Art & Botany: Creating a Botanical Dissection Plate

Monday & Tuesday, August 5 & 6, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Combining botany, design, and illustration, students will have the opportunity to create an artful botanical dissection plate during this two-day workshop. Botanical dissection plates have been around since the invention of the microscope and are realistic educational illustrations of plant anatomy. Participants will learn valuable techniques used by science illustrators, such as field sketching, plant dissection, and drawing from magnified plant specimens. Students will also learn how to use color and design to create eye-catching compositions. The workshop will take place both in the gardens and the classroom, where students will learn how to translate their knowledge into creative and visually appealing illustrations. This workshop will take a loose and artful approach to this typically technical and time-consuming process. All experience levels are welcome! Suitable for teens 14+.

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Materials:

Choose your medium!

You can work with watercolor, colored pencils, water-based markers, pen and pencil, Gouache, or a combination. Please choose whichever medium you are most comfortable with or curious about.

Instructor suggestions for each of the mediums can be found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XoGCr40WwL7bQZap7yoYJbkGd856lNbd/view?usp=sharing

Required materials:

9×12 sketchbook

Camera or camera on a smartphone

Graphite pencils, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, 1B, 2B, 3B, will give you a good range

Pencil sharpener with receptacle

Eraser (large kneaded or white vinyl)

Magnifying glass, loupe, or macro setting on smartphone/camera

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Artist Biography:

Joy Grannis is a freelance botanical illustrator, artist, and designer from Portland, Maine. Grannis earned her BA in environmental planning and policy from the University of Southern Maine and later earned a graduate certificate in scientific illustration from California State University at Monterey Bay. Grannis combines her expertise to illustrate the natural world in support of education and environmental conservation. Grannis primarily works in watercolor and digital media, creating pieces for botanical gardens, environmental organizations, interior designers, and retail establishments.