Chinese Brush Painting

Date: November 12,13. 7:00-9:00pm

Chinese brush painting is one of the world's oldest continuous art forms. This tradition begain several thousand years ago in China, and continues today. This technique differs from traditional western art in that the painter must conceive and mentally design a draft of his or her work before actually putting brush to paper. Using imagination and experience, the painter expresses his vision without correcting the painting. Below is an interesting example of how a bee might be illustrated:

We are fortunate to have Peihong Dong as the instructor for our class. Her work has been displayed all over the world, and has been featured in several prestigious publications. My favorite painting of hers is entitled "Full Moon":

Peihong's first class with us sold out quickly last summer. Get registered early for this rare opportunity to learn from a master.

Bill

Edible Plants - The Real Organic Food

Not from the grocery store. Edible wild plants are everywhere, but identifying them is another matter. Elderberries, Yaupon tea, wild grapes, and wood sorrel are but a few of the treats that grow at the Arboretum. Join us and learn how to find, indentify, and prepare wild foods. Our instructor, Dr. Mark Vorderbruggen, is a research chemist, and also one of the Houston area’s most intrepid explorers. Mark spends every free moment on adventures, including canoeing, hiking, exploring, camping, eating wild things, and sleeping under the stars. His popular blog is Merriwether the Adventurer.

More Postponements

The trickledown effect of the storm continues. The following classes have been postponed:

• Eco-friendly wine - will be rescheduled in January.
• Identifying Mushrooms - Now November 4,5.
• Viol da Gamba Concert - Now November 9
• Chinese Brush Painting - Now November 12,13
• Photographing Butterflies - will be rescheduled in the spring.
• Night Sounds hike - Now November 7.

We appreciate your patience. I am currently working on the schedule for spring. So far, we have tentative plans for:

Tree pruning for hurricane preparedness.

Gardening for birds and butterflies.

Texas wines.

Invasive plants.

Please stay tuned. I'll post news as soon as our spring schedule is confirmed.

Fall Programs, Redux

Hopefully we're all recovering from the storm that I will not name. Fortunately, the Arboretum did not suffer any damage to the building (even with glass ceilings!). The grounds and trails were not so fortunate. It was hard to actually find the trails - almost all were covered with downed trees and brush. After two and a half weeks on chain saw and brush removal crews, I can promise that the staff is ready for normal operations to resume. And our faithful volunteers have once again stepped up and helped where we needed it most. And, oh yea, the power finally came on today...

Since this blog is primarily about our adult programs, I would like to share some ideas on how we plan to restart our fall program offerings. The storm and its physical and psychological effects, combined with this country's current economic crisis has certainly focused the attention of Houstonians on home and personal matters, and away from extracurricular activities. Our goal is to offer some interesting and affordable classes to help our friends refocus on the beauty of nature, and find constructive distractions from our everyday problems.

We've had to cancel six classes (with others delayed) as a result of the "adventure". Hopefully we can reschedule some of those, instructor schedules permitting. Our first class after we resume normal hours will be the popular Leaf Art class with Owen Mortensen. Owen is a favorite exhibitor at the Bayou City Art Fest, and we're pleased to have him back on October 16 to illustrate how he does his unique artwork. November is full of interesting and affordable classes - please check the website for details. And look for another post soon on these offerings. And look for additional details on discounts and incentives. As always, check our website.

Bill