Mission Statement

The Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists is an open and diverse group of artists, collectors and admirers who share a love for the practice and perpetuation of botanical art and illustration with a fond focus on plants in the Rocky Mountain Region.
We encourage and participate in educational outreach, juried and non-juried exhibits, lectures, workshops and regular chapter meetings. The RMSBA is proud to be the very first chapter affiliation of the international organization, the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

You're Gonna WANT This Volume! Act Now!

 
DBG''s SBAI Program Created This Unique and Wonderful Book - the Ultimate in a Contemporary Botanical Artists' Journal - and Shares It With You.
See what program manager Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski has to say about this project:
 
Click on Image to enlarge
Judy Vanderbosch                                         Cynthia Rothbard
 
Dear all,
Practice Makes Perfect, A Botanical Illustration Sketchbook, is created by Denver Botanic Gardens’ School of Botanical Art and Illustration. It's the brainstorm of Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, scientist, botanical artist, and manager of the SBAI program. This special edition volume not only represents skills and abilities, but also creativity, ideas and friendship from a consortium of masters and students in the program. In this collective work, each page and image presents a unique view from the illustration community, and reveals something of the heart and mind of the artist. Illustration can take many forms; it has an ability to transform a page and can add magic to words to present what simple text might imply, but can not say.

#1 BIG news: We know at this point that our Kickstarter campaign has been successful for our first goal - we have reached the $20,000 mark needed to print this amazing volume. We have gone over our base publication amount, and so are pushing to do two things:
        1. Sell the remaining limited edition book, in order to,
        2. Fund our new Artist Residency Program.
Since I have gotten so many questions from you, here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions:

1. Printing is secured. 212 books are reserved and we have 288 left of the limited edition.
3. Our KickStarter project continues for just eight additional days, until October 5, 11:04 a.m.
4. The price of the book until October 5 is $48, after that it's $90!
5. From here on, every penny raised goes towards our Artist/Illustrator in Residency Program. Every $3000 unlocks one 6-week position We hope to fund three 6-week positions, available each summer, open for everybody to apply, from the U.S. and abroad.
As of today, we have raised $1853 towards unlocking the first 6-week position!
 
For those who would like to get the book at the special KickStarter rate, and are wondering how Kickstarter funding works, click HERE. Open the link, and on the right you will see a green button “Back this project.” Click and that directs you to a new page where you have different support options to select from. For example: $48 for one book, $95 for two books, $150 one book and you get your name into the book acknowledgements etc. Select the option you like best, click 'Continue. 'That directs you to a page where you create a secure Kickstarter account. After creating your account, you are directed to Amazon.com where you use your amazon account for the pledge. Your credit card is not charged before October 5th. Everything that you pledge above the reward level is tax-deductible.

And here's something fun, if you pledge more than $100 above your pledge level, your name will appear as a supporter of the project in the printed acknowledgements.

More later – I’m so excited to get the Artist in Residency program running and open for you to apply! 
 
If you have any questions, click HERE to contact me.

Mervi
(Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Manager, SBAI, Member, RMSBA, ASBA
 
Barbara McKee                            Annie Reiser
 
 
 
