Education & Events » For Adults - classes, workshops, etc. » Certificate Programs

Certificate Programs

The Garden offers two certificate programs for adult learners:
Botanical Art & Illustration (below ↓) and Native Plant Studies (below ↓).
A $75 fee enrolls you in a certificate program.

Certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration

The Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration provides comprehensive courses to people 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 artist. 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 NCBG staff, and other area art and botany professionals.

Learn more by downloading a brochure [PDF] about the Botanical Art & 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 — Spring, Summer, and Fall 2013

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

NATIVE PLANT STUDIES
Principals of Conservation Biology
Local Trees (Short Course
Plant Taxonomy
Flowering Plant Families
Native Southeastern Medicinal Plants
Plant Propagation (short course)
Summer Flora
Book Review: Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Soil Ecology
Botany
Applied Conservation Biology
Pollination
Introduction to Mushrooms
Native Edible & Medicinal Trees of the Piedmont
Plant Taxonomy
Lichens
Book Review: Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash
Native Seed Propagation
Dendrology
Flowering Plant Families

BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION
Acrylic and Gouache
Mixed Media
Light on Form (short course)
Pen & Ink Media Explorations
How to Paint a Cast Shadow
Integrating Composition & Color Theory
Butterflies in Colored Pencil
Drawing for People Who Think They Can't Draw
Beginning Drawing
Introduction to Botanical Art & Illustration
Beginning Watercolor
Intermediate Drawing
How to Safely Use Photographs in a Painting
Advanced Watercolor
Fall Leaves in Colored Pencil
Field Sketching
Intermediate Watercolor Techniques
Beginning Colored Pencil
Nature Journaling Seasonal Continuum
What's in Your Tube of Paint
Lichens: Science & Art
Composition
Pen & Ink
Intermediate Colored Pencil

We have compiled below some independent study projects by students in the Native Plant Studies Certificate Program:

Lake Johnson Plant Inventory - Jane Cornelius, 2006
Shallow Groundwater Hydrology and Wetland Vegetation in a Field in the Mason Farm Biological Reserve - Scott E. King, 2009
Piedmont Lichen Inventory - Gary B. Perlmutter, 2009
Using Native Plants in the Landscape at Central Carolina Community College - Chris Bouton, 2011
Woody Plant Propagation - Jim Schmidt, 2012
Educational Posters on Threatened Plant Communities of North Carolina - Nicolette L. Cagle, 2012
Seed Propagation of Six Native Southeastern United States Wildflowers - Sandy Young & Paul Young, 2012

Last updated by Laura Cotterman on May 02, 2013 at 02:09:12 pm.

For Adults - classes, workshops, etc.

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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