Soon after the Greek Revolution, the Acropolis was cleared of its Medieval buildings. Byzantine icons too were shunned, even in University Museum collections. This lecture touches on icons in the Fitzwilliam but focuses on the fate of one icon in the Yale University Art Museum, acquired in 1871, but hidden in its storeroom until now.
Three artists using clay, Jayne Ivimey, Elspeth Owen and Mella Shaw, talk about their upcoming group exhibition Breaking Point: fragility in clay and nature which is on show at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge
Works from the Katrin Bellinger Collection within The Human Touch exhibition
An online lunchtime talk with Anita Viola Sganzerla from the Katrin Bellinger Collection
Book onto a wildlife walk or drop-in (during normal Garden opening hours on Sat 24 July) to discover, identify and record the wonderful wild animals and plants of the Garden.
Breckland lies at the meeting of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and is unique in Britain in its combination of climate, soil and history. It has the closest approximation we have to a truly Continental climate and wind-blown sands of varying depths over chalk, providing inland habitats for coastal plants and a remarkable flora with species whose main distribution is in central and eastern Europe. The land bears the marks of glaciation, some of the most extensive Neolithic sites in Britain, a history of cultivation and abandonment, rare types of farming such as rabbit warren
Using the ‘Reduction Process’ we’ll create a layered image using two sets of autumnal colour palettes.
Day 1
Lauded by artists and gardeners and tracked by plant hunters, the lily has long fascinated for its duality of purity and sexuality. From the Madonna Lily to the exotic Tiger Lily, the ‘herring lily’ to Lilium regale, the latter imported to our shores long after the demise of Henrietta Maria, Rose and Lily Queen. We will explore the lily in paintings, proverbs and poetry, literature and gardens, and will cast our nets wide to include both the aristocratic ‘liliums’ and the more ‘commonly named’ water lilies and day lilies, not to mention lily of the valley
Each week we will explore different ways of drawing using a variety of techniques and prompts. Karin will introduce the class to a wide range of artistic approaches and examples to guide us in developing our own unique visual language. The structured course will lead us from observational drawings of botanical specimens to more imaginative ways of representing plants and nature. Drawing through observation is a great way to develop your creativity and mindfulness.
September in the Garden usually means an abundance of Asteraceae – otherwise known