Tag Archives: art

Learn, Create, and Express Yourself at our Digital Photography Homeschool Program

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Sean K.

Build your own digital camera!

On February 3rd, we will kick off our winter STEAM Ahead Photography homeschool course, only a few spots remain so sign up today. This program focuses on fostering curiosity, creativity, innovative thinking, and problem solving and is designed and taught by Sean Kent, a dedicated science educator, field biologist, and accomplished amateur photographer. Students will build a digital camera and learn about the science behind the camera lens, while exploring the art of photography. As an art museum and a 121 acre wildlife sanctuary, students will have the unique opportunity to learn about the science, art, and technology of photography, while also being immersed in project based learning focused on our environment. To learn more about homeschool courses offered at Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art, check out a blog post about our Fall 2015 courses.

Photography students exploring the brook and completing a photography scavenger hunt. Photo credit: Sean Kent

During the photography course, students will

Learn about the science, engineering and technology behind the camera lens, including power generation, how an image is created by a lens, and how the microcontroller in a digital camera works
Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human eye
Explore the artistic tools used to compose a photograph, including the rule of thirds and leading lines

“The homeschool classes at the Museum of American Bird Art are the most thoughtfully designed programs my children have ever attended.” – PARENT

For members, the course fee is 160$ with a 100$ materials fee for the cost of the digital camera that a students build.

Learn more about the course instructor

Sean Kent, the education coordinator for the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, designed and will teach the digital photography course. Sean is a skilled educator with broad experience working with elementary through college-age students in art studio, classroom, and outdoor settings. He has a master’s degree in biology, and his research on native plants and pollinators has taken him from the Boston Harbor Islands to Belize. He is an art enthusiast, birder, and accomplished amateur photographer.

Check out our other Winter Homeschool Classes

Monday:

Tuesday

Painting Immersion – Famous Nature Artists and You (Two Classes: Ages 7 to 9, and Ages 10 to 15)

Wednesday

STEAM Ahead Photography Homeschool Program

Chipmunk Season

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

Lincoln Woods Wildlife Sanctuary, Leominster on October 6, 2015

Wherever I happened to be along the trails at Lincoln Woods Wildlife Sanctuary today, I was never out of earshot of the persistent “chuck-chuck-chuck” of Eastern Chipmunks. At no other time of the year are these attractive little rodents more vocal. I’ve been told that the “chuck” call is given by males defending a territory, so I tracked one down (by ear) and put a scope on the animal. It occupied an inconspicuous perch on the forest floor and delivered it’s “chucks” at regular intervals, otherwise remaining quite still – a good model for drawing!

Eastern Chipmunk, watercolor on Arches cold-press , 8″ x 12″

My dad often used an expression to describe us kids when we got up early in the morning – “BRIGHT-EYED AND BUSHY-TAILED”. It’s a pretty good description of this little guy!

The woods around the parking area in this urban neighborhood are a nearly unbroken stand of Norway maples. The ability of this tree to grow quickly and seed-in heavily allows it to out-compete native trees and form dense monocultures. As I head deeper into the woods, however, the Norway maples thin out and give way to native species. Heading out along the western side of the Elizabeth Lincoln Loop Trail, I pass through a stand of majestic white pines before the trail joins with Vernal Pool Loop.

Vernal Pool at Lincoln Woods - DRY (small)

A series of vernal pools can be seen on either side of this elevated trail, which runs along a glacial esker ridge. Most of the vernal pools are bone dry at this time of year, but two of the largest pools have some water in them. I wander down to the largest pool to get a closer look. Around the pool, I notice some interesting plants – marsh fern, swamp oak, sassafras, winterberry and dogwood.

Vernal Pool at Lincoln Woods - WET (small)

As I’m about to depart, a movement along the opposite shore catches my eye, and I focus my binoculars on two blackpoll warblers that have come to bath in the pool.

Blackpoll Warblers in Vernal Pool sketch - at 72 dpi

Sketchbook study of young blackpoll warblers, pencil, 5″ x 9″

The bright olive hue of the birds makes an unexpected contrast with the somber colors of the shoreline, and the bird’s reflections seem to glow on the dark waters. Within minutes the birds have moved on, and the pool is once again quiet and still. I make some quick sketches to fix the scene in my mind, and take some digital photos of the shoreline shapes and colors. I use these references to help me work up this studio watercolor the next day.

Blackpoll Warbler Bathing in Vernal Pool - at 72 dpi

Blackpoll Warbler Bathing in Vernal Pool, watercolor on Arches rough, 10″ x 14.25″

Illustrated Lecture with Artist Barry Van Dusen on 10/24

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Randi G.

Barry Van Dusen’s Shoreline at Long Pasture

On Saturday, October 24th at 3pm at the Museum of American Bird Art in Canton, Barry Van Dusen will give an illustrated lecture on his latest and most ambitious Artist-in-Residency project yet: during a 22-month period, Barry will visit at least 45 Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuaries, producing drawings and paintings at each location.

