JOIN THE ADOPT-A-RARE-PLANT PROGRAM TO HELP CONSERVE SOME OF OUR RAREST SPECIES
Have you ever wanted to hit the open road armed with only your map, a GPS, and a good description of a rare plant species? By joining the Adopt-a-Rare-Plant program in 2012, you will get your chance to help track down some of Colorado‘s rarest plants to aid in their conservation.
The Colorado Native Plant Society, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program have teamed up for the Adopt-a-Rare-Plant program. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program tracks more than 500 plant species in Colorado. By doing so, they maintain information on the number of populations, number of individuals, threats to populations and other information on rare species.
Through the Rare Plant Conservation Initiative, professional conservation biologists have been updating records on our rarest species, however additional data is needed on hundreds of other species to update their conservation status. Records for some species have become “Historic” which means no one has seen that population in more than 20 years! This is your opportunity to participate in conservation by helping to determine if these populations still exist. Your travels will help ensure that all agencies/organizations have up-to-date data on some of our rarest species.
Through the training, you will select a species to adopt. Once you choose a species, you will be provided with all necessary data. You will be given information for both a reference site as well as sites not visited in years. This way, you will be able to visit a known population of representative habitat so that you can become comfortable with both identifying the target species and the habitat before you head out to look for the unseen populations. Some of the historic sites will be easy to find and will simply involve the updating of numbers. Some of them however, will be more like a treasure hunt where finding the rare plant at the end of the road will be even more rewarding.
The data collected through this program will prove invaluable for updating records on some of our rarest species.
Jennifer Neale is Director of Research & Conservation at the Denver Botanic Gardens. She was recently reelected an at-large member of the CoNPS Board of Directors.
$20 program registration fee.
This three-day advanced workshop in pop-up botanical structures will build on concepts learned in the beginner's workshop. You will assemble six to eight additional flowers, each more complex than those learned previously. These more complex projects implement a number of additional pop-up strategies not covered in the beginner's workshop. In addition, you will learn a binding that is frequently used in making pop-up books. The last day you will have the opportunity to invent your own pop-up flower structures under the guidance of your patient instructor.
Fee: $210 member, $257 non-member. Prerequisites: Pop-up entry level class.
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
No refunds for registration cancellations after March 23 unless your seat can be filled.
* Thur. – Sat., April 19 – 21, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Instructor: Shawn Sheehy, Chicago
Shawn Sheehy combines paper engineering and paper making with an interest in biology and science to produce sculptural pop-up books. Sheehy has taught workshops at PBI, Penland and the Centers for Book Arts in Chicago and New York. His commercial pop-up clients include the American Girl Company and American Greetings.
See how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own facial steams with herbs, cleansing grains and creams, wonderful masques, including alpha hydroxy, herbal toners and astringents, and a rich creamy moisturizer that contains far more nutrients and anti-oxidants for your skin than anything available commercially.
You’ll also learn how to make a profoundly healing cream for damaged skin and premature wrinkling. Learn a few tricks for blemishes and how to make a creamy, healing lip balm.
Take home an extensive handout, bag of steaming herbs, a month supply jar of moisturizer and a pot of lip balm. After using the moisturizer from class you and your skin will never again be satisfied with anything less.
$54 member, $61 non-member, includes $30 for materials.
Instructor: Christina Blume
Take an imaginary trip around the world as you taste the subtle flavor differences of teas from different regions. Learn how tea is processed to create your favorite type. As you taste your way through various tea growing regions, learn a bit about the tea customs of different countries and cultures.
We will:
• hear where & when tea was discovered and how it has migrated to dozens of different countries
• sample & compare teas from some of the major tea growing regions
• explore & experience different tea time customs around the globe including tasting some tea time treats
• discuss how some well known tea ceremonies have influenced the world
$20 member, $25 non-member, $4 materials included
Instructor: Judy Williams
Take the mystery out of materials. I see ten types of erasers--which one is right for the job? What is the difference between sable and synthetic? What’s vellum? This information-packed class will provide you with detailed information about all of the art materials used throughout the Botanical Illustration program. From papers to pencils to inks, pens, brushes and paints, you’ll learn where and how to find all the right materials and how they are used. Save time and money by shopping expertly the first time.
Fee: $40 member, $49 non-member. All students are welcome, with no prerequisites.
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
*Fri., March 23, 9 a.m. - noon
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
Characterized by curvaceous lines and a focus on nature, the Art Nouveau movement was in part an expression of beauty in the everyday object. Artists such as Alphonse Mucha and Charles Rennie Macintosh created fervor for stylized flowers. Discover principles of Art Nouveau design and how to make it your own. Working with colored pencils, create a design that will span a panel of tiles that might decorate a backsplash, a fireplace or a trivet. Don’t stop there! Tile-printing professionals will make your finished work into beautiful, functional tiles.
