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.

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)!

 

Nature Artists’ Guild Field Trip Next Week!

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Our fellow Nature Artist Guild member Diana Sunyog has arranged for Guild members to have a private tour of the Nettie McKinnon Gallery in LaGrange Park next Friday, April 1st from 11 am until about 1 pm. 

This gallery is a hidden gem featuring over 120 works of art by many major artists, including Hudson River School painters John Frederick and George Aldrich and major American Impressionist painters Edward Henry Potthast, John Henry Twatchman and John Singer Sargent. 

The history of the museum is fascinating, with early works of art being bought from profits of the sale of magazines by 7th and 8th graders in the late 1920’s, all under the direction of principal Nettie J. McKinnon.  Nettie’s determination to make art available to students as an everyday part of their lives resulted in this wonderful collection.  Most of the artists represented are also in leading museum collections across the country.  Please visit www.saltcreekart.org/ for more about the museum’s history and collection. 

Family members are welcome, and Diana mentions that there are a number of nice restaurants in the area from which we can choose for our post-tour refreshment (no PB &J sandwiches for this field trip)! Please contact Ku-mie Kim (her e-mail address is in your Yearbook) if you’d like to come, as the museum would like an accurate count. 

The address of the gallery is –   Nettie McKinnon Gallery, 333 North Park Road,  Entrance 4, La Grange Park, IL  60526 ,  Phone – (708) 482-2400 (ext. 2002).