Barry is currently about halfway through the project, having visited 23 properties and produced over 50 watercolors, traveling more than 1,000 miles around the state from the foothills of the Berkshires to the Upper Cape.

In this one-hour illustrated talk, Barry will share stories and paintings from his previous residencies, and describe his Artist-in-Residency project at Mass Audubon.

You’ll hear about his adventures exploring Mass Audubon properties all around the state, and learn more about the approach Barry uses to meet the demands and challenges of working on location. A selection of the original watercolors he has produced for the project will be on temporary display. Learn more about the lecture

Barry has a long association with Mass Audubon as an illustrator for our publications for nearly 30 years. Beyond his remarkable illustration work, he has established himself as an internationally recognized fine artist focusing on the natural world and most often birds.

Barry brings this rich experience to the task of capturing compelling natural history moments at Mass Audubon’s treasured sanctuaries. Fellow artist James Coe says, “Barry Van Dusen’s paintings are among the most original works being created today. Every perfect
gesture; each lively glint in a bird’s eye is there because Barry observed that in nature.”

Learn more

Larry Barth Exhibition at the Museum of American Bird Art: September 19 to January 18

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Sean K.

“Of all the exquisite designs I see in nature, I am most powerfully drawn to the shapes, colors, and patterns of birds. I simply marvel at their perfection. I will see something in the field that stirs my blood so deeply that I cannot help but respond artistically in an effort to better and more fully
understand what I have seen. I want to hold onto that image as long as I can and somehow make it mine. Art is my way of taking possession of the beauty I see in the natural world. While I have always used art to further the relationship I enjoy with birds, I’ve come to realize that birds have been my means of exploring art, and art, in and of itself, is just as important to me as birds. Each has enhanced my understanding of the other and in my work the two become one.” – LARRY BARTH

Larry Barth is widely recognized as the preeminent living sculptor of birds—the consequence
of his extraordinary sense of design, keen eye for ornithological detail, and remarkable
technical skills. This exhibition, Birds, Art & Design, was organized in conjunction
with Barth’s much-anticipated new book of the same title. It presents a comprehensive gathering of his recent work, on loan from collectors and museums across North America.
A lifelong fascination with birds led him from his sketchpad and paints to his father’s workshop
where, at age fourteen, he carved his first bird. After high school he enrolled at Carnegie
Mellon University where he developed his own curriculum, studying birds and art. He graduated with honors in 1979 with a degree in Fine Arts in the field of design.

Since then he has been carving full time. He has been a consistent
winner at the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, where he has won an unprecedented sixteen world championships in the decorative lifesize division.
His work has been included in the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s Birds in Art exhibition every year since 1980. In recognition of his artistry, Barth was awarded the Master Wildlife Artist medallion from the Woodson in 1991. He has exhibited at the Academy of Natural
Sciences in Philadelphia, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Society’s Explorer’s Hall, and the American Museum of Natural
History in New York City. The Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon (then known as the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center) presented his first solo exhibition in 2003.
Barth has taught and lectured widely throughout the United States, but spends most of his
time close to his home and studio near Stahlstown, Pennsylvania.

Red-billed tropicbird – Larry Barth

This exhibition is a cooperative effort between the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon and the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, who gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of Kirk and Nellie Williams and Stackpole Books.

Wild Photography: Campers learn, create, and express themselves through digital photography

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Sean K.

Learn, Create, and Express! Today, we kicked off our Wild Photography week at the Wild at Art Summer Camp. Campers spent the morning building their own digital camera, which they will use during the week to learn more about the art of photography. Camper build and use a bigshot camera, which was developed by Shree Nayar, a computer science professor at Columbia University.

By building the camera, they will learn about how gears work, how power is generated, and the physics behind digital photography. Check out this gallery of the cameras being put together:

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Connecting with art and nature: Top moments from the Natural Connections week at the Wild at Art Camp

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Sean K.

We had an amazing first week at our Wild at Art Camp. Our theme was Natural Connections and the campers learned and created art focused on the web that connects plants and animals.

Moment #1: The Caterpillar Lab

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Moment #2: Creating marbled paper (sumagashi) and birch tree paintings

Moment #3: Using found materials to build an eight foot wide eagles nest

Moment #4: Collecting natural materials for art

Collecting natural materials for art projects

Collecting natural materials for art projects

Moment #5: Warming up with charcoal before some awesome art projects

Our teaching artist, Katie Buchanan, and camper Cora warming up for the art activity with charcoal

Camper David and Liam having fun drawing with charcoal

Moment #6: Getting up close with dragonflies and other critters in the meadow

Sean Kent, the Wild at Art Camp director, shows camper Janek, Handel, Cooper, and Thomas, a dragonfly from the meadow.

