Boston Flora

Tag: Wellesley College Botanic Garden

  • Wednesdays, November 2 & 9, & Fridays, November 4 & 11, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Capturing Seasonal Color: Fall Treasures, Online

    In this Wellesley College Botanic Gardens class on four mornings, November 2, 4, 9 and 11, from 9:30 – 12:30, Tara Connaughton will help sharpen your drawing, painting, and color mixing skills through a series of small studies of fall treasures such as leaves and dried fruits. Each week will focus on a different subject with the goal of accurately representing each specimen’s form and color with watercolor. Emphasis will be placed on painting technique as well as the process of analyzing, mixing, and rendering color. Prerequisite is the completion of at least one Foundations class, or equivalent. Online via Zoom. WCBG members $150, nonmembers $190. Register by calling 781-283-3094.

  • Tuesdays, September 27 – November 1, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Techniques of Botanical Drawing and Painting: Fungi & Ferns, Live and Online

    Refine your drawing and watercolor techniques with Sarah Roche and Wellesley College Botanic Garden in a six session class beginning Tuesday, September 27. You will focus on achieving the accurate representation of botanical subjects, with the fall project being Fungi & Ferns. Fall in the woods is an exciting time as all the showy plants have faded away, and the fungi, ferns and grasses become the stars. Your composition will be the result of your foraging. Observation, note taking and detailed sketching will be key since your specimens won’t be in their prime for long. You will create a painting of your habitat with all the fall leaves, twigs, ferns and grasses that are associated with your fungi. In person sessions at Elm Bank will take place September 27, October 18, and November 1. Other sessions are online. WCBG members $295, nonmembers $345. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or emailing wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu The series will be offered again January 31 – March 7.

  • Tuesday, August 9 – Thursday, August 11, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Painting Hydrangeas

    Wellesley College Botanic Gardens is holding an in person, three day class in the Putnam Classroom at The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley on August 9 – 11 from 9:30 – 3:30. Hydrangeas, gorgeous ornamental plants that come in a variety of colors and sizes, are lovely in all stages, from spring blossoms to fall colors. Catherine Watters will teach you how to observe and draw your subject, focusing on form to accurately depict the inflorescence. Color mixing demonstrations will show how to layer colors to capture the depth, shape and texture of your subject, making your work come to life. The focus is on watercolor, but you can use graphite or colored pencils if you prefer. Suitable for all Techniques level students. Wellesley College Botanic Garden members $425, nonmembers $525. To register, email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu

  • Monday, July 11 – Friday, July 15, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Capturing the Light in Botanicals, Online

    Go beyond flat botanical drawings with Susan Fisher at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens for five days in July, July 11 – 15 from 10 – 1. Exercises in both graphite and watercolor will give you the opportunity to shift your work from blah to bright. Work with all the skills necessary to create the three-dimensional appearance so necessary to botanical art. Make better choices at the beginning of a piece to avoid a big “fix” at the end. Students should have completed at least two Foundation classes, or be otherwise qualified. Wellesley College Botanic Gardens members $375, non-members $475. Email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu

    courtesy Susan Fisher
  • Thursday, October 22, 10:00 am – Botanical Drawing and Painting, Online

    Thursday, October 22, 10:00 am – Botanical Drawing and Painting, Online

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is pleased to present its October meeting via Zoom on Thursday, October 22 at 10:00 am, featuring popular past presenter Sarah Roche on the topic of Botanical Drawing and Painting. Sarah is a botanical artist and Education Director of the Botanical Arts program at Wellesley College Botanic Garden. She will teach a limited number of Garden Club members to draw and paint from live botanical specimens, from your own outdoor spaces. Sarah, an experienced teacher, will demonstrate and guide members of all abilities through the project. GC members who register will be sent a materials list and Zoom link prior to the date of the program. An email notice for registration will be sent.

  • Monday, March 2, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Botany’s Beauties: Restoring Wellesley’s Flower Models

    The collection of antique botanical models purchased for Wellesley College by Henry Durant is being restored, and will be on display in the corridor linking the Visitor Center to Global Flora. These botanically accurate and visually stunning papier mâché models were used for many years by botany students learning about the structure of fruits and flowers. The Wellesley College Botanic Garden Assistant Director Gail Kahn will lead you on a journey through their history, their conservation, and the intriguing mysteries about their origins that are slowly being revealed. The talk will take place March 2 at 1 pm at the Wellesley College Club, and is free for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden, $10 for nonmembers. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

    papier mâché pea flower

  • Sunday, October 13 – Tuesday, October 15, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Fruits and Seeds: The Bounty of Autumn

    Master dry brush technique by painting all things autumnal – from nuts and seeds to late berries, hips and haws, seed heads and crunchy leaves, will be the topic of this Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden three day class on October 13 – 15, at the Wellesley College Club from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. Lizzie Sanders will show you how to make precise and sharp images using tiny brushes and almost no water. With guidance from Lizzie learn to create detail and textures. Over three days we will cover several different specimens as a study sheet or make one single painting. Emphasis will be on achieving accurate rendering of surface texture and color. Learn how to make the selected specimens look truly 3D on the page. This class is suitable for intermediate to advanced artists. $395 for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens members. $495 for nonmembers. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu

    copyright Lizzie Sanders

  • Friday, August 30 – Friday, September 6 – On Location: Art of the Lot-et-Garonne, France

    Sarah Roche and the staff at Wellesley College Botanic Garden Friends are excited to be offer this amazing seven-day painting experience, based at St. Gregoire, Sarah’s house in the Lot-en-Garonne region of southwestern France, close to the market town of Castillonnes. We will find our painting inspiration at the local daily markets, selecting and bringing back the fruits and vegetables of the fall harvest to study and paint at St. Gregoire. All experience levels welcome. Accommodations at Haven on the Hill, Laladusse, district of Lot et Garonne. August 30 – September 6, Members $1,365, nonmembers $1,465, shared double or triple rooms. Fees include opening reception at Sarah’s home, five days of instruction and painting time, visits to local markets, bastides, vineyards, and chateaux, all transportation during your stay, including to and from Bergerac railway station, seven nights’ say, 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and four dinners. Visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends for more information.

  • Friday, June 21, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Roots and Shoots

    Join artist and naturalist Louise Barteau for a one-day botanical workshop on June 21 from 9:30 – 3:30 in the Putnam classroom at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Using a hand lens and a notebook, examine many examples of plant structures while considering their role in plant growth. Brief slide presentations will be accompanied by hands-on observation and exercises. This Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens class is $70 for members, $85 for non-members. Register at www.wellesley.edu/wcbg/learn

  • Thursday, April 18, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Seeing Nature: The Connection Between Art and Science

    On April 18 from 10 – 11:30 at the Wellesley College Club, Carol Govan will talk about the website she is developing, called “Seeing Nature: the Connection between Art and Science.” It combines all the fun she had teaching and taking various courses at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, the Garden in the Woods and the Eagle Hill Institute. She uses art as a process to slow down and record what she sees, and science to research what she has been looking at. This website is a way for her to create her own reference book of illustrated nature observations. Free to members of the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden, $10 for the general public. Pre-register at wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu or call 781-283-3094.