Fundraising Workshop Next Weekend!

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An important message from our Fundraising Chair, Nancy Thyfault –

 Ladies and Gentlemen, mark your calendars! Our Holiday Workshop will be September 17th, 10 am to 2 pm, Room C, Thornhill.

 This is your opportunity to create items for our fundraising table at the Holiday Exhibit. Think you aren’t “crafty”- well, it’s more about creating unique items embellished with your artwork! Please join us and we can get you started.

 We will have wooden trays, boxes and other pieces that you may paint, faux finish or design however you would like to. Nancy Kolar will be there to help with fabric painting on holiday tote bags- what a great idea for “wrapping” a holiday gift! If you think that you may want to paint a tote bag, you can work up a design in the 8” x 10” range to bring along. You could also bring photos for reference. There will other “projects” to work on as well.

You needn’t stay for the entire time. Many people pick up items and take them home to work on. You may stay, bring lunch and enjoy some creative time with your fellow artists!

 Please bring along your favorite brushes and acrylic paints. A container for water is a good idea, too. Thanks to some generous donations, we have plenty of things to work on.

Holiday Exhibit Prospectuses Sent!

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It’s been a beautiful summer (what blue skies!) and although we hate to see it end, we all know that autumn will also bring more than it’s share of beauty.  The well-attended Nature Artists’ Guild Holiday Exhibit,  taking place November 18th through the 20th   will be a wonderful opportunity for displaying  your autumn landscapes as well as your botanical or wildlife artwork!

 Prospectuses for the Holiday Show must be mailed by October 8th, so there’s still time to start a new piece!  With so much  inspiration all around, why not?  If you are a new member, please don’t be timid!   For many of our members, a Nature Artists Guild exhibit was the first place they ever exhibited.  They know first-hand how intimidating it can seem, and we think you’ll find that your fellow NAG members are very supportive, non-competitive and helpful (not to mention plain old nice).

Product Demonstrations and Samples, Thursday August 4, 2011

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At our formal meeting on Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 7 pm, Dick Blick Wheaton store manager Kevin Sandstrom and his associates will be performing product demonstrations and even handing out some free samples! 

Along with his experience in retail management and marketing, Kevin is an experienced freelance illustrator, and  founder of  various artist groups and forums. 

Please join your fellow Nature Artists’ Guild members in  what we expect to be a fun and informative evening! 

“Painters in the Garden” Paint-Out July 30th and 31st

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Suzanne Wegener,  Nature Art Education Manager at The Morton Arboretum (and our Nature Artists’ Guild liaison),  announces  another  wonderful opportunity for our members –

Painters in the Garden

Come for a day or an hour and paint in the beautifully landscaped Children’s Garden where flowers, fish and frogs abound. We will have a cooling station with goodies so don’t let a little warm weather keep you indoors. Children’s garden staff will have a “make & take” for children interested in art. Please help us raise awareness of the Nature Artists’ Guild by participating. Please RSVP to Suzanne Wegener at swegener@mortonarb.org

Suzanne adds that you can bring information about yourself and your art if you’d like –a great opportunity to promote your work!  Visitors will be strolling around, but since there are volunteers who will be doing art projects with children, there is no teaching involved.  Suzanne will be available both days to answer visitor’s questions about the Nature Artists’ Guild as well as The Morton Arboretum’s Education Program.  Click here for more information about the Children’s Garden!

July 30th and 31st from 10:00-1:00 p.m.

Meeting Place:  Children’s Garden

A Midsummer Day’s Paint-Out

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Once again, Nature Artists’ Guild member Connie Devendorf has been kind enough to arrange for us the  popular mid-summer paint-out at the beautiful gardens of Danada House, located on Naperville Wheaton Road, just north of I-88 and south of Butterfield Road.   Danada House was built in the 1920’s by Dan and Ada Rice as their country retreat, and the recently renovated grounds include a rose garden labyrinth, native plants garden, a lovely alley garden, courtyard garden, and even a Thoroughbred horse farm!  