Camper Janek, Cooper, and Thomas catching critters in the meadow

Moment #7: Creating art everywhere, even on the sidewalk

Moment #8: Watercolors using water from our pond full of tadpoles

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Moment #9: Going behind the scenes in the art museum and creating Charlie Harper Inspired art based on their up close tour

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Birds in Blue and Gray

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Holden, MA on May 11, 2015

It’s a warm, humid morning at Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Holden. From the trailhead (as I’m applying bug repellent and sunscreen), I can hear black-throated blue, black-throated green and pine warblers, ovenbirds, a scarlet tanager and a red-eyed vireo.

Black-throated Blue in Birch, Eagle Lake - at 72 dpi

Black-throated Blue in Birch, in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook, 9″ x 12″

As I hike in along the Appleton Loop Trail, it becomes obvious that black-throated blues are the most abundant warblers at this site. Every quarter mile or so, I encounter another BTB singing from the sweet birches that arch above the mountain laurel thickets.

Black-throated Blue in Birch 2, Eagle Lake - at 72 dpi

Black-throated Blue in Song, watercolor on Arches Fidelis (en tout cas), 9″ x 8.5″

Pausing along the trail, a female Black-throated Blue circles and scolds me – I must be near a nest, so I move on…

Black-throated Blue female, study, Eagle Lake - at 72 dpi

sketchbook study, 3″ x 5″

Crossing over Asnebumskit brook on the pipeline right-of-way, I notice that the streambed is looking quite dry for early May. It’s been an exceptionally dry spring so far.
The Asnebumskit Loop Trail skirts down along the stream, and as I near the area where the brook flows into Eagle Lake, I hear the distinctive notes of a blue-gray gnatcatcher (Peterson used the word “peevish” – the perfect adjective to describe their voice!)

Gnatcatcher studies, Eagle Lake - at 72 dpi

field sketchbook page, 9″ x 12″

The small plot of forest here has the feeling of a wet bottomland – just the right habitat for these birds. Sure enough, the pair is building a nest high in a red maple branch directly over the water! I watch as one member of the pair gathers the sticky webbing from a caterpillar nest and takes it to the nest site.

Gnatcatcher in Red Maple 2, Eagle Lake - at 72 dpi

Gnatcatcher in red Maple, in Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, 9″ x 12″

On my way out of the Sanctuary, I park my car and stroll out onto the causeway between Stump Pond and Eagle Lake. It’s a pleasant spot, and I admire the soft colors of the early spring foliage across the water. Looking down, I see sunfish guarding nests in the shallow water along the shoreline. The red spot on their gill covers identifies them as pumpkinseeds. The males are in bright, breeding colors – their fin margins (which they wave like fan dancers) are a striking aqua blue!

Ready to be inspired and amazed? The Caterpillar Lab is coming to the Wild at Art Summer Camp

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Sean K.

The Caterpillar Lab is Coming!!!

We have exciting news for this summer’s Wild at Art Camp…The award winning, innovative, engaging, and awe-inspiring Caterpillar Lab is coming to camp during the Natural Connections 1 (July 6 to 10) and Taking Flight (July 13 to 17) week.

By incorporating a visit from the Caterpillar Lab with the Wild at Art Camp experience, campers will have a strong foundation to experience powerful moments of discovery throughout the year in their own backyards and daily life. In addition, this experience should infuse them with the confidence to create and express themselves more confidently through art. Only a few spots remain, so sign up today so that camper in your life won’t miss out!

During each week, the Caterpillar Lab will allow campers to get up close and personal with many different species of native caterpillars and learn about their adaptations.

Mother and daughter at a live caterpillar show seeing a cecropia moth caterpillar for the first time. © Samuel Jaffe

Campers will:

Learn more about many fascinating species of native caterpillars
Discover native caterpillars at the wildlife sanctuary and at home
Create art inspired by these amazing natural creatures
Become excited about discovering their natural world and sharing it with others

Week 1: Natural Connections (July 6 to July 10)

For the first week, campers will learn about how these caterpillars interact with plants, like how the monarch caterpillar is able to consume milkweed and turn the toxins in the milkweed into a defensive weapon.

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Week 2: Taking Flight (July 13 to July 17)

For the second week, campers will learn how caterpillars are adapted against birds. Because, unless they are “told otherwise”, birds view caterpillars as big, juicy snacks. For example, the caterpillars of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly look likes snakes, which is an adaptation that scares birds and saves the caterpillar from being lunch. We have lots of spicebush in the wildlife sanctuary and are optimistic that campers will be able to find these caterpillars on the property.

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar. Creative Commons License.

Do you know a creative kid or a nature detective…then open up a world of exploration, imagination, and investigation this summer by signing them up for the Wild at Art Summer Camp in Canton.