Art in the Garden at The Growing Place this Saturday, June 23, 2012

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Please join members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum this Saturday, June 23, 2012 at the Gardener’s Art Festival  at The Growing Place in Naperville, 25 W 471 Plank Road, Naperville, IL  60563, between 9 am and 5 pm.

This popular annual festival features garden craft and art sales, including pieces in glass and mosaic, a gourmet gardening demonstration, a garden photography demonstration, a “Garden Guru Panel” for your gardening questions, refreshments, and music throughout the gardens.  Of course, our favorite part will be Art in the Garden from 10 am until 4 pm, featuring members of the Nature Artists’ Guild creating artwork in the garden! You can view the full schedule for the day as well as some videos and photos of The Growing Place by clicking here, and read about their numerous gardens by clicking here.

If you are a Nature Artists’ Guild member and haven’t yet reserved your spot, please contact Suzanne Wegener (you can find her contact information in your Quarterly, or can contact her through The Morton Arboretum).  Even if you won’t be participating, please consider joining your fellow artists for an enjoyable day at this wonderful festival!


Our Next Paint-Out Promises to be a “Ball”!

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Connie Devendorf describes the location for our upcoming Ball Horticulture Paint-Out as “a beautiful garden with both annuals and perennials, featuring many of Ball Horticulture’s “showcase” plants. It is a private garden for Ball employees. We have been invited as their guests.” 

You can see photos and read more about The Ball Gardens at www.BallHort.com.  We’ll need to limit attendance to about 15 members, so please RSVP to Ku-mie Kim if you would like to attend.  You can find her e-mail address in your Nature Artists’ Guild Yearbook.

Time: Monday, June 18, 2012 (9 am – 12 noon)

Place: Ball Horticulture Co., 622 Town Road, West Chicago, IL 60185

Lynda Wallis, Drawing from Nature, June 07, 2012 at Thornhill

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Please join us on Thursday evening, June 7 from 7 until 9 at Thornhill for a special program titled “Drawing from Nature”, featuring freelance artist Lynda Wallis.

Lynda is not only talented, but also a wonderfully versatile artist.  Her talents range from beautifully detailed illustrations of nature, including graphics featured on art maps and signs for many natural areas, to peaceful plein-air paintings.  Lynda’s artwork encompasses a wide variety of media, including pen and ink, watercolor and colored-pencil.

You can view numerous examples of Lynda’s artwork on her website, www.freelanceillustrations.com.  We’ve also heard from reliable sources that Lynda gives a warm and humorous presentation, so please join us for an enjoyable evening!

Upcoming Nature Artists’ Guild “Wildlife” Exhibition at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center

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The Landscape exhibit at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center in St. Charles, IL looks great, as you can see in the photos below (featuring Guild member Bobbie Brown)!  It’s hard to believe that June will be here in just a few weeks, and it will be time to hang the Nature Artists’ Guild’s  new exhibit, Wildlife.   

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In our Wildlife exhibit, we will include artwork featuring mammals (non-human), insects, reptiles, birds, and fish, and yes Fran, that does include ants!  Man-made objects may be included if they are not the focus of the artwork.  You may enter up to three pieces of artwork to be hung, and up to four pieces of bin art (please see your prospectus for all the details).

Nature Artists’ Guild members should have received their prospectus via mail or e-mail in mid-March, but please contact Paulette McDermott if you are unable to locate yours or have any questions.  The completed prospectus should be returned to Paulette by May 25, 2012 (by mail or e-mail) and the drop-off date for artwork will be June 2, 2012, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. (which is also the pick-up time for the Landscapes exhibit artwork).  We are hoping to schedule a “Meet the Artists” reception, and will keep you posted on the date and time!

Field Trip this Friday evening to the Elmhurst Art Museum for Peggy Macnamara’s Artist’s Talk

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Please join fellow members of the Nature Artists’ Guild at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 Cottage Hill Avenue, Elmhurst, Illinois, this Friday evening, May 4, 2012, at 6:30 pm for an Artist’s Talk by renowned nature artist Peggy Macnamara.  Click here to see Peggy on the television show Chicago Tonight a few days ago!

