at The Morton Arboretum on April 9th and 10th, where you will see much more of Kathleen’s artwork as well as that of about fifty other members of the Nature Artists’ Guild!

Spring has Arrived at the Canterbury Shoppe!

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The Canterbury Shoppe’s spring exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild is up and looking great!   Everything spring-related, from bulbs to birds are beautifully represented by our group of talented artists.   Please take a few minutes one afternoon to stop by and enjoy the exhibit, at 43 E. Jefferson, Naperville, IL  60540.  The phone number is 630-717-5005, and the shop is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 6, Thursday from 10 to 8, and Sunday from 11 to 3.    

In addition to the original artwork and fine-art prints, there are cards, jewelry and decorative items for sale, all created by Nature Artists’ Guild members!   Be prepared to possibly make a day of it, though.  When you leave the Canterbury Shoppe, the scents of the area restaurants and the sight of all the other unique shops in downtown Naperville are hard to resist!

Looking Forward to Your Latest!

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This is just a reminder of a few deadlines coming up –what a busy month for Nature Artists’ Guild members!

This Friday, February 18, the prospectus for the Canterbury Shoppe Spring Exhibit is due, and Saturday, March 5, the prospectus for The Morton Arboretum Spring Exhibit is due.  Saturday, February 26 is the day to drop off and pick up your artwork at the Canterbury Shoppe.  (You should have received instructions for both exhibits either through e-mail or mail.  If you haven’t received them, please leave a comment below, and we’ll make sure to get them to you.)

These are both great exhibit opportunities for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild – the arboretum exhibit alone attracts up to 1000 visitors over the weekend.   Do you have a few drawings or paintings newly completed or almost completed?   Maybe some that have been sitting around for a while waiting for a new wave of inspiration or just waiting to be framed?   Now is a great time to finish them up and get them hung!  We look forward to seeing your latest work!

Botanical Art Acquisition

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If you’ve attended Botanical Art classes at the The Morton Arboretum, you’ve probably had the chance to see some of the rare prints and original artwork from the impressive collection held by The Sterling Morton Library. 

The Nature Artists’ Guild  recently made a donation to the arboretum to show our gratitude and to help contribute to their mission.  Our donation late last year was used by the library to purchase some contemporary artwork to add to their collection.  As Arlene Widrevitz, of the Rare Print Collection writes,

“The newest acquisitions in the Print Collection of The Sterling Morton Library were purchased with funds donated by The Nature Artists’ Guild.

Winter Portrait:  Asclepias syriaca by Karen Johnson is an example of scratchboard art. The scratchboard technique is normally associated with the use of ink, but here, Karen has created a black and white image with graphite. This original piece features dried milkweed pods with the seeds escaping against a prairie background.

Winter Portrait: Asclepias syriaca, © Karen Johnson

Sacred Union by Kimberly Mullarkey is an example of her delicate colored pencil work on a black background. The image is an imaginative combination of an insect with one wing outspread superimposed over the human skeleton.

Sacred Union, © Kimberly Mullarkey

Amanita muscaria  and Russula Bouquet II by Alexander “Sasha” Viazmensky represent his work in watercolor. Sasha specializes in portraying the mushrooms that he finds in the woods near his home in St. Petersburg, Russia. Sasha recently taught a class in mushroom painting here at the Arboretum, which was very popular with his students and everyone who was able to see his work and that of his class. Amanita muscaria is an original in watercolor and Russula Bouquet II is a print of his watercolor work.

Amanita muscaria, © Alexander Viazmensky

 

Russula Bouquet II, © Alexander Viazmensky

These works will be available for viewing in classes that feature these techniques. Also, anyone can make an appointment to view these artworks or any others here in the library. We do enjoy showing off our collections!”