Boston Flora

Tag: Kansas City Art Institute

  • Wednesday, June 21, 2023 – Monday, April 1, 2024 – Rachel Hayes, The Edge of Becoming

    Landscape recalls you into a mindful mode of stillness, solitude, and silence, where you can truly receive time. – John O’Donohue

    Rachel Hayes creates vibrant large-scale textile installations that respond to their natural and built environments. She often repurposes pieces of nylon and cotton from previous works and arranges them into grid-like compositions reminiscent of Modern abstract styles and American quilt-making traditions. By blurring craft, sculpture, architecture and land art, Hayes’s works complicate notions of fragility and power, and invite new ways to engage with our surroundings.

    The Edge of Becoming is a new outdoor commission by Hayes installed along the hillside of Fruitlands Museum’s property in Harvard, Massachusetts, and expands upon her indoor exhibition Transcending Space. Hayes chose fabrics with bright colors that both relate to Shaker textiles found in the museum’s collection and evoke a sense of optimism sought after by the site’s Transcendentalist founders. Its title draws from theories by Irish philosopher John O’Donohue, who voiced connections between beauty and the edges of life. A threshold between the viewer and the space beyond Nashua River valley, The Edge of Becoming encourages meditative moments for reflection on oneself in connection to the world.

    Rachel Hayes was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Fiber from the Kansas City Art Institute, and her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2018, Hayes collaborated with the Italian fashion house Missoni, which culminated in a solo exhibition for Milan Design Week, as well as a site-specific installation at the flagship Missoni boutique on Madison Avenue in New York. She has exhibited her work at institutions including the SculptureCenter in New York City, and recently completed a site-specific installation for the 16th edition of Contemporary Istanbul, an international art fair in Turkey.

    Support provided by the Coby Foundation, Ltd. For more information visit https://thetrustees.org/exhibit/rachel-hayes-the-edge-of-becoming/

  • Sunday, July 25, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Pollinators and Plants: Watercolor Techniques

    Take a short walk through the Tower Hill Botanic gardens on July 25 looking for just the right blossom to paint. Take a few photos of blooms that have a butterfly or bee if you’re lucky. Then at the comfort of a table, use your watercolors to paint your favorite flower. There will be instruction from Carol Schwartz on the steps involved in painting a flower and how to add a butterfly or bee. Materials are not included.

    Carol graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

    $30 Member Adult; $40 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register at https://purchase.towerhillbg.org/PatronEducation.aspx?pid=420

    Additional Program Information
    1. Materials (Supply your own–not included with registration)
      1. Watercolor or mixed media paper pad, 9? x 12?, such as Canson XL or Strathmore 400 Serie
      2. No. 2 pencil and an eraser
      3. Watercolor set, pan or tubes, suggested brands include Winsor & Newton, Pelikan, Raphael, Royal Talens Van Gogh, Koi
      4. Three watercolor brushes; one small round brush size 0 or 1, one medium round brush size 2-5, one large round brush size 6-8
    2. Please note, there is currently construction happening at Tower Hill, which may result in altered or obstructed walkways, parking lots, or parking spaces, in addition to some noise.
    Copyright Carol Schwartz

  • Saturday, April 10, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Sketching Spring First Flowers, Online

    Snowdrops, crocus, pansies, chionodoxa (Luciles Glory of the Snow); sketching these beautiful flowers are an introduction to more spring blooms to come. Enjoy drawing one or more flower shapes and learning inking techniques that will visually describe their textures and values. This virtual workshop will begin with an inking technique demo, then try your skills drawing spring’s first flowers with the instructor. Carol Schwartz.

    Materials (Supply your own–not included with registration)
    1. Mixed media paper pad, 9? x 12?, such as Canson XL or Strathmore
    2. Higgins Black Magic waterproof ink and Speedball pen set, either Cartooning Pen and Nib Project Set or Number 20 General Purpose Set or a #01 or 02 Micron pen
    3. No. 2 pencil and an eraser

    Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

    The Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on April 10 at 9:30 am is $30 for Tower Hill members, $40 for nonmembers. This program will be held virtually. Once you register HERE you will receive a Zoom link in the confirmation. This webinar will only be available LIVE.

  • Saturday, October 10, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Luminosity of Leaves

    The beauty of leaves is all around us in the fall. Learn and practice drawing this fantastic foliage and using colored pencils to add their stunning fall colors. A few acorns or seed pods may find their way into your drawings, too! This October 10 Tower Hill Botanic Garden program will be held from 1 – 3 under our open sided outdoor canopy tent. Group size will not exceed current state restrictions (10).

    Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements. 

  • Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am – Magnificent Mushrooms Botanical Illustration

    Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am – Magnificent Mushrooms Botanical Illustration

    Explore the multitude of mushrooms popping up in the woods at Tower Hill on September 20 at 10:30 am. This program will be held under our open sided outdoor canopy tent. Group size will not exceed current state restrictions. Sketch as you see them, then snap a photo with your phone and add color with colored pencils while sitting at a table under the activities tent. Learn about showing texture and shading.

    Instructor Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

    $30 for Tower Hill members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—magnificent-mushrooms