 
Jessy Bergeman
Contributing Artists:
Karla Beatty, Boston, MA; Beatrice Coron, NY, NY; Susan DiMarchi, , Denver, CO; Sarah Homfray, U.K; Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Lafayette, CO; Renee Jorgensen, Lakewood, CO; Ikumi Kayama, College Park, MD; Veiko Kespersaks, London, U.K.; Libby Kyer, Denver, CO; Jenny Phillips, Melbourne, Australia; Lauren Pierson, Denver, CO; Randy Raak, Golden, CO; Annie Reiser, Estes Park, CO; Susan Rubin, Denver, CO; Constance Sayas, Denver, CO; Ann Swan, Rowde, U.K.  - Maria Bumgarner, Denver, CO; Lauren Bassing, Lebanon, NH; Jesse Bergeman, Denver, CO; Michele Bloom, Denver, CO; Leslie Boose, Englewood, CO; Nels Broste, Fort Collins, CO; Cindy Calkins, Aurora, CO; Karen Cleaver, Littleton, CO; Hayley Cook, Denver, CO; Rebecca Corbett, Denver, CO; Lauren Cotie, Denver, CO; Susan Curnutte, Colorado Springs, CO; Shanelle Deater, Aurora, CO; Estelle DeRidder, La Crescenta, CA; Susan Dorsey, Broomfield, CO; Emerson Easley, Saga, Japan; Teri Eichhorn, Ramona, CA; Laura Farnsworth, Denver, CO; Emma Felt, Santa Fe, NM; Meredith Feniak, Denver, CO; Carol Ferguson, Aurora, CO; Linda Forbess, Schofield, WI; Karen Genoff-Campbell, Greely, CO; Noreen Goetz, Aurora, CO; Megan Maksimovich Goodenough, Fort Collins, CO (label calligraphy); Rebecca Hall, Parker, CO; Erin Haley, Denver, CO; Jan Boyd Haring, Cascade, CO; Helen Hasting, Morrison, CO; Marj Hopkins, Colorado Springs, CO; Christina Hubbell, Colorado Springs, CO; Dawn Huston, Colorado Springs, CO; Diane Inman, Corrales, NM; Sendy Issanti, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ; Margaret Johnson, Boulder, CO; Vanessa Martin, Aurora, CO; Judy Matthews, Fort Collins, CO; Karen May, Erie, CO; Douglas McCallum, Longmont, CO; Mary McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Elizabeth McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Kathy McCrery, Galesburg, IL; Barbara McKee, Louisville, CO; Martha Narey, Denver, CO; Peter Orleans, Denver, CO; Carla Pawlewicz, Lakewood, CO; Alice Pearson, Greenwood Village, CO; Kirk Pfeffer, Broomfield, CO; Cynthia Rothbard, Nokomis, FL; Jaclyn Sachleben, Richmond, VA; Helen Smithwick,  Colorado Springs, CO; Irma Sturgell, Centennial, CO; Susan Stutzman, Golden, CO; Lesley Switendick, Boulder, CO; Mary Tharp, Arvada, CO; Angela Tingle, Buena Vista, CO; Karen Tillou, Oregon City, OR; Judy Vanderbosch, Denver, CO; Vickey Wood, Highlands Ranch, CO; Megan Wyeth, Saint Joseph, MO; Penelope Yerigan, Littleton, CO.

Monday, September 22, 2014

In Just 101 Days All This Can Be YOURS!

Time marches on. We NEED a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started. Click HERE to contact the Blogmeister herself. You'll be so glad you stepped up to the plate.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Sawdust and Sunshine


Here is the group that sanded, stamped and varnished the gift RMSBA is giving to ASBA conference attendees.  This great group gathered to do the finishing work after Vanessa Martin and Rebecca Hall sourced the wood (Ponderosa Pine - all from Colorado) cut the grooves, did the major portion of sanding, set up everything (saw horses, tables, gloves, paper towels, etc.) and ordered pizza in Vanessa's beautiful backyard and  then invited us over to help them finish. Libby created a great stamp and a cool-looking color for marking the back of each gift.  Thank you all for making this a fun and special event.  AND the product turned out looking spiffy!  Oh, are you wondering what the gift is?  Well, register for the conference and find out.

Check Out Portfolios and Galleries of Artists You Admire

Looking to learn a new technique or understand an old one better? Check out your favorite artists online. Here a few that might get you started:

Catherine Watters, Orinda, CA
Catherine works beautifully in watercolors. Click HERE to see her portfolio site.
 
 
Susan Rubin, Denver, CO
Susan is a master in colored pencil. Click HERE to see her portfolio site.
 
 
millie acharya, Ithaca, NY
Allium sativum
millie works in watercolor. Click HERE to see her portfolio.
 
Robert McNeill
Robert is a watercolorist in Britain. Click HERE to see his work.
 