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I, Color Layering for Colored Pencil, Colored Pencil I, Colored Pencil II.
Thur, Feb. 16, 23, March 1, 8, 15, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Susan Rubin
Less is more. Traditional Japanese masters developed tray landscapes so a single tree in its miniature landscape could represent the whole universe. In this class you will first learn about the thousand year history of bonsai from a bonsai specialist. You will work from a real bonsai using Coptic sketching pens and learn to use pen and ink as a loose medium. Combining watercolor washes and layered underpainting with pen and ink, you will develop a detailed mixed media illustration. With lots of individual guidance you learn to draw complex miniature 3D forms in a non-traditional way and in your final plate you’ll have captured bonsai details through suggestion.
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I, Pen and Ink I, Color Mixing for Artist and Watercolor I
*Tue., June 5, 12, 19, 26, July 3, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Marjorie Leggitt
Course description:
An accessible introduction for anyone who is interested in raising backyard hens. The class will cover all of the basics of caring for baby chicks and adult chickens in an urban or suburban setting. Class includes instructional handouts, resource list, and a video tour of an urban backyard barnyard. Instructor will bring a couple of hens into the classroom, and students will have the opportunity to hold and examine them.
Topics covered:
- Choosing the perfect chickens (best breeds and how/where to purchase)
- Chick care
- Housing and fencing
- Feeding
- Common chicken challenges
- All about the eggs
- Financial considerations (initial investment and ongoing costs)
- Livestock licensing process
The content of the class will be geared toward the needs of the participants.
Sundari Kraft is the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading" (Alpha Books, 2011). She is the founder of Heirloom Gardens and Sustainable Food Denver, and sits on the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. Sundari runs an urban farming project and is currently raising chickens, ducks, and dwarf dairy goats in her Denver backyard.
An accessible introduction for anyone who is interested in raising backyard dwarf dairy goats. The class will cover all the basics of caring for dwarf goats in an urban or suburban setting. Class includes a video tour of an urban backyard barnyard, as well as a video milking demonstration and hoof-trimming instructions. Students will receive instructional handouts and resource list.
Topics covered:
- Choosing the perfect goats (best breeds and how/where to purchase)
- Housing and fencing
- Feeding
- Medical care & hoof trimming
- Common goat challenges
- All about the milk
- Financial considerations
- Livestock licensing process
Instructor: Sundari Kraft.
Sundari is the proud owner of lovely Nigerian Dwarf goats. She has shared her love of goats with the many working members and children that participate in Heirloom Gardens, and is working with city officials on efforts to change Denver's goat laws.
Sundari Kraft is the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading" (Alpha Books, 2011). She is the founder of Heirloom Gardens and Sustainable Food Denver, and sits on the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. Sundari runs an urban farming project and is currently raising chickens, ducks, and dwarf dairy goats in her Denver backyard.
Learn the creative possibilities (and limitations) of your point & shoot camera in this hands-on session designed to answer the burning question, "what can my camera do?" The class will combine a classroom session with some time at the end to practice your new skills, so bring your camera.
$30 member, $35 non-member.
Instructor: Scott Dressel-Martin
Image: Courtesy xlordashx
In this intensive beginner class, discover the ins and outs of beekeeping and the knowledge and supplies you'll need to get started in this fascinating and rewarding hobby.
Marygael Meister, founder of DenverBee, will cover equipment, selecting an apiary site, bee races and breeds, disease and pest management, hiving packages, four season management, swarm catching procedures, flower anatomy, and pesticides and insecticides.
Gain the confidence you need to become a backyard beekeeper!
$65 member, $75 non-member.
Instructor: Marygael Meister
If you have never gardened before or are looking for more success, this is the class for you! Learn the basics of gardening in our finicky climate and the skills necessary to become an enthusiastic gardener. Annuals, perennials and vegetables will be discussed, along with trees and shrubs for our climate, elevation and varying soils.
We will discuss plant selection, planting and troubleshooting as we visit strategic areas of the Gardens. Leave with the knowledge and resources you need to plant the garden you have always wanted.
This is a survey course with emphasis on the basics of what you really need to know to adjust your gardening skills to our climate or to begin your gardening education.
Please bring a glass jar of soil to class. (Must be see through glass jar to study layers of your own backyard native soil)
$78 member, $88 non-member.
Instructor: Patti O’Neal
Rocky Mountain Gardening Certificate Program Elective
The majority of perennials only bloom two or three weeks, a big disappointment for many gardeners who are accustomed to the floral staying power of annuals. Yet there are a number of star long-blooming perennials that give well over a month of tireless bloom, in some cases much more. Get to know these peak performers along with ideas on how to integrate them with other plants in the garden. $26 member, $31 non-member. Instructor: Lauren Springer Ogden
Explore this modern medium! You’ve learned to layer colored pencil, now learn techniques to draw effectively in this medium. Apply your drawing skills and learn new methods specific to colored pencils. Techniques include layering, building and burnishing in color. This versatile, portable medium is perfect for sketching on location as well as producing studio pieces. Learn through instruction, demonstration and practice on small studies of botanical subjects. You’ll be ready to produce a finished plate in Colored Pencil II.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I and Color Layering for Colored Pencil
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
*Thur., Jan 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9, 9 a.m. - noon
Instructor: Susan DiMarchi
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
*Mon., March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Susan DiMarchi
Fee: $205 member, $260 non-member.
