Nurture your inner artist with a class in botanical drawing, painting, or photography or by attending one of our hands-on, nature-inspired craft workshops. Our classes, taught by accomplished, professional artists, will allow you to increase your skills while enhancing your understanding of the natural world.
PROGRAM POLICIES
GROW Adult Education programs are for adults 18 and older. BRIT and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden endeavor to offer a quality educational experience to each program participant, with class sizes supporting this policy. Registered participants may not bring an unregistered participant of any age to class. Onsite registrations, when a class is not sold out, are encouraged.
GROW members may register for courses at the discounted member rate; guests of members do not qualify for the member rate. Program registration fees include complimentary entry into the Botanic Garden the day of the program. Entry to BRIT is always free.
Many courses are held outdoors and may require moderate walking to and from one or more locations. As such we recommend that participants dress comfortably in clothes that are appropriate for both indoor and outdoor adventures. If you have questions about physical requirements, please send an email to ewhite@brit.org.
CANCELLATION POLICY
To cancel your registration for a class, please email mschmidlkofer@brit.org at least ten calendar days prior to the start of that class. You will receive an 85% refund. No refunds are granted less than ten calendar days before the class starts.
If you choose, you may gift your seat in the class to a friend or family member; just send us the name and email address of the person who is taking your spot so we can add them to the roster and send them the appropriate information.
Payment for your class reserves your seat and allows us to secure the instructor. If you are late for class, your seat will be reserved; we do not transfer your seat to walk-in participants. Partial refunds or transfers are not available for unattended classes.
In the event that we must cancel a class, you will be notified email and will have several options: we can transfer your ticket to another class right away (or classes, so long as the new value does not exceed the original value), issue a credit to be applied to another class or classes in the same calendar year, or provide a refund. This applies to classes that do not meet the minimum registrant requirement, which sometimes occurs.
By registering online, over the phone, or in person, you are agreeing to GROW's ten-day cancellation policy outlined above.
Nurture your inner artist with a class in botanical drawing, painting, or photography or by attending one of our hands-on, nature-inspired craft workshops. Our classes, taught by accomplished, professional artists, will allow you to increase your skills while enhancing your understanding of the natural world.
The term bokeh comes from the Japanese and refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur created in out-of-focus parts of photograph. Join professional photographer and educator, Edgar Miller of Edgar Miller Images, as you learn to include this technique into your photographic repertoire, all amidst the carefully composed beauty of the Japanese Garden. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing the elements that make a strong photograph, such as selective framing, focus, and exposure. You will take away connections with fellow-photographers and your own “zen of bokeh” to be used in all your images. Bring your cameras, lenses, and tripods to create lasting memories. This workshop is outdoors; comfortable clothes are recommended.
Instructor: Edgar Miller is a commercial and fine art photographer and educator, having earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He has taught photography and art for the last 20 years and is always looking for new ways to help his clients learn. His work has been shown and awarded in several Texas and national exhibitions, and he is a member of the Texas Photographic Society and the Texas Artists Coalition. Influenced by his late father and his college photography professor, Edgar continues to find interesting light on interesting subjects.
Saturday, October 31, 2020 (10 am – 12 pm)
Registration Deadline: October 29
$35/$30 member
Location: FWBG, Japanese Garden*
*This class will take place outdoors with space for 6' between participants. Class size will be capped at 15. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available if desired.
Supplies: Bring your cameras, lenses, and tripods.
Join artist Tuba Öztekin Köymen for an morning, outdoor photography workshop during the peak of fall color. Learn the best camera settings and dozens of tips for taking great outdoor photos with your smartphone amidst the colorful beauty of the Fuller Garden. After class visit more of the Botanic Garden's hot spots for great fall color, including the Japanese Garden.
Instructor: Tuba Öztekin Köymen is an artist, educator, and designer who lives and works in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. She was born in Turkey and graduated in 1995 from the Department of Graphic Design at Bilkent University. In 1999, she was awarded an MFA in Photography and Digital imaging by the Maryland Institute College of Art. Köymen’s art calls attention to human nature by offering candid scenes of everyday life through the media of photography, mixed media, and photo based installations. Working across the gamut of photographic processes — from alternative to digital — Köymen centers on issues arising from place, culture, and social interaction.
Saturday, November 14, 2020 (10 am – 12 pm)
Registration Deadline: November 12
$35/$30 member
Location: FWBG Fuller Garden*
*This class will take place outdoors with space for 6' between participants. Class size will be capped at 15. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available if desired.
Materials: smartphone (iPhone or Android)
In this class you will learn different techniques for drawing foliage, texture, and value, all while sketching the splendor of the Japanese Garden. Artist Erika Duque Scully will demonstrate how to achieve these techniques and will share examples of other artists’ works for further inspiration. You will be encouraged to draw loosely, sketching balanced and interesting compositions of trees and other plants with confidence. Supplies are not provided (see below for a supply list).
Instructor: Erika Duque Scully is a landscape and nature-based painter who lives and works in Fort Worth, TX. Scully received her BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA in painting at Texas Christian University. She has been featured in over thirty solo and group shows throughout the Metroplex. In 2017, Scully was nominated by Ro2 Gallery for Rising Star Fundraiser at the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts. She is currently represented by Fort Works Art Gallery in Fort Worth.
Saturday, November 14, 2020 (11 am – 1 pm)
Registration Deadline: November 12
$35/$30 member
Location: FWBG, Japanese Garden*
*This class will take place outdoors with space for 6' between participants. Class size will be capped at 18. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available if desired.
Supplies: Click here for the supply list.
This two-day virtual workshop focuses on the richness of winter botanicals to celebrate the season. Students will complete 1-2 projects (time allowing) inspired by the plants that thrive in the wintertime landscape, using a limited palette. Created for those with some experience in watercolor, this workshop includes a brief review of materials and basic techniques in watercolor. Students will engage in an ongoing discussion of the unique qualities of this luminous, serendipitous medium. Students will provide their own materials and have their palette set up prior to the workshop. A materials list will be emailed upon registration.
Instructor: Brenda Ciardiello is a Mexican-American artist who paints contemporary landscapes, botanicals, and abstract art that deal with themes of personal connection to nature around the world, as inspired by her travels. Almost all of her work focuses on using the unpredictable nature of water to depict the unique interplay of color, light and texture in otherwise fleeting elements: water, clouds, and flora. Brenda is heavily influenced by her bicultural and international experience of the world. Born in Mexico City but raised in Texas, she has also lived / studied in Mexico, Italy, the U.K., New York City, New England, the Rocky Mountains and the Middle East. As part of her process she travels whenever possible to capture original source imagery for her work.
Saturday, December 5 & Sunday, December 6 (10 am – 12 pm)
Registration Deadline: December 3
$75/$65 member
Location: This is an online class; you will receive an email the day prior to class with the Zoom class code and password.
Materials: A full list of necessary materials will be emailed upon registration; the basic materials include:
