Category Archives: Art Classes for Everyone

Art Classes for Everyone

Pollinators in Action – Wildflowers. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 4/17/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – Wildflowers

Wednesday, April 17th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note  WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Cornflower – this bright blue hardy annual is most noted for attracting the Painted Lady Butterfly, and also attracts hummingbirds as well as lady bugs. Cornflowers grow best in full sun, are drought tolerant and tolerate poor soil well. They are one of the most beautiful blue wildflowers and make the landscape pristine in summer.

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper
  • Brushes
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate for color mixing
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Art Classes for Everyone

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – Springtime Forest In-person Workshop – PHILIPSE MANOR HALL, April 13, 2024 at 1:00 PM

Springtime Forest Art Workshop

April 13, 2024 1:00 PM
29 Warburton Ave. Yonkers, NY 10170
directions: click HERE

Join us for this free, family-friendly workshop where you will learn a variety of art techniques to create your own springtime tree portrait. Using wax resist techniques, watercolors, and collage elements, create a beautiful work of art showcasing a tree leafing out in springtime, guided by a professional artist. Art pieces can be displayed individually, or with other pieces to form a mural. All materials provided.

Space and coordination provided by Philipse Manor Hall 

Art Classes for Everyone

Pollinators in Action – Butterflies. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 4/10/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – Butterflies

Wednesday, April 10th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note  WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper
  • Brushes
  • Black thin marker
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate for color mixing
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

“People of all ages watch the brilliantly colored insects with awe and wonder at Butterflies in the Garden. What many don’t realize is that while we value butterflies for their beauty, they also play an important role in the ecosystem. Along with bees, birds and various other insects, they help flowering plants reproduce.

Birds and insects are critical pollinators; in fact, more than 80 percent of land plants are pollinated by animals such as butterflies. Pollen sticks to the bodies of pollinators when they feed on nectar, a sugary fluid produced by flowering plants to attract pollinators. Flowers benefit when they are visited by many pollinators, so they have evolved ways to attract birds and bees. The bright colors and showy petals of flowers serve as advertisements to pollinators promising rich nectar within.
Bees do most of the work of cross-pollination, but the contribution of birds and butterflies can’t be dismissed. In fact, scientists were recently surprised by how much butterflies contributed to the pollination of cotton fields in south Texas. In an article published in Science, researchers estimated butterflies contributed $120 million-worth of pollination to cotton farmers.

Butterfly populations are in decline across the world, primarily due to habitat loss, and not only cotton fields could suffer if species are lost. “Butterflies are important indicators of the health of the environment,” says O’Connell. “Healthy ecosystems with large native plant populations attract butterflies. You know something has gone very wrong in a location that butterflies avoid.” “Butterflies are also part of the food chain. Both caterpillars and butterflies are important food sources for many creatures, especially birds,” O’Connell continues. “And they have intrinsic value as part of the natural world.” —fwbg.org

Art Classes for Everyone

Pollinators in Action – Flowering Cherry Trees. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 3/27/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowering Cherry Trees

Wednesday, March 27th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note  WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Natural reproductive systems are often described using the birds and bees analogy. In the case of cherry trees, birds plant the seeds but bees are required to pollinate the flowers that make the fruit and seeds.   —https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper
  • Brushes
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate or small cups or plate for color mixing
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

“When you stroll through National Mall and Memorial Parks, you witness an intricately cultivated ecosystem. Almost all the plants are bred, selected, planted, pruned, and culled for visual effect. Yet untamed natural processes still occur and several species of animals live and flourish in this city “garden.”

Pollinators play a role in the life of this cultivated garden. Each year the color and scent of the cherry blossoms attract a variety of birds and insects. They play an accidental, though essential, role in pollination. Both plants and animals are dependent on pollinators. Pollination is the process by which the plant pollen grains are transferred from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma, which produces seeds for the next generation. Honey bees, wasps, beetles, and other insects fly or crawl to flowers seeking and eating the protein rich pollen. They sponge pollen onto their lower legs, abdomen, and mouth parts. As they fly from flower to flower, the pollen is then transferred to different flowers in different areas. In doing this, pollinators increase the diversity of the landscape’s species.

Birds like northern cardinals and blue jays are attracted to the blossoms in the spring. When the birds eat the blossoms, excess pollen gathers on their beaks thus spreading a wealth of cherry pollen in and around the park. Birds also may trim excess blossoms which helps aid the tree in preventing disease. Although the park plants most of the cherry trees, birds help to maintain that cycle of life. Birds also eat some insects found on the trees providing a supply of protein while also protecting the cherry tree from harmful insects.

So, if we want to continue to enjoy colorful displays and cheerful sounds of spring, we should appreciate the hidden powers of all that comes with that transient beauty. The birds that might leave droppings on you car; the pollen that makes you sneeze; the insects that might deliver a painful sting are all an important part of this delicately cultivated national garden.”  —https://www.nps.gov/articles/birds-and-cherry-blossom-trees.htm

 

Art Classes for Everyone

Feathers of Birds Pollinators. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 3/20/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – Painting  feathers of Birds Pollinators: Sunbirds, Honeyeaters and Hummingbirds

Wednesday, March 20th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note  WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper
  • Brushes
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate or small cups or plate for color mixing
  • Crayons (optional)
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Practicing wet-on-wet brushstrokes.

