Harrison Campus | Poet Outdoor Education Center
Learn how to collect and preserve plant and flower specimens to create beautiful framed art.
This class will take you into the woods (weather permitting) to learn what plants make great specimens. You will learn how to train your eye to see and appreciate the tiny plants and flowers that surround us and how they can be used to make art.
Back in the classroom, you will learn how to press the specimens. Students should bring a thick book with non-glossy paper pages. An old phone book or dictionary works great. Instructions on how to make your own flower press will be available. If you find you absolutely love this floral art, you can purchase a flower press in class.
The second half of the class will show students how to use plant specimens and arrange them on paper to create a pleasing artistic picture. Plant specimens, frames, glass, matts, and mounting paper are all provided. Students will leave with a finished piece.
What to bring:
-Large book for pressing specimens. Non glossy paper.
-Bug spray for walking in the woods
-Phone or camera (if you have one) for taking pictures and I.D. plants
-Tweezers to handle specimens
Jenny Clark – Artist Statement
I am new to Michigan. My husband and I had a farm in Ohio where we raised our family. We spent many weeks vacationing in Michigan. Four years ago we decided to purchase a home on Lily Lake in Clare County. Now I am surrounded by the beauty of lakes, forests, and the back roads of Michigan.
I have always loved art and my career as a sign artist spanned 15 years. I also worked as a floral designer for 11 years using flowers to create art in bloom. When I retired in 2019, I knew I wanted to get back to painting and creating full-time. My dream was to have my own art studio and gallery and now I do. It’s called Birch Studio and Gallery and it’s located at my home on Lily Lake.
My art is inspired by nature. I take note of every tree, leaf, bird, stream, and sunset. I love the seasons of change and am drawn towards the diversity of colors in the earth and sky which are reflected in the colorful palette that I use in my paintings. Many times a walk in the nearby woods is my inspiration for a painting. The fern-covered forest floor beckons to be painted or the heron at water’s edge inspires me. When I am not painting, I collect and press plant specimens. My botanical pressings are inspired by my years as a floral designer creating art in bloom.
Nature stirs something deep inside me…I have to experience it every day to feel complete. I hope my art does that for people….motivates them to walk in the woods and experience nature.