During the week, our group visited locations that served to preserve past culture and enlighten current populations about how practices and documentation of botanical records evolved over hundreds of years. Our week also served to meld the science of botanicals and the art of creating records could be used for medicine, landscape enthusiasts or fine artists. Methods of early printed descriptions that accompanied the botanical images were available to compare the culture and attitudes of past eras. It was interesting to get a glimpse into the prevailing attitudes of the times. The appearances of some of the early 16th and 17th century botanical illustration reminded me of early portraits of people where some features were out of proportion. It was great to see the passion of the curators and guides who present these valuable artifacts.

My lesson has my students creating video versions of botanical illustrations. Each student selects a plant that they have access to in real life (either on our school's campus, at a nearby garden, or at their home). They locate a botanical illustration of the plant (or a similar plant) at LOC.gov or elsewhere and then do some basic research about the plant, identifying its common name, scientific name, country of origin, key features, and uses. Students then film a background plate of their plant (a steady shot of it with their camera on a tripod) and film themselves in front of our TV studio's green screen giving a brief presentation of the information they researched. Finally, they use video editing software to combine their two shots to create the illusion that they have shrunken down to the size of a plant to tell us about it (think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids).

Click here for the full lesson plan

Click here to watch a sample of the finished project

In this lesson students will explore how artists/botanists capture images of flora and how that contributes to their scientific knowledge. They will also consider the value of collecting such information. Students will create prints of flora collected in their immediate environment and create a collage. Please see lesson plan for more information. 

Nature Journaling

Barbara Gail

Kohl Ami

07-15-2022

Student Objectives:

Students will:

Create a nature journal that includes a sample of foliage/flowers that are either in your home or in the yard outside your home.

Create an art image utilizing a variety of techniques with foliage/flowers specimens as well as botanicals provided in class by the teacher.

With the goal of becoming more connected to the natural world around us we will incorporate writing about our connectivity through personal poetry or commentary that can have an environmental cause that a student feels passionate about. 

Middle and High School Grades 7-12  

Depending on time constraints the students will utilize various materials: Handmade journals for drawing and collecting/writing, glue sticks, paint for printmaking, brayers, pencils, color pencils, watercolors, brushes, parchment for storing foliage in the journal, colored paper for collage work, notecards for written work to accompany journal illustration, Connecting with OuiSi game tiles,  sunprint paper (cyanotype), instant cameras for onsite photographs, burlap and yarn for embroidery, small canvases painted for mounting artwork of choice out of the natural journal. 

Students will be introduced to the topic of making a nature journal, by showing the students an example of potential output, but not until after the students go through introduction and brief history of Dust Bowl, and utilize analysis of a primary resource format to took closely at some images of the Dust Bowl.  We will then move to the the two books Indian summers (LOC) and Friendship Album (The Library Company of Philadelphia) We will take a closer look at some of the poetry in the books.  Students will then work with a set of cards to look at close up images to sort through organic and inorganic objects.  Students will be encouraged to discuss what the differences are in the groupings and what similarities they can find.  Students are encouraged to share out with the whole group and then we will discuss what kinds of nature specimens can they find in or around their home.  Students will be work on their book that will house all of their nature journalling and then sent home to bring back a specimen of nature in a plant/flower form for the following week. The following weeks students will utilize various recording techniques for documenting their leaf and work on some form of written statement of sorts to go inside their journal.   The writing can take on any form poetry or prose.

Resources:

Primary Resource LOC - Indian Summers:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.indiansummerautu00whit/?st=gallery

 Primary Resource The Library Company of Philadelphia - Friendship Album - Amy Matilda Cassie 

https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/search/Amy%20Matilda%20Cassie?type=edismax&cp=islandora%3Aroot

Primary Resource LOC for images related to the autumn season:

 https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/autumn-and-halloween/

Primary Resource LOC for Environmental Connections in Art

https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/herblock-art-in-action/about-this-exhibition/environment/

Primary Resource LOC - Dust Bowl

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/out-of-the-dust-visions-of-dust-bowl-history/

https://www.loc.gov/items/2017760356,2017760331,2017760332?st=gallery

Analysis for Primary Resources

https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/documents/Analyzing_Primary_Sources.pdf

Students will be using primary sources to investigate how different processes yield different results.  They’ll be thinking about how choosing their own plants and processes for art-making speaks to their individuality. When they use these chosen plants as an overlay, they’ll question what they are disguising or revealing about themselves when camouflaging their portrait.  Botanical drawings are a form of documentation, much like photographs.  Through the use of photography, students will explore how documenting their identity relates to the way botanical prints document a plant’s individual characteristics.  Students will have an introduction to botanical printmaking and related artists via Nearpod reflections and hands-on investigation.  They’ll learn about 3 styles of intaglio printmaking (frottage, stamping, and relief/engraving) using foraged plant matter from our school garden.  After exploring a variety of printmaking techniques, students will take a photograph of themselves with a blank background using their chromebook.  Students will then begin camouflaging their portrait print out using a printmaking method of their choice using foraged plants.  Once they’ve finished their portraits, they’ll participate in a gallery walk with their peers as an assessment and reflect on their process in Nearpod.

Camouflage Self-Portraits Lesson Plan

Seed Packets of Character Strengths Lesson Plan

Here it is...a way for my students to begin the year by identifying their individual strengths and planting these "seeds" so others can witness their character traits as they cultivate them in our classroom and our school community.  Students will take the VIA Character Strength Survey, create seed packets with a visual of the botanical historically related to their character strength, then introduce themselves to their classmates.  I'm excited to create this living bulletin board that allows students to witness and encourage one another.

Thank you for a great week of curiosity, reflection, and inspiration.  Here is a link to my (non credit student status) lesson plan ideas.  Be well!

Moira Messick

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/271546001

https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/7/324 (Matisse's process...)