So, you can see, there's a lot of inspiration online. Tap your favorite artist's site every now and then, just to see how he or she is progressing, and watch the growth that is so obvious in wonderful online portfolios.
 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

A Special Opportunity to Support the Renaissance of Botanical Art


SBAI Kickstarter Project Has Launched!

Please help publish the limited edition Practice Makes Perfect: A Botanical Illustration Sketchbook (formerly called SBAI 2013 Chronicles), and help us establish an Artist/illustrator In Residence program!

Seventy-six original illustrations (words and pictures) were created by 16 instructors and 60 artists from the School of Botanical Art and Illustration (SBAI)at Denver Botanic Gardens. This volume celebrates the program’s 34th anniversary and its restructuring in 2013 as the SBAI.

“Botanical art is undergoing a great renaissance and it is delightful to see such a wide and lively interpretation in this charming sketchbook.”  Dr. Shirley Sherwood

This volume not only represents skills and abilities, but also creativity, ideas and friendship. Even though this is a collective work, each page and image presents a unique view from the illustration arts community, and reveals something of the heart and mind of the artist. Illustration can take many forms; it has an ability to transform a page and can add magic to words to present what simple text might imply, but cannot say.

The project is loosely based on the Sketch travel project founded in Paris in 2006 when Gerald Guerlais and Daisuke Dice Tsusfumi created a book that traveled from hand-to-hand among 71 artists all over the globe. Our own sketchbook was completed in one year with participants from the Gardens’ botanical illustration community, including international artists. 

An original, handmade 160-page springback bound book with 90 lb. Fabriano Artistico HP watercolor paper and protective reindeer-leather box was made for our purpose by Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, SBAI Manager. Then, each of the artists used one 11x7.5” page, with up to one week to complete the work. The book was never mailed, but traveled from hand-to-hand within the artist community for 365 consecutive days. 

Practice Makes Perfect: A Botanical Illustration Sketchbook showcases a unique collection of talent and expertise, including natural science illustrations, artistic explorations and calligraphy with a personal touch. It includes a foreword by Dr. Shirley Sherwood, Kew, UK,  with the full color illustrations, each presenting insight into the artist's way of working.

 
Images by Ann Swan and Constance Sayas
 


Kickstarter is a crowd-sourced method of providing funds for special projects. It’s an all-or-nothing way of funding, with a 30-day funding period. Unless our goal of $20,000 is reached within this time, no funding will be provided at all. You contribute online, but your credit card will not be charged until after the 30-day funding drive expires with our goal met. This project is a Kickstarter Staff favorite pick!

For more information and to contribute, click HERE: Follow the instructions on the right hand column.

If you not familiar with how Kickstarter works, click HERE to see the inner workings:

AND, please let your friends and colleagues know about this unique  opportunity – they as well as you might also be interested applying for the Artist in Residency program later on. Word-of-mouth is THE power for these projects

