As a significant contribution toward fulfilling our educational
mission, each Spring PSBI provides a botanical illustration class
at the Fleisher Art Memorial of Philadelphia, helping student
develop an interest and skills in the field.
Classes are limited to ten to allow individuallized instruction.
Primarily focussed toward teens, by popular demand adults have
been allowed to to fill out the class as space permits. PSBI provides
all art supplies for the teens, as well as underwriting the stipend
for the instructors. Adults must supply their own materials. There
is no course fee. The syllabus has covered a variety of media
and techniques from graphite and watercolor to colored pencil
and pastel.
Instructors are trained professional botanical illustrators,chosen
from the membership of PSBI. The roster has included such talents
as Virginia Fitzpatrick, an arts educator and administrator, who
has taught arts skills through Master's level in colleges and
universities. It includes Scott Rawlins, head of the Art Department
at Arcadia College, and a nationally known professional illustrator
in both the scientific and botanical fields. The roster has also
included Joan Frain, a botanical illustrator and teacher for nearly
30 years, whose work is in many corporate collections.
Attendance in one of these classes is possible only through application
to Fleisher at the start of the Spring semester, as put forth
in their brochure of class offerings.
