UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ 2nd annual Bigleaf Magnolia Art and Garden Festival will include art workshops for adults and families, two exhibits, trail tours, and a silent auction. The festival will take place from May 15th – 17th.
In advance of the festival, artists are encouraged to submit work to two juried exhibits highlighting botanical and garden-inspired art: Flower Encounters (2-D art to be displayed in the Rowe Galleries at UNC Charlotte) and Bigleaf Magnolia Art Post Trail (a display of garden art posts to be displayed in our lovely woodland garden, the Van Landingham Glen).
The festival kicks-off on Friday, May 15th with a day of adult art workshops and an opening reception for Flower Encounters and our Bigleaf Magnolia Art Post Trail from 6 – 8 pm. Adult workshops continue through Saturday, May 16th.
Family workshops are scheduled for Sunday, May 17th, and tours of the Art Post Trail are scheduled all weekend.
Both exhibits will be on view through June 15. All garden art posts will be offered for silent auction and the art works in Flower Encounters will be offered for silent auction or sale.
The exhibits, opening reception, and trail tours are free and open to the public. All workshops require registration.
Questions may also be directed to AmyTipton@uncc.edu with “Garden Arts” in the subject line.
“Flower Encounters” Botanical Art Contest and Exhibit
We are currently seeking entries of drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, and 2-D mixed media for a juried exhibit of botanical art. Interested artists can view the prospectus and create a free account now (it just takes a few minutes) at https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/Default.aspx?OJSID=44188 .
The site will be accepting entries Monday February 24 – Sunday April 19. The exhibit will be open May 15 – June 15, 2020 in Rowe Gallery, UNC Charlotte with an opening reception from 6-8 pm on Friday, May 15.
Garden Art Posts Contest and Exhibit
Help us create an art trail in the Van Landingham Glen as part of our Big Leaf Magnolia Art and Garden Festival! Donate your artwork and see it installed along our trails prior to being auctioned to benefit the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens.
CALL TO ARTISTS: See more information including rules and deadline for submissions here.
ENTRY FORM: Download and complete the official entry form here.
*due to the Mecklenburg County Stay at Home Order, the Garden Post kits will not be available for pick up. If you wish to be notified if the post kits become available again please email Wendy Wilson at wwilso35@uncc.edu.
*above are examples of posts created by artists for last year’s Art Trail. Any additional paint and materials are up to the artist’s creativity!
Want to contribute an art piece in our BigLeaf Magnolia Art and Garden Festival? Prepay for a Garden Art Post kit and come pick up everything you need to get started. We hope to install an art trail outdoors in our Vanlandingham Glen for all those looking for an escape outside to visit and enjoy. Posts can be donated and auctioned off to benefit the programming for the Botanical Gardens. Kit will contain a 6′ pre-primed wooden post, a small tray of assorted paint colors to get you started and a paint brush!
Limited Kits available: Registration Required
We will seal finished art posts with Polycrylic to ensure weather resistance.
Garden Art Posts will be installed in the Van Landingham Glen to create an art trail for our Big Leaf Magnolia Art and Garden Festival!
Donate your artwork and see it installed along our trails prior to being auctioned to benefit UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ educational programming.
Click here to see 2019 Photography Contest Winners
Click here to see 2019 Garden Post Winners
Art and Garden Festival Classes!
Adult Classes
Botanical Watercolor: Effective Color Mixing : Online Class
Date: Thursday, May 14th 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Instructor: Amy Tipton, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ Assistant Director BFA Drawing, MFA Printmaking, MS Botany
Cost: $55/ $50 for members
Plants offer an unending supply of interesting colors for artists to discover and translate to the page. Botanists and artists alike must develop skills of discriminating color for plant identification and painting.
In this class, Amy will help introduce participants to critical exploration of plant color. The class will explore basic color theory and color mixing.
Participants will be provided with a kit to use for color studies. They will be guided to mix watercolors to match the multitude of botanical hues, tints and shades they see. Once the student feels comfortable with the colors they have created, they will create a simple line drawing of 1-2 plant elements and complete it/them with the colors they have discovered.
Location: * online learning – Amy will teach the class interactive and live but the class will also be available recorded so registrants can watch anytime.
Class Limit: 15
Class Minimum: 7
Painting in the Garden: A Plein Air Workshop
*this class date has been cancelled. We hope to be able to offer it in the Fall. Please email Wendy Wilson, Adult Education coordinator at wwilso35@uncc.edu if you wish to be notified of the rescheduled date.
Date: Friday, May 15th, 10 am – 1 pm
Instructor: Jen Spaker, Fine Artist
Cost: $60 / $55 for members
Paint package: (if you are not bringing your own supplies) $25
Come paint the gardens! This class is suitable for beginner to advanced artists. Jennifer Spaker, a talented local artist will be leading a three hour plein air (painting outside) class beginning with a half hour demonstration. She will be there to guide you through the process, provide assistance, tips, and techniques as you complete your own masterpiece painted in our very own Harwood Gardens!
