Open Studio
(formally techniques showcase)
Trudy Nicholson at a Techniques Showcase (Open Studio)
On Wednesday afternoon, July 15th, from 1:30 to 4:30 PM, join your fellow Illustrators for an afternoon of interaction and technique demonstrations. Situated in the Dunn Conference Suite, 10 illustrators will be creating and exhibiting their techniques to share with you and the rest of the attendees ….
The GNSI Journal
Fiona Martin, Jennifer Lucas, Julianne Snider, and Britt Griswold
The JNSI Members of GNSI's journal team will be present to share copies of the Journal of Natural Science Illustration from the archives (for browsing) as well as handouts of open-source articles. We'll go over the kinds of articles we look for and our submission guidelines for text and images. Learn how you too can feature your own SciArt project, adventure, or sketchbook pages. Or go the extra mile and write an article about traditional or digital techniques for fellow Guild members. We're always looking for volunteers too!
See historic and current copies of the print journal, and some of our best content over the years- See where to access the digital journal on the new website (for new members).
Learn about our new print-on-demand option to order back issues
Learn how to submit an article and the benefits of getting published
Learn about what the journal team does and volunteer opportunities.
Marine Botanicals, The Art of Seaweed
Mary Jameson
Learn the history of seaweed pressing and cyanotype. You'll discover the beauty of seaweed, increase your knowledge of marine algae and have a memorable time with this unique experience. In the process of this work, which I observe as symbiotic layering, the known and unknown intersect in a dynamic way to challenge thought patterns. For most people, seaweed is a nuisance - something to avoid. This work presents a new awareness and offers new insights into the mysteries and beauty of the marine world.
Seaweed pressing was popular during the Victorian Era when art and craft incorporating the natural environment was in vogue. It was believed that one’s spirituality was elevated by the awareness that the hand of God was in nature, and therefore it was socially acceptable, especially for women, to spend their time exploring this genre.
Mary Jameson is an artist who has been working with seaweed in her art practice for over 10 years. In this demo you will learn about the history of seaweed pressing and cyanotype, and how Mary works with both techniques to create unique prints, separately and by combining them together!
Tricks of the trade – A Corvid’s World
Dorie Pouch Petrochko
Enjoy a teaching moment—when something I learn fascinates me, I want to share it with others, through illustration. Corvids have always fascinated me.
They are social birds but there are distinctive differences in their appearance and behaviors that I like to illustrate, such as their size, bill shape, tail and throat feathers and the fact that they can soar upside down, use tools, and taunt other birds.!
Colored Pencil
Betsy Barry
Explore the techniques and methods used to create sketchbook studies, and ultimately finished works, of plants and other nature specimens using the flexible medium of colored pencil.
Pyrography Nature Illustration
Alissa O’Brien
Observe an introduction to the technique of pyrography by viewing a demonstration of a wood burn project in progress. Pyrography is not a traditional art technique that many know about, however it shares a methodology similar to working with pen and ink.
A presentation will be given to introduce participants to the steps involved with creating a pyrography project from start to finish, promoting an appreciation for this art form. Choosing wood, wood preparation, sketching, and wood burning will be discussed and demonstrated. Participants will learn how wood types and specific grain patterning can correspond with nature subjects and themes. Examples of wood specimens will be available for examining grain patterns as evidence for insect damage, pathogens, or environmental stresses are a visual record of a tree's history. Wood grain and the image created by wood burning both contribute to a unique method of illustrating nature..
Field Journaling with mixed media
Kristin Gjerdset
Bring renewed creativity to your art by exploring how to combine different drawing and water-based painting materials, along with collage techniques, through nature journaling. You will be guided on how thoughtful material use can provide greater visual meaning and complexity to your art. Creating compositions and observation skill strategies will also be included in the content of this studio. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to try different materials, making mini sample artworks, as well as being provided with educational handouts and resources. No art experience is necessary, just enthusiasm to visually contemplate the environment, with mixed media, realizing how profound the act of making connects us to it. And if you have art experience, it is meant to build on your experiences!
Sketching Outside
Frances Topping
I will share some techniques and materials to facilitate sketching and offer encouragement to sketch quickly and find the main elements. If willing to share we can make copies to collage into a sense of place and memento of the conference. If you don’t regularly sketch to keep your hand in, now is your opportunity to take a break and return to your roots. I like sketching for travel, nature, landscapes and recording events. While some nature journals can have a finished look this is a quicker sketching opportunity.
Gouache Techniques
Carol Schwartz
Explore the versatility of gouache in this painting demo. Gouache, opaque watercolor, can be used in a translucent or opaque form. Starting with the translucent form, the paint can be layered to build color and value. Shadows are then applied. Details are added using the paint in its opaque form, using a variety of brush strokes dictated by the reference subjects. Highlights complete the illustration. Learn how to create a realistic texture of sand using washes of color and a sea sponge. Enjoy a small sampling of the New England seashore as intertidal species inspire this painting demo of rocks, shells, algae, and sea creatures.
Learn to understand how to use gouache as a translucent and opaque paint by controlling the amount of water that is mixed with the paint and how much water is held in the brush. Distinguish how building layers of colors creates a richer, more subtle range of color and controlling the warmth or coolness of a color has an effect on the success of an illustration. Recognize techniques for achieving convincing textures.
Tradigital Techniques – mixing traditional and digital techniques
Scott Rawlins
If you are a procrastinator like me, media and techniques that save time are worth pursuing. Combining digital “base art” with traditional media works well for me! This is a good example of a “tradigital” approach. In addition, using coquille board as a ground not only speeds things up even more, but also gives the final artwork a unique look that resembles a mezzotint.
I would hope observers would come away with a better understanding of what constitutes tradigital art, a greater appreciation of coquille board as a ground and a desire to experiment on their own.
Chokusetsu-ho Gyotaku
Stephen Mutsugoroh DiCerbo
Chokusetsu-ho is the Direct Fish Printing Gyotaku process and the original fisherman’s version of this well-loved folk-art form.
Witness the basics of pulling prints from fish, in the Japanese tradition. This is a precursor to the Gyotaku workshop later in the week on Saturday.
Materials will be on display for inspection, A prepared Gyotaku “printing plate” (fish) will be presented and the inking and print pulling process will be demonstrated. There will be opportunity for hands on participation.