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Click here for the Danada House website, or here for a few photos from last year’s paint-out.  We’ll have the grounds from 9:30 am until about 2:00 on Monday, July 18, 2011, so come any time, and there’s no need to RSVP.   Facilities and a huge screened-in terrace (no bugs!) overlooking the gardens will be available.  

Call for Artwork – 2012 Nature Artists’ Guild Calendar

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June 2011 Calendar Page. Artwork by Carol Carls

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to submit artwork for the 2012 Nature Artists’ Guild Calendar.

The 2011 Calendar was a success – Now it’s time to gear up for 2012. Calendar sales support the programs and activities of the Guild and are a great way to showcase your work. They also make great gifts!

Click here to download detailed instructions and specifications.

The deadline for submissions is September 17, 2011. If you have questions, please contact Mary Ingels. If you’d like to volunteer to help, contact Sylvia Root Tester (phone numbers and email addresses can be found in the Yearbook).

Gardener’s Art Festival Volunteers Needed on June 25th

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The Nature Artists’ Guild has been invited to participate in the annual Gardener’s Art Festival being held on Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 10 am until 4 pm at The Growing Place in Naperville.  Please click here to find out all the details about this popular festival! 

Photo credit The Growing Place

We are looking for artists to volunteer to participate for a 2-hour shift of painting, drawing or sketching during the event.  What a great opportunity to show off your work while enjoying the beautiful surroundings!

   The  Growing Place would love to have four artists for each shift, so please don’t hesitate to sign up if you can – we need your contribution to help make this a success!  Contact Jill Adzia to sign up (you can find her contact information in your Yearbook).

Canterbury Shoppe Drop-Off and Pick-Up This Saturday

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The pick- up date for the Spring exhibit and the drop-off date for the Summer exhibit at the Canterbury Shoppe in Naperville has been changed to Saturday, June 11, 2011 (from 11 am until 2 pm).

The prospectus deadline has also been extended until Wednesday, June 8.  Your prospectus was either e-mailed or mailed to you on March 24th, but if you can’t find it, please contact Paulette McDermott, or leave a comment on this post, and we’ll make sure to get one to you!

Blooms and Bugs? Karen Johnson’s Garden Paint-Out, June 9, 2011

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 Karen Johnson promises blooms as she hosts a paint-out at her home on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 9:30 am until 1 pm or so.  Karen’s garden includes such June favorites as peonies, iris, and honeysuckle, as well as many native plants.  There is a small pond with some goldfish, and Karen even suspects that a hummingbird or two may make an appearance! 

Karen also promises bugs!  If it rains, Karen has the unequaled ability to supply the group with insects, shells and other natural items (for those of you wondering why, it’s because Karen is an entomologist and the instructor of many insect-inspired art classes at the arboretum).  She has plenty of room at her kitchen and dining room tables, but suggests you bring your own light. 

Indoors or out, it promises to be fun!  Bring a lunch if you’d like to stay later, and please RSVP to Karen if you’re planning to come (you can find her contact information in our Yearbook).

Eggs-cellent job!

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The Nature Artists’ Guild liason to The Morton Arboretum, Suzanne Wegener thanked everyone at our meeting last night on behalf of the Arboretum for doing such a great job of painting eggs for their upcoming Cirque Du Soleil promotion.  Suzanne started out with 100 plain tan eggs, and as of last evening, only two were not yet decorated!

As artist Priscilla Humay pointed out after her awesome presentation last evening (thank you, Priscilla!), the Nature Artists’ Guild really does have one of the best settings in the Chicagoland area for an artists’ group.  The Morton Arboretum provides us with inspiring subject matter, a wonderful and helpful staff, quality instruction and promotion, and facilities for our workshops, shows and meetings that are not only modern and comfortable, but historic and absolutely beautiful! 

Sometimes it takes someone outside of the group to notice what we may take for granted.  So, thank you Morton Arboretum for everything you do for our group, and any time you need help in painting a hundred or so eggs, we’ll be glad to do it!