u3a art group
Since September 2000 the Botanical Illustration Group of Sherborne U3A has met in Holwell Village Hall. The group leader, Gillian Constable, lives in the village and members come from Holwell and the surrounding area.
The group meets on Wednesday mornings from 9.45 to 12.15 about 20 times a year, from September to early July. The cost is about £10 per term depending on the number of classes. The class is restricted to 16 members and, notwithstanding the chill of the Hall in winter, there is always a waiting list.
We work in graphite pencil, pen & ink, coloured pencils and finally, for about half the classes, in the more traditional and most difficult medium watercolour. There is always an excess of material to work from; eg flowers, seed pods, leaves, fruits and fungi (not actually plants but encompassed by the subject).
In 2012 a member of the group privately published a book about our work called ‘Making Our Mark’. All members of the group, past and present, contributed to the book. Many members have exhibited work locally and use their studies to create cards. Two have been accepted into the Society of Floral Painters. The leader is also a member of the Society and a Fellow of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and has a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from Sheffield University. She has work in two books and was part of the Flora of Dorset Exhibition held at the County Museum some years back.
The group meets on Wednesday mornings from 9.45 to 12.15 about 20 times a year, from September to early July. The cost is about £10 per term depending on the number of classes. The class is restricted to 16 members and, notwithstanding the chill of the Hall in winter, there is always a waiting list.
We work in graphite pencil, pen & ink, coloured pencils and finally, for about half the classes, in the more traditional and most difficult medium watercolour. There is always an excess of material to work from; eg flowers, seed pods, leaves, fruits and fungi (not actually plants but encompassed by the subject).
In 2012 a member of the group privately published a book about our work called ‘Making Our Mark’. All members of the group, past and present, contributed to the book. Many members have exhibited work locally and use their studies to create cards. Two have been accepted into the Society of Floral Painters. The leader is also a member of the Society and a Fellow of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and has a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from Sheffield University. She has work in two books and was part of the Flora of Dorset Exhibition held at the County Museum some years back.
