The following are the scheduled meeting dates for our BAGSC Quarterly Meetings for 2012. Agendas with programs will be sent out before each meeting. If you have items to put on the agenda, please contact Leslie. A detailed email blast will be sent out to all members with addresses, links to maps and RSVP phone numbers before each meeting. Of course each meeting will also have our usual pot luck contributions and showing of what we’re working on!

March 3, 2012: Deb’s house

May 19, 2012: Pat’s house

August 25, 2012: TBD: Want to volunteer to host a meeting? We have offers, but wanted to throw out the opportunity if a member wanted to host in a place we haven’t been to. Interested? Please contact Leslie.

December 8, 2012: Our annual Holiday Party at Janice’s. Great food, good company, and a mini-show of botanical art and all the different types of work we’re doing.

From L to R: Norma Sarkin, Diane Daly and Cynthia Jackson in the BAGSC booth at the LA Arboretum 2010 show. It looks like this year's BAGSC show will be in Ayres Hall.

The LA Arboretum Garden Show is back! This year, “GROW! A Garden Festival” will be held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden on May 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2012. In the past few years we’ve been on the green under the canopies, it looks like this year we might be in Ayres Hall.

In addition to our artwork show and sales, “GROW! A Garden Festival” will offer all the wonderful attractions as in year’s past, plus:

• An introduction to the new “Garden for All Seasons”
• Exhibits by local sculptors and installation artists
• Sales of interesting, unique and exotic plants
• Sales of garden tools and accessories we can’t live without
• Garden Chats, demonstrations, and meet the experts
• Let’s Move! hands-on activities for kids and families
• Entertainment
• Food trucks and specialty vendors

“GROW! A Garden Festival” will be open to the public on:
Friday, May 4, 2012, Special Evening Hours, 5pm – 8pm (event fee)
Saturday, May 5, 2012, 9am – 4:30 pm, free with admission; members free
Sunday, May 6, 2012, 9am – 4:30 pm, free with admission; members free

Janice Sharp and Norma Sarkin will co-chair the L. A. Arboretum Show, and Pat Mark has agreed to assist. As always, we’ll need lots of volunteers. Watch for more information coming soon and Happy Painting!

At our March 3, 2012 BAGSC quarterly meeting at Deb’s house, we will be presenting information about the possibility of another show at Chapman University. This exhibit will have a theme of Drought Tolerant plants. We are working to set a date, but at the moment it looks like the earliest time would be December 2012 or spring of 2013.

Chapman University Dean Charlene Baldwin was so delighted with our previous exhibition, she encouraged us to plan another show and coordinate with the Chapman University Environmental Sciences department.

When we held our show last year, Chapman University Assistant Professor, Dr. Jennifer Funk, an ecologist, was on sabbatical in Woodside, California conducting research at the Jasper Ridge Experimental Station. Her interest is in restoration ecology. Diane Daly, Clara Josephs, and Deb Shaw recently met with Dr. Funk. She explained that restoration is more than putting back the plants that had originally grown in an area, but includes using climate change predictions to identify plants that will thrive in future conditions. Additionally, some California natives might not be hardy in their original locations due to weather shifts.

She is enthusiastic about our plans and will assist with a list of suggested plant specimens, sorted by drought tolerant mechanisms (i.e., waxy leaves, tap root, drought deciduous, etc.), which you will receive at the meeting. The show is not limited to California natives: the exhibition will be open to all drought-tolerant plants from around the world, including the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, and the deserts.

Plan to come to our March 3 quarterly meeting at Deb’s house for additional information about the show, education about what makes a plant drought tolerant, and help with where you may find or purchase plants. Many of these plants are starting to flower now, so this is the time to plan your paintings!

California native, Penstemon centranthifolius, common name "Scarlet Bugler". Photo © 2012 by Deb Shaw

Bring your thoughts and ideas to share about where to see these plants or purchase them. Post special plant sales, nursery locations and gardens in the comments section of this blog article so all BAGSC members can see them. California natives are sold at the Tree of Life Nursery, the Theodore Payne Foundation, and Las Pilitas Nursery. Of course, our favorite gardens, including the Huntington and the LA Arboretum among others, have drought tolerant areas of plants from around the world. There are also nurseries that specialize in Australian and other drought tolerant plants; most nurseries these days have a section labeled “California Friendly” or “Drought Tolerant”. Lots more information will be supplied at the meeting and sent out.

Questions? Contact Clara or Diane.

Join us on Saturday, April 28,2012 for a tour of Lotusland!

BAGSC members and significant others are invited to a docent-led tour of Lotusland, the 37-acre historic garden estate of opera singer Madame Ganna Walska in Montecito. The grounds are the home of many large and rare plants, some no longer found in the wild. Leslie has visited many times in the past 30 years and looks forward to enjoying one of Southern California’s jewels again.

