Botanical Art Students Speak Out
Posted in Adult Education, Learning Experiences, Testimonials on June 8 2012, by Joyce Newman
Seize your inspiration! Sign up for Summer Intensives to make the most of the season.
For Abbey Liebman, a fashion design artist in New York City, enrolling in the Botanical Art Summer Intensives was a rewarding way to broaden her skills in fashion design and the arts that was “well worth the money.”
“After taking just a few of the NYBG classes, I have already done freelance design work in botanical art for an apothecary company’s labels. I’d like to do more work like that or begin selling my own art,” says Abbey. She plans to get a certificate at NYBG over the period of a few years while she continues to work at her regular job.
“The most memorable classes for me were the pen and ink classes by Carol Ann Morley. I absolutely loved her advice and techniques,” noted Abbey. Meeting and getting to know well-established artists and other students was also valuable for Abbey. “The most fun was being able to draw in class with the other students and seeing the teacher’s work!”
When New Jersey artist Eileen Crowell read a magazine article that showed the artwork by a recent graduate of the Botanical Art Certificate program, she signed up for Drawing 1 and 2 the following day! She has been on a multiple-year journey ever since.
“I noticed that the daunting Plant Morphology class was being offered as a summer intensive. I didn’t know what Plant Morphology was and expected not to enjoy it very much, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Dick Rauh, the instructor, created a class that I couldn’t wait to begin each morning even after a previous night of scientifically detailed assignments. It was an intense yet amazing, dawn-to-midnight, fourteen-day mission.”
Eileen confessed, “The experience required that nothing else in my private life be attended to for two weeks–one week during the class and one week after, when we had to complete a final exam and a large final project.”
Having completed all the required classes, Eileen now hopes to do the required portfolio project for next spring. “From the first day of Drawing 1, I have been impressed with the NYBG faculty. Without exception, each has been professional, encouraging, and talented.”
For Eileen, an “unexpected pleasure” was meeting so many like-minded people–other students who loved learning the complexities of drawing and painting botanical subjects as much as she did. “We were able to share our tiny triumphs all along the way.”
Registration for the 2012 Horticultural Therapy Summer Intensive Classes is now open, offering students the opportunity to fulfill–in just a few weeks–many hours required for a certificate. Courses begin July 9!
To register, or for more information, visit our Adult Education site or call 800-322-NYBG (x6924).
