Education & Events » For Adults » Certificate Programs

Certificate Programs

The Garden offers two certificate programs for adult learners:
Botanical Illustration (below ↓) and Native Plant Studies (below ↓).
A $75 fee enrolls you in a certificate program. Please see the certificate program descriptions and course lists below.

Certificate in Botanical Illustration

The Certificate in Botanical Illustration is designed to provide comprehensive courses in botanical illustration to those who wish to improve their skills in drawing and painting plants in an accurate and technically detailed manner. Studies leading to the Certificate will enhance the experience of both the professional and the dedicated amateur botanical artist in producing artistic and scientific images. The program is designed to give students a well-balanced curriculum combining basic scientific background, visual arts theory, and practical experience using various media. Classes are taught by Botanical Garden staff, UNC faculty, and area art and botany professionals.

The Certificate in Botanical Illustration expands on the Garden's mission by providing "a well-balanced curriculum of scientific and art theory and practice that enables students to explore the relationship of plants and visual art with botanical proficiency and appreciation of the plant world."

Download a brochure [PDF] about the Botanical Illustration Certificate.

Enrolled students should refer to the Botanical Illustration Certificate Handbook.

Tools used in Botanical Illustration.

Botanical Illustration students maintain a portfolio of the completed works from each illustration course. Graduating certificate students will exhibit their work in a special exhibit at the Garden.

Certificate in Native Plant Studies

The Certificate in Native Plant Studies expands on the Garden's mission by providing "a well-balanced botany, ecology, and taxonomy curriculum that enables students to expand their knowledge and develop a greater appreciation of native flora of the southeastern United States." The program is designed to give students a well-balanced curriculum combining basic scientific background and hands-on investigative opportunities. Studies leading to the Certificate will enhance the experience of the professional and dedicated amateur botanist and provide strong credentials for those involved in botanical, ecological, and conservation endeavors. Classes are taught by Garden staff, UNC professors, and other area professionals.

Download a brochure [PDF] about the Native Plant Studies Certificate.

Enrolled students should refer to the Native Plant Studies Certificate Handbook.

Current Course Offerings—Winter - Spring - Summer 2012

The following courses are currently being offered. For descriptions of these classes, see the Classes and Workshops page.

NATIVE PLANT STUDIES
Applied Conservation Biology
Short Course: Research Methods
Winter Flora
Plant Ecology
Geology for Ecologists & Botanists
Native Plant Seed Propagation Workshop
Botany
Plant Communities of North Carolina
Plant Taxonomy
Spring Flora
Soil Ecology
Native Plant Propagation
Summer Flora
Pollination of Flowering Plants

BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION
Intermediate Watercolor
Short Course: Italic Calligraphy—Basic Letter Forms
Short Course: Introduction to Botanical Illustration
Intermediate Colored Pencil
Short Course: How to Paint a Flat Wash
Short Course: How to Paint a Feather
Beginning Drawing
Advanced Watercolor
Portfolio/Graduation Preparation
Short Course: Butterflies in Colored Pencil
Color Theory
Mix and Match Color
Intermediate Drawing
Mixed Media

Last updated by NCBG Editor on January 05, 2012 at 02:49:11 am.

For Adults

What is Botanical Illustration?

Phlox watercolor by Dot Wilbur-Brooks

Since the 1980s there has been a worldwide resurgence of interest in original botanical illustrations and botanical art not only for private art collections, but also for use in modern home décor, fabric design, and select stationery lines. When classifying human renderings of plant images, three main genres may be identified: botanical illustration, botanical art, and floral art. The first two genres may be considered as existing along a continuum, as illustrators and artists by varying degrees are challenged with trying to integrate the utilitarian scientific function of the image (identification, education, information) with aesthetic and visual considerations. This constant interplay between art and science is often what most appeals to many students who register for the NCBG Certificate Program in Botanical Illustration.

Conventional scientific botanical illustrations are usually created to accompany descriptive text, where the primary function of the image is to provide information and to "educate" the viewer. Although aesthetics may be of secondary importance here, the illustrator still has some freedom to implement visual considerations. Although the uncolored line drawing (pen-and-ink or graphite) provides the most clarity and detail, and is still the best way to describe newly discovered species, botanical illustrations may also be done in color (watercolor or colored pencil). Botanical illustrations have traditionally been used to illustrate botanical taxonomy articles, where a botanist or horticulturist often dictates which parts of the plant will be illustrated. The illustrator usually has access to live plants, pressed herbarium specimens, and a microscope for viewing plant structures, such as branching stigmas, leaf pubescence, or capsule chambers. The plant is traditionally measured and drawn on a 1:1 scale and placed on a white background.

In botanical art, the artist has more freedom to make personal visual choices, to draw the viewer in and evoke an emotional response. Although more emphasis may be placed on aesthetic considerations, the image, however, remains scientifically and botanically correct. The image is still represented on a 1:1 scale and is placed on a white background, favoring true color representation for identification purposes. A botanist examining the image should be able to identify the plant and find no anatomical inaccuracies.

In the third genre, floral art, the resulting plant image is created primarily for visual impact and is based on the artist’s personal impression of the plant rather than on any scientific or informational considerations. This genre, therefore, falls beyond the scope of the core courses of the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s Certificate Program.

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