Contributing Artists:
Karla Beatty, Boston, MA; Beatrice Coron, NY, NY; Susan DiMarchi, , Denver, CO; Sarah Homfray, U.K; Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Lafayette, CO; Renee Jorgensen, Lakewood, CO; Ikumi Kayama, College Park, MD; Veiko Kespersaks, London, U.K.; Libby Kyer, Denver, CO; Jenny Phillips, Melbourne, Australia; Lauren Pierson, Denver, CO; Randy Raak, Golden, CO; Annie Reiser, Estes Park, CO; Susan Rubin, Denver, CO; Constance Sayas, Denver, CO; Ann Swan, Rowde, U.K.  - Maria Bumgarner, Denver, CO; Lauren Bassing, Lebanon, NH; Jesse Bergeman, Denver, CO; Michele Bloom, Denver, CO; Leslie Boose, Englewood, CO; Nels Broste, Fort Collins, CO; Cindy Calkins, Aurora, CO; Karen Cleaver, Littleton, CO; Hayley Cook, Denver, CO; Rebecca Corbett, Denver, CO; Lauren Cotie, Denver, CO; Susan Curnutte, Colorado Springs, CO; Shanelle Deater, Aurora, CO; Estelle DeRidder, La Crescenta, CA; Susan Dorsey, Broomfield, CO; Emerson Easley, Saga, Japan; Teri Eichhorn, Ramona, CA; Laura Farnsworth, Denver, CO; Emma Felt, Santa Fe, NM; Meredith Feniak, Denver, CO; Carol Ferguson, Aurora, CO; Linda Forbes, Schofield, WI; Karen Genoff-Campbell, Greely, CO; Noreen Goetz, Aurora, CO; Megan Maksimovich Goodenough, Fort Collins, CO (label calligraphy); Rebecca Hall, Parker, CO; Erin Haley, Denver, CO; Jan Boyd Haring, Cascade, CO; Helen Hasting, Morrison, CO; Marj Hopkins, Colorado Springs, CO; Christina Hubbell, Colorado Springs, CO; Dawn Huston, Colorado Springs, CO; Diane Inman, Corrales, NM; Sendy Issanti, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ; Margaret Johnson, Boulder, CO; Vanessa Martin, Aurora, CO; Judy Matthews, Fort Collins, CO; Karen May, Erie, CO; Douglas McCallum, Longmont, CO; Mary McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Elizabeth McCauley, Fort Collins, CO; Kathy McCrery, Galesburg, IL; Barbara McKee, Louisville, CO; Martha Narey, Denver, CO; Peter Orleans, Denver, CO; Carla Pawlewicz, Lakewood, CO; Alice Pearson, Greenwood Village, CO; Kirk Pfeffer, Broomfield, CO; Cynthia Rothbard, Nokomis, FL; Jaclyn Sachleben, Richmond, VA; Helen Smithwick,  Colorado Springs, CO; Irma Sturgell, Centennial, CO; Susan Stutzman, Golden, CO; Lesley Switendick, Boulder, CO; Mary Tharp, Arvada, CO; Angela Tingle, Buena Vista, CO; Karen Tillou, Oregon City, OR; Judy Vanderbosch, Demver, CO; Vickey Wood, Highlands Ranch, CO; Megan Wyeth, Saint Joseph, MO; Penelope Yerigan, Littleton, CO.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Heading East? Check Out This Terrific Exhibit

Click on this image to see an enlarged, easy-to-read version.

Curious about the term 'chapbook? Thanks to Wikipedia, we find that "A chapbook is an early type of popular literature printed in Early Modern Europe. The tradition of chapbooks arose in the 16th century, as soon as printed books became affordable, and rose to its height during the 17th and 18th centuries. Many different kinds of ephemera, popular or folk literature were published as chapbooks, such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales, children's literature and almanacs. When illustrations are included in chapbooks, they are considered popular prints. The term "chapbook" for this type of literature was coined in the 19th century. The corresponding French and German terms are Bibliothèque bleue and Volksbuch, respectively.

The term "chapbook" is also in use for present-day publications, usually poetry, of up to about 40 pages, ranging from low-cost productions to expensive, finely produced editions."

Click HERE for more information about this unique opportunity to see into the mind of an amazing artist.


Exhibit is at: Steinhardt Conservatory Gallery at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
990 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY11225
(718) 623-7200

Thursday, September 4, 2014

"Drawing Nature" art exhibit, San Francisco Botanical Gardens at the Library


Drawing Nature artists reception
Artists Reception
Thursday September 6, 5–7PM

Celebrate fall with the Sonoma County Colored Pencil Artists at a special reception Thursday, September 6 at the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture. The exhibit runs September 5 – December 30 and focuses on the changing colors of falling leaves, fruit and flowers. All artwork in the exhibition is for sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Library.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

In Just 121 Days All This Can Be YOURS!

Time flies. We NEED a new Blogmeister! Libby has produced and managed our blog for the last 3 years, and it's time for a break! However, she's happy to shepherd a new Blogmeister into easy and fun understanding and use of the blog design tools provided by Blogger, and to provide some ideas for future interesting and informative spots on the blog to get our new leader started. Click HERE to contact the Blogmeister herself. You're going to love this adventure!