Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

BOTANICAL SKETCHBOOK
CONNECTING TO NATURE & DEEPENING SKILLS

With Stephey and Claudette Baker as your artistic guides, discover ways to let your creativity run wild in your sketchbook. Learn how to design and organize your pages using layouts, hand-lettering, math, and diagrams. As a group, we will discuss what precautions to take while working outdoors (and indoors, too). Using simple strategies like words, numbers, and drawings, learn how to balance creativity and science, in a way that offers both scientific accuracy and creative freedom.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a field of wildflowers, watching urban botanicals grow through cement cracks in suburbia, or observing treasures collected from the natural world in your studio. A sketchbook has zero bias. Keeping a sketchbook can be a safe, private place for stimulating creative thought, experimenting with various media, and nurturing your own creativity. By using a sketchbook thoughtfully, you can create a rich personal library of botanical references to draw from when developing formal botanical work. Blank pages invite you to document wonders, develop curiosity, and learn more about the natural world. This course will help you connect with nature, discover what inspires you, and have fun in the artistic process.

Fees: Member $110, Non-Member $132

All programs are subject to change. Pre-registration through our website is required. This course has been cancelled.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden strives to be a Garden for all and we are committed to offering diverse adult learning opportunities that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. If you would like to request an accommodation to support your participation in an adult learning opportunity at the Garden, please contact [email protected] or call 804-262-9887 x328 and we will make our best effort to help.

Dates:
Monday, June 24, 2024 - Friday, June 28, 2024
Time:
10:00 am - 3:30 pm
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Event Details

This course has an indoor and outdoor component. Weather may limit outdoor activities.

Pre-requisite: Introduction to Drawing for Botanical Illustration

Supplies: You do not need a sketchbook to participate. However, if you have one, use it! If you don’t have a sketchbook, fold a quarter sheet of your favorite paper in half. You’ll need to bring a clipboard or drawing board. Bring your favorite mechanical pencil and writing pen (or technical pen). The first session will include a brief introduction to art supplies.

GES: BI, 10, elective*

*This class provides 10 hours of elective credit toward the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program. Only students who are enrolled in the certificate program may register for this course.

This course takes place over 2 days from 10 am – 3:30 pm:

  • Monday, June 24
  • Friday, June 28

Stephey BakerABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

Stephey Baker is an artist specializing in pen and ink, watercolor, color theory, and graphic design for the professional artist community. Her lifelong connection to nature led her to botanical illustration, with a special interest in pollinating insects and the plants that nurture them. Stephey obtained her botanical illustration certificate at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. She believes in cultivating a curious spirit and finds joy in teaching others how to easily connect to their artistic side. Stephey lives in Church Hill with her rescued cats and dogs and tends to an urban garden full of life. In her favorite dreams, she can talk to Bumble Bees. Learn more at markedbythemuse.com

Claudette BakerClaudette Baker comes from a long lineage of artists and has lived her life as a student and teacher of various artistic practices. She taught art to children, served as a guest artist at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, and is a graduate of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s botanical illustration program. Claudette’s favorite medium is pencil, both color and graphite. She is a free spirit who accepts all with open arms. As a teacher, she encourages students to learn the basics as the first step in their journey to find their own style and voice. You can follow her on Instagram @claudette_baker.

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