Peggy is the Artist-in-Residence at the Field Museum, an author of numerous books, and a frequent instructor for The Morton Arboretum’s Botanical Art and Illustration program.  Peggy’s former workshop students will attest to her warm and fun personality, as well as her fascinating and funny stories!

Peggy’s exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum (named the “Best Suburban Art Museum in Chicago” by Chicago Magazine), is titled “Peggy Macnamara: Field Work“, and will be featured from April 6, 2012 until June 1, 2012.  Even if you can’t join us on Friday evening, you’ll still have time to visit the museum to enjoy Peggy’s stunning watercolors.

The program is free and open to the public,  so please feel free to bring some friends!  We are hoping to find a good restaurant nearby to meet at for snacks or dessert after the program.

“Meet the Artists” at Hickory Knolls this Saturday, April 28, 2012

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Our Special Exhibitions Coordinator, Paulette McDermott would like to remind us all that –

The Nature Artists Guild has a lovely new landscape show that will open on Saturday, April 28th.

That afternoon from 2 – 4 pm,  on the 28th,  we are planning a “Meet the Artists.”

We hope that you have the opportunity to stop by, see their work and say hello.

Please click here for more information on the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center in St. Charles.

THE ILLUSTRATOR’S EYE: An Exhibit Of Works by Nancy Halliday

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You may know Nancy Halliday as a talented Nature Artists’ Guild Charter Member, or you may know her as a favorite Morton Arboretum Botanical Art instructor.   Now you can learn even more about Nancy and enjoy seeing her artwork at a special exhibit!

Almost thirty of Nancy’s works are currently being featured in one-woman exhibit at the Glenview Public Library,  1930 Glenview Road, Glenview, IL 60025.    Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9 am-9 pm,  Saturday 9-5, and  Sunday 1-5.  The exhibit will be up through April 29, 2012, and Nancy will be giving a gallery talk on Tuesday, April 24th, at 6:30 p.m.  

The library introduces Nancy’s exhibit with the following –  “With university degrees in biological sciences and environmental studies, a natural ability to draw, and a keen eye for detail, Glenview resident Nancy Halliday carved a successful career in scientific illustration. This fascinating exhibit will draw you into nature—creatures large and small, botanical studies, and a few examples of Nancy’s artwork painted simply for pleasure.”

You can read more about Nancy and see a beautiful example of her talents at the website of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI).

Hickory Knolls “Landscapes” Exhibit and Artists’ Reception, April 28, 2012

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We know that Spring is one of the busiest times of year for nature artists –  there is so much beginning to grow, bud and bloom that it’s a challenge to keep up with the sketching, drawing and painting!  Add to that the planting, pruning and tending of the garden, and who has time to spare?

It is probably time to take a little break from your busy schedule!   On April 28, the drop-off of artwork for the “Landscapes” exhibit at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center in St. Charles will begin at 10 am (please remember to return your prospectus by April 20, 2012).  Later, there will be a “Meet the Artist” reception at the same location from 2 pm until 4 pm (please bring a few snacks if you can).

You probably already have some artwork completed and framed from the last few Nature Artists’ Guild exhibits, so there will be no extra work for you.  You’ll be able to just relax and enjoy an afternoon with fellow artists and guests while gaining an opportunity to exhibit your artwork at a wonderful new location.  It sure beats weeding, mowing and mulching!

Referee Night Tonight, Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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If any of our members could have possibly forgotten, this is a reminder that this evening is “referee night”.   This is the evening that you will have your petals counted,  your corners checked and your mats inspected!  It’s not quite as intimidating as it sounds – it’s just the exhibition committee doing their job, making sure that this weekend’s upcoming exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum meets its usual high standards.

We look forward to seeing you between 6 and 8 this evening at Thornhill!

The Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum 2012 Spring Exhibit

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Please join the members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum at their annual Spring Exhibit.   All are welcome, and admission to the exhibit is free, although  there is a gate fee for entry into The Morton Arboretum.   The exhibit will consist of the work of more than fifty members of the Nature Artists’ Guild.