Some of 1,089 species of birds have been recorded as effective pollinators, or about10 per cent of all bird species. Generally speaking , bird pollination is more common in regions where plant growth and flowering occur at all times of the year. In more seasonal regions, the bird pollinators are more likely to be migrant species. Birds can carry large loads of pollen a long way, thereby connecting dispersed plant populations or individuals. Birds are also less likely to be put off by bad weather in the way the bees are, and there is a good evidence that birds often feature as pollinators where insects fail to thrive or even exist, such as oceanic islands.  —Timothy Walker, Princeton University Press

 

 

Art Classes for Everyone

Wildflowers for Pollinators. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 3/13/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – WILDFLOWERS FOR POLLINATORS

March 13th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note ART WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper
  • Brushes (large and small)
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate or small cups or plate for color mixing
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen offer the most food for these insects. Wildflowers are best because they usually have simple, single flowers that are easier for flying insects to access.

 

Art Classes for Everyone

Wildflower Meadow – Experimenting with Monoprint. Free Live Zoom Art Workshop. Wednesday 3/6/2024 at 5:00 PM

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – WILDFLOWER MEADOW

March 6th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note ART WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Art supplies:

  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy light plain paper (
  • Piece of aluminum foil or glossy paper (~size of letter size paper)
  • Two round brushes (large and small)
  • Container of water
  • Paper towel (few pieces)
  • Plate or small cups or plate for color mixing
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

 

 

Art Classes for Everyone

Youtube – Fantastical Leaves with Wax Resist (2022 workshop with Amanda Konishi)

Discover Wax resist technique with Amanda Konishi!

Materials:

  • wax crayons in a variety of colors
  • watercolor or water-based paint
  • sturdy paper
  • large brush
  • container of water
  • paper towel (few pieces
  • Optional: small cups or plate for color mixing
    Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Participants will create atmospheric drawings of a variety of leaves using a crayon wax resist technique. Color mixing will be introduced with both crayons and paint, and the basic structure of different varieties of leaves will be explored. It is suggested that participants bring a few leaves in from their neighborhood or any surrounding environment if possible. After learning a few different ways to create leaves, participants will be encouraged to explore their creativity by mixing and matching patterns, styles and colors to make their own fantasy foliage.

 

Art Classes for Everyone, Children Art (Parents Welcome to Join)

Pollinators in Action – Birds. Free Live ZOOM Art Workshop. Febr. 14th, 2024 at 5 PM.

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – SUNBIRDS 

February 14th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note ART WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Materials:

  • Water-based paints
  • Crayons (optional)
  • Sturdy white paper
  • Brush and 2 containers of water
  • Paper towel
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly in the males. Many species also have especially long tail feathers. Their range extends through most of Africa to the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia and southern China, to Indonesia, New Guinea and northern Australia. Species diversity is highest in equatorial regions.

There are 151 species in 16 genera. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but will also eat insects and spiders, especially when feeding their young. Flowers that prevent access to their nectar because of their shape (for example, very long and narrow flowers) are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries, from which the birds sip the nectar. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct, thanks to their short wings.

The sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution brought about by a similar nectar-feeding lifestyle. Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but they usually perch to feed.  —wikipedia

 

Art Classes for Everyone, Children Art (Parents Welcome to Join)

Pollinators in Action – Sunflowers. Free Live ZOOM Art Workshop. Febr. 7th, 2024 at 5 PM.

POLLINATORS IN ACTION – SUNFLOWERS 

February 7th at 5:00 PM. To sign up for this program send an email to office@sitenf.org with the note ART WORKSHOP in the subject line. We will email you the ZOOM ID and password.

Materials:

  • Black wax crayon (or any dark color crayon)
  • Watercolor or water-based paint
  • Sturdy white paper
  • Brush and container of water
  • Paper towel
  • Newspaper or table covering (optional but recommended)

Many sunflowers can self pollinate, as pollen is spread by wind between florets in a single disc. However, insect pollination is more beneficial, especially in times of stress. Bees could increase self pollination rate, spreading it while crawling between florets on a single disc.

The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. With time, the bulk of industrial-scale production has shifted to Eastern Europe, and (2020) Russia and Ukraine together produce over half of worldwide seed production.

The plant has an erect rough-hairy stem, reaching typical heights of 10 feet. Sunflower leaves are broad, coarsely toothed, rough and mostly alternate; those near the bottom are largest and commonly heart-shaped.

The plant flowers in summer. What is often called the “flower” of the sunflower is actually a “flower head” 3–5 in wide, of numerous small individual five-petaled flowers (“florets”). The outer flowers, which resemble petals, are called ray flowers. Each “petal” consists of a ligule composed of fused petals of an asymmetrical ray flower. They are sexually sterile and may be yellow, red, orange, or other colors. The spirally arranged flowers in the center of the head are called disk flowers. These mature into fruit (sunflower “seeds”).
—wikipedia