The tour begins at 10:00 am and will be approximately two hours. Bring your camera and wear comfortable shoes! Cost of the tour is $35.00 per person. Visit the website to explore the gardens and learn about its colorful history. Advance reservations are required, so you must reserve your place by February 29 to Leslie Walker. Payment is due March 28.

Carpools will be organized to relieve everyone from driving. If there are enough people interested we might look into getting a bus.

A dedication in honor of Jeff Karsner will be held in the Children’s Garden at the Huntington Botanical Gardens on Saturday, February 11, at 10 am. Friends and colleagues are welcome. For those BAGSC members who also use facebook, updates and comments are being posted to Jeff’s facebook page.

Jim Folsom, Director of the Botanical Gardens of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Gardens made the sad announcement of the passing of Jeff Karsner:

I am very sad to report the death of Jeff Karsner, Head Gardener in the Children’s Garden, who fell from a collapsed railing on the balcony of his home this past Monday evening. Jeff was a spirited, passionate staff member with particular enthusiasm for succulent plants, garden design, and whimsical elements. He did a remarkable job in making the Children’s Garden and Teaching Greenhouse especially magical places for visitors. We have few details to share at this point but I wanted to let you all know about this tragic loss of a colleague. As we learn of services, we will certainly pass on this information. Jeff’s creativity, energy, and friendship will be missed greatly.
Jim Folsom

We have all enjoyed the Children’s Garden and the Teaching Greenhouses, and wish to extend our sympathies to Jeff’s family and our extended botanical family at the Huntington.

ArtPlantae Today featured BAGSC member Arillyn Moran-Lawrence in an interview “Painting Hawaii’s Endangered Plants.” Read about how Arillyn fell in love with Hawaiian plants, and how she works.

Mushroom, © 2011, D Shaw

Confused by how to identify the fungi you would like to paint? The LA Arboretum is holding a workshop on MUSHROOM IDENTIFICATION as a lead-in to the Mushroom Fair at the Arboretum on February 12!

Saturday, February 4
10am-Noon (followed by a walk in the garden to hunt for mushrooms!)

Palm Room at the Arboretum (301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007)
$25 Arboretum members / $30 non-members
Dr. Jerrold Turney, Ph.D, instructor

Please call the Arboretum class registration line at 626.821.4623 to register for class. You may also pay at the door.

This class will provide a basic overview of the fungal kingdom with emphasis on mushroom identification. Learn the basic characteristics used to identify mushrooms and other fleshy fungi. Find out which mushrooms are safe to eat and which ones to avoid. Jerry will also take the class out on Arboretum grounds to seek out and identify mushrooms right in “our own backyard.” Bring to class any mushrooms you find for identification and group discussion. Then with a new understanding of our fungal friends, attend the Wild Mushroom Fair on February 12 from 10am – 4 pm at the Arboretum.

Dr. Turney received his B. S. In Botany from California State Polytechnic University and his Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of California at Riverside. He has served as the curator of the camellia gardens at the Huntington Library and Botanic Gardens, a research horticulturist at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, and is currently the plant pathologist for the Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures for the County of Los Angeles. In addition, Dr. Turney was formerly a licensed landscape contractor, and is currently a licensed agricultural pest control advisor and an ISA certified arborist. His primary fields of expertise are plant pathology, mycology and arboriculture.

Thread-leaved Brodiaea, Second Place, by Deborah Shaw, watercolor on Kelmscott Vellum © 2012

It was very gratifying to see the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC) so well represented at the Botanical Art Exhibit at the CNPS Conservation Conference 2012 in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort. There were thirteen pictures by seven BAGSC members: Diane Daly, Estelle DeRidder, Clara Josephs, Joan Keesey, Janice Sharp, Deborah Shaw, and Dorthea Yellot. Members of our group won some prizes as well: Deborah Shaw received a second place ribbon for her watercolor on vellum of Thread-leaved Brodiaea; Joan Keesey won a third place ribbon for her watercolor of Snake Lilies and Elegant Madia; Estelle DeRidder won an honorable mention for her colored pencil of Hummingbird Sage.

Snake Lily & Elegant Madia, Third Place, by Joan Keesey, watercolor © 2012

My husband and I visited the exhibit twice—once on Thursday evening and again on Saturday afternoon. On both visits there were 12-15 enthusiastic conference attendees who had taken the trouble to make the trip to the ninth floor of the Regency Towers to see the botanical art and photography.  Generally the conference attendees were biologists, botanists, geologists, environmentalists and land managers—a different crowd from the usual botanical art group. The focus at most botanical art exhibits is on the artistic aspects of a work—composition, values, and technique. While this group was very appreciative of the skill displayed in the compositions, they were equally if not more interested in and enthusiastic about the actual subject matter. You overheard people say things like: “Oh, that is my favorite plant”;  “Have you ever seen that beautiful sage.”; or “This is such and interesting plant. I saw it for the first time on that hike along the Merced.”