Jen paints in both oil and acrylics so feel free to paint in the medium you prefer. She has provided a suggested supply list for both oil and acrylics. You are welcome to bring your own supplies, however if you are new to painting, we have a supply package available (acrylic paint only) that includes paint, palette paper, paint retarder, and easel. You just supply your own brushes and canvas! This is a great way to save on the cost of paint (which can get expensive for good quality paint) and “try before you buy”!
To learn more about Jen and see some of her amazing work:http://jenspaker.com/
Class Limit: 8
Class Minimum: 5
Intro to Botanical Watercolor Painting
*this class date has been cancelled. We hope to be able to offer it in the Fall. Please email Wendy Wilson, Adult Education coordinator at wwilso35@uncc.edu if you wish to be notified of the rescheduled date.
Date: Saturday, May 16th 9 am – 1 pm
Cost: $55 / $50 for members *all supplies for the class will be included but if you have a set of favorite brushes you prefer to use feel free to bring them!
Instructor: Janis Schneider
Join us at the Botanical Gardens during our Bigleaf Magnolia Art and Garden Festival with watercolor artist Janis Schneider for a workshop on painting watercolor florals. This class is great for beginners just learning the craft, those who have dabbled in watercolor before, and artists who want to add botanical watercolor painting to their repertoire.
You will also receive a supply list Janis recommends if you are interested in going out on your own and purchasing a watercolor starter kit for yourself to use and practice your new skills after this class!
From Janis
“There are many ways of creating a botanical painting. Once you learn the basics, you get to choose your own style. We will talk about the basics: observation, drawing, color, materials, and the steps in paint application. It takes courage to learn something new, so I hope you will try not to be perfect, play, and feel free to make mistakes!”
Janis is an accomplished artist and is a member of Charlotte Art League, Guild of Charlotte Artists, Matthews Art Guild, Piedmont Pastel Society and has taught classes at UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, and Wing Haven.
Location: McMillan Greenhouse Classroom, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Class Limit: 15
Class Minimum: 7
this class date has been cancelled. We hope to be able to offer it in the Fall. Please email Wendy Wilson, Adult Education coordinator at wwilso35@uncc.edu if you wish to be notified of the rescheduled date
Making Art from Cell Phone Macro Photography:Online Class
Date: Saturday, May 16th 2 pm – 4 pm
Instructor: Wendy Wilson, Adult Education Coordinator, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Cost: $35 / $30 for members
Have you ever wanted to be able to take stunning close-up photos? Wish you could get a closer look at some of nature’s miniature flowers and creatures? Join Wendy Wilson, an avid iPhone photographer for an online class where she will show you how you can photograph the vast world hiding in plain sight.
The workshop will start where you will fit your own macro lens on your smartphone (no adhesives or mounting strips or special equipment required!). After practicing using our lenses, you will go on a photography scavenger hunt where you can get up close with beautiful and curious plants and flowers and discover the huge world of macro for yourself.
We will reconvene after your photo foray for a tutorial on editing your photos to look like works of art.
Registration Required
Workshop: The Art and Science of the Pressed Plant:Online Class
Composition by Grace Kelly 
Date: Saturday, May 16th 10: 00 am – 12:00 noon
Instructor: Amy Tipton, Assistant Director, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Cost: $15 / $10 for members
Learn about the basic supplies needed to press plants and how to select and prepare plant material for the best results. Amy will provide demos for pressing material, preparing a scientific specimen, and composing an artful composition.
Registration Required
Lecture: The Art and Science of the Pressed Plant:Online
Date: Saturday, May 16th 10:00 am
Presenter: Amy Tipton, Assistant Director, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Cost: $5 / Members are Free
Learn about the history of pressing plants for scientific and decorative purposes: the earliest pressed leaves prepared by herbalists in the Middle Ages, botanists’ worldwide collection of specimens in the 1600-1700s, the flower art of Victorian aristocracy, current-day herbaria sheets, and the recent popularization of pressed ferns for home decor.
Registration requested
Children’s and Family Classes
Nature Sketchbook for Kids, Teens, and Families: Online/Remote learning
Sunday, May 17th 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Instructor: Amy Tipton, Assistant Director UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Cost: $20 for families of up to 4 people ($15 for Gardens members); $5 each for additional family member
Are you a family that enjoys spending time in nature? Amy can show you how to observe nature more closely and record what you see in your own nature sketchbook. The class will be held in the Van Landingham Glen native woodland garden. Participants will learn the basics of sketching with graphite pencils and watercolor pencils and will see examples of different people’s approaches to keeping a nature sketchbook.
This class includes the lesson and a sketchbook for each family member to take home. Graphite and watercolor pencils, erasers, etc. will be available for use during the class.
Class Limit: 20
Registration Required