Potpourri Page

Opportunity for BASNCR Members at Brookside Gardens

1800 Glenallan Avenue

Wheaton, MD 20902

301-962-1470

Brookside Visitors Center

Mark Richardson, Adult Education Programs Manager, at Brookside Gardens, has arranged for any BASNCR member to use the adult education workshop room at Brookside Gardens to paint or draw on Fridays from 9:30 to 12:30. There is also the opportunity to come on Mondays, same time, same place, when the Chesapeake Circle of Botanical Artists (who are also BASNCR members) have arranged studio time.

Because there may be a class going on in the regular classroom, BASNCR members will need to enter the workshop room from the outside. Walk around the right-hand side of the visitor center as if you were going to bypass the visitor center and enter the gardens. Immediately on the side of the visitor center opposite the parking lot, follow the walkway to the left and enter through the first door you see on your left.

If for some reason the door is locked, please go to the visitor center front desk and ask them to call Mark (301-962-1470.)

Questions? Contact Mary O'Herron, the new Education Coordinator for BASNCR, at tomo1427@starpower.net or 301-587-1543.

CPSA Metro Washington DC Chapter Exhibition Face to Face (colored pencil) by Karen Coleman

The local Metro Washington Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America will have an exhibition of colored pencil works at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville. The exhibition will be from Jan 10 – Feb 28, with an opening reception on Sunday, Jan 10 at 11:30 a.m. BASNCR member Karen Coleman will have works in the show. The Rockville Unitarian Church is located at 100 Welsh Park Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

The Christmas Story: Picturing the Birth of Christ in Medieval Manuscripts

December 3, 2009 - February 28, 2010

The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21201

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

As it is recounted in the Christian New Testament, the Christmas story is remarkably short on specifics. In rendering the story into pictures, it fell to medieval illuminators to supply the details. Even today, popular representations of these events are based on images that were first devised by the artists of the Middle Ages.

For Further Details: http://thewalters.org/eventscalendar/eventdetails.aspx?e=1408

“Songs of the Earth – Great and Small” Exhibit

A group botanical art exhibit titled “Songs of the Earth – Great and Small” will be held at Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle, Washington D.C. The exhibit will run from January 6 – January 30, and will include works by BASNCR member Don Myer. A First Friday Reception will be held on January 8 from 6-8 p.m., as part of the Dupont Circle Galleries openings, and a Meet the Artist Reception on January 9, from 4-6 p.m.

For Further Details:

http://www.studiogallerydc.com

Call for Entries – “Blossom II – Art of Flowers”

Blossom An International Art Competition and Museum Exhibition

BASNCR members are encouraged to enter the Blossom II competition, sponsored by the Susan K. Black Foundation. The purpose of the competition is to “encourage and recognize creative achievement in art based on the theme of flowers.” Entries are due in August/September 2010, and must have been completed since September 2008. A grand prize of $25,000 is being offered, as well as $40,000 in other prizes.

For Further Details:

http://www.susankblackfoundation.org/blossom.htm

New Publication: Flora Mirabilis

A collaboration between National Geographic and the Missouri Botanical Garden, the new National Geographic book Flora Mirabilis: An Illustrated Time Line of Botanical Exploration, Discovery & Delight offers a fascinating look at how plant explorations and botanical passions have shaped human history and culture. For more information, please click here.

Alice Tangerini NPR Morning Edition: Illustrator Keeps Artistic Vision Despite Eye Injury

Alice Tangerini got her job illustrating plants for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History straight out of college in 1972. Her boss, botanist Warren Wagner, thinks she's now the best botanical illustrator in the U.S. — even with just one good eye. Listen to the story on NPR: click here.

Losing Paradise

Kadoya and Mattison Receive Certificates

Mieko Kadoya and BASNCR member Margaret Mattison received Certificates in Botanical Art & Illustration from the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art. School Director Margaret Saul presented the certificates in a ceremony on July 26, 2009. Mieko and Margaret are only the second and third students to have achieved this honor since the school opened in 2004. It represents two years of intensive class work and another two years of independent work on the final project. This final project must include three large paintings of plants with a common theme, along with all the research notes, field sketches, and final drawings, which are then submitted to a panel of experts who evaluate the works and determine if the artists meet the requirements of the certificate. BASNCR congratulates both Mieko and Margaret on their successful completion of the program.

Today's Botanical Artists

Works from BASNCR members Margaret Farr and Margaret Saul appear in the new book, Today's Botanical Artists, by Cora B. Marcus and Libby Kyer. This beautiful collection of botanical art contains over 220 images "that bring modern techniques and a contemporary eye to a venerable tradition." Hardcover, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2008.