Hummingbird Sage, Honorable Mention, by Estelle DeRidder, colored pencil © 2012

This is the second CNPS exhibit that I have participated in, and I thought that the pictures were better displayed and of a higher quality. I am particularly interested in California Native Plants, so I find a show like this a real treat. I also like botanical exhibits where there is a focus or theme. I find the juxtaposition of “Turnips & Tulips”, “Corn and Camellias”, “Radishes & Roses”, jarring and difficult to evaluate.   I hope BAGSC will consider sponsoring exhibits that are more focused—a plant family such as the mustard, pea, rose or lily family, plants of a particular region, trees, succulents, etc. The options are endless, but I think it makes a more interesting and informative exhibit.

Every botanist who has discovered a new plant species — approximately 2,000 new species of plants, algae and fungi are named each year — has had to write and submit a formal description in Latin and ensure that the description (in Latin) is published the old-fashioned way: in a journal on paper.

Until, January 1, 2012, when new rules will take effect, allowing descriptions to be submitted in a modern language, online. Read the Scientific American blog to see the full story about how botanists are finally ditching Latin and paper, and joining the 21st century. This New Year’s Eve we can all toast progress, and wish everyone a healthy, happy New Year, with great paintings to come.

Cheers!

Colored Pencil Artwork by Cristina Baltayian, © 2010, all rights reserved.

Cristina Baltayian will teach “Using Colored Pencils in Botanical Art” at The Arboretum. The class will focus on color pencil techniques, composition, and color mixing. All levels of experience are welcome.

Classes meet from 10 am – 2 pm (including a lunch break) on Tuesdays, beginning in January, 2012:
January 10, 17, 24, 31
February 7, 14, 21, 28
March 6, 13, 20, 27

The cost is $255/month for Arboretum members, and $275/month for non-members. A supply list will be provided upon registration. Students may bring a sack lunch, or purchase one at the Peacock Café.

Preregistration is required. To register, please call The Arboretum at 626.821.4623.

Cristina Baltayian has a background in drawing (graphite, charcoal, pen and ink), two-dimensional design, watercolor, and colored pencils. Her work has been shown at Filoli, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Chapman University. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and The Botanical Artist Guild of Southern California.

The Arboretum is open daily from 9AM to 5PM and is located at: 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007.

The hurricane force winds that hit the Pasadena/Arcadia area on December 1 caused extensive damage to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. A preliminary assessment of damage indicates at least 326 trees are a total loss and over 700 require extensive restorative pruning.

The Arboretum has long been a “home” and resource of the Southern California Botanical Artists Guild.  It is a place where we have all taken classes, have shown our work, and been able to obtain a variety of plant specimens. In the wake of the damage to the Arboretum, an outpouring of community support has lead to the establishment of the Arboretum Tree Fund. This is the single largest tree planting campaign in the garden’s history. Please help with the acquisition of new trees and shrubs by making a GIFT ONLINE, or by MAIL to Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation, 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA. 91007. To make a donation by phone, please call Brittany Fabeck in the Development Office at 626.821-3237. Please include “Tree Fund” on your donation.

Lacecap Hydrangea, watercolor by Sue Kuuskmae, © 2011, all rights reserved.

BAGSC member Sue Kuuskmae decided to visit the art exhibition at the Palos Verdes Public Library and was pleasantly surprised to find that her watercolor, “Lacecap Hydrangea”, had received a blue ribbon first prize and a cash award.

Congratulations Sue!!

It’s that time of year again, when we get together to share our art and eat delicious food! Come to the BAGSC Annual Holiday Party at Janice’s house on December 10, 2011, starting at 5 pm. Spouses, significant others, family and friends are all welcome!

Bring all of the creative work you’ve done during the year to share with fellow members — not just limited to botanical art! Last year, in addition to wonderful botanical art, we saw oil paintings, portraits, abstracts, landscapes, pastels, quilts, baskets, jewelry, crafts, and more! We’re a multi-talented group and it’s wonderful to see what everyone is doing.

We’ll also have a survey so members can let the Board know which instructors and classes they would like for next year along with announcements of next year’s officers. For those who can’t attend, surveys for class interest will be sent in an email blast.

Please RSVP by December 1 to Janice, by email or phone, and let her know what you’re bringing to the feast. An email blast will be sent out with more details. See everyone there!

The ASBA New England Chapter and the ASBA put together a fantastic conference! Kudos to them. BAGSC members at the ASBA Annual Meeting & Conference in Boston (actually Newton) were: Deborah Friedman, Joan Keesey, Suz Landay, Pat Mark, Debora Resa, Elaine Searle, Gilly Shaeffer, Deb Shaw, Jennifer Thomson, and Leslie Walker.

Keep your eyes on our blog for articles and pictures from the conference. In the meantime, here are pictures of Elaine Searle and Suz Landay taking turns driving the “Duck” on the “Flavor of Boston” tour.

Suz Landay driving the Duck.

Elaine Searle driving the Duck.