*Thur., June 14, 21, 28, July 5, 12, 6 – 9 p.m..
Instructor: Susan DiMarchi
Take your colored pencil skills to the next level. Walk through the Six Step process to create a preparatory layered drawing. Learn about grisaille and techniques to create texture, detail and depth to enhance your subject. Experiment with different surfaces, blending and shading. Sample special effects you can achieve with colored pencil on Mylar, colored and dark grounds. Group instruction and individual attention help you to become proficient in this versatile medium. Pull all of your colored pencil skills together to create a finished botanical plate.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I, Color Layering for Colored Pencil and Colored Pencil I
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
*Mon., Feb. 20, 27, March 5, 12, 19, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Susan Rubin
*Thur., May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Susan Rubin
Pen and ink is at the heart of botanical illustration. Expand your drawing repertoire as you learn techniques to create line, form and texture in black and white. “Expressive line” and “stipple” become part of your artistic vocabulary as you practice this traditional medium with modern and versatile technical pens. Step-by-step instruction, demonstration and practice will give you the foundation you need to draw any botanical subject accurately and skillfully.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisite: Pencil I
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
*Wed., Jan. 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 15, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Marjorie Leggitt
* Mon., March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 9 a.m. - noon, 9 a.m. - noon
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
Take your pen and ink skills to a new level of sophistication. Explore the Gardens’ limitless world of color, textures and complex botany, and incorporate this information into your black and white illustrations. Working with both technical pen and quill, learn advanced techniques to make strokes mimic the fuzz on a fern, the down of a milkweed pod, the mottled colors of a variegated begonia. Learn how to layer and manipulate lines and stipples to develop a full range of value, texture and atmospheric perspective. Pen techniques take on new meaning as you flesh out a final inked illustration from a plant of your choice.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I, Pen and Ink I
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
*Tue., Feb. 14, 21, 28, March 6, 13, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Marjorie Leggitt
*Thurs., May 3, 17, 24, 31, June 7, 9 a.m. - noon.
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
Learn to draw! Begin with a brief history and an overview of the specific elements of botanical illustration. Learn the skills of careful observation and realistic drawing in graphite pencil, including line drawing, shading and perspective. Step-by-step, added techniques help you portray perspective, texture and detail. This is the entry course for every program student and the prerequisite for all courses to follow. You'll emerge from this class with the tools you need to draw anything.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. All students are welcome, with no prerequisites.
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
*Weekend Workshop
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
Fri. – Sun., Feb. 17 – 19, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
*Tue., March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
*Weekend Workshop
Fee: $205 member, $260 non-member.
Fri. – Sun., June 1 - 3, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Instructor: Constance Sayas
Fee: $205 member, $260 non-member.
*Mon. – Fri., July 23 – 27, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Libby Kyer
Offsite at Arvada Center (call 720-898-7200 to register or go to www.arvadacenter.org)
Tue., Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Renee Jorgensen
Simple and classic, pencil drawing is a timeless art form. Expand on the drawing skills you learned in Pencil I as you reinforce and refine your knowledge of graphite pencil. Learn additional techniques for shading, texture, perspective, depth, composition and style. A good drawing is the basis of botanical illustration in any medium. Group instruction and individual attention are tailored to help you complete a botanical plate in this subtle and striking medium.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisite: Pencil I
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
*Tue., Feb. 14, 21, 28, March 6, 13, 9 a.m. – noon
Instructor: Karla Beatty
Fee: $205 member, $260 non-member.
*Wed., June 13, 20, 27, July 11, 18, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Susan Rubin
Become part of the watercolor botanical tradition. Combine drawing skills and your knowledge of color mixing as you discover the delight of putting brush to paper and learn the specific techniques of transparent watercolor. Instruction, demonstration and practical exercises will guide you through a variety of watercolor techniques: flat and graded washes, highlights and dry brush detail. Learn to build washes for depth of tone and shading, and how to create soft and hard edges. With these foundational skills you’ll be ready to create a finished plate in Watercolor II.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member. Prerequisites: Pencil I and Color Mixing for Artists
Registration begins December 12, 2011. Class will appear sold out until then.
Fee: $192 member, $245 non-member.
*Thur., Feb. 16, 23, March 1, 8, 15, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Constance Sayas
Fee: $205 member, $260 non-member.
*Wed., May 9, 16, 23, 30, June 6, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Karla Beatty