Applied Art

Botanical art works well in a variety of applications. For example, this beautiful e-card was created by Annie Reiser, using a Bo-Tangle image she had created, with a snapshot of lace and some beautiful lettering, computer generated and written by the artist. In it's life, the one image - a bo-tangled heart - was used as a Bo-Tangle project, a computer design project to group it with design elements in an artful way, and finally as a beautiful e-card. One image, three uses.

 

 Having more than one application for your work is a nice way to spread the concept of botanical art, enter exhibits, and engage new viewers. During a pre-holiday class on wreaths, swags and garland drawn for holiday uses, Libby Kyer created the wreath below as a demonstration for her colored pencil class.

 

 

Then, the image was segmented to create a calendar, which was created with individual calendar cards for each month, designed to fit into a miniature CD jewel case.

 

 

 





 



However, the actual final use for the image was on an 8" round textured glass cheese plate, with lovely little cheese knives to match.  One image, used to teach, to create a calendar, and to create holiday presents. Because of these single images, new techniques were learned and new audiences were engaged.

As you get ready to create drawings for our "Drawing a Day" event in March, think of ways you might use your images: sketching/drawing to feed your muse, or as the basis for a more completed artwork in other media, as part of a coloring book for 3rd graders learning about botany and plants, as notecards, as small framed prints, as glass cutting boards or cheese plates, and so many more possibilities. One drawing can improve your art and provide new insights into botanical art for many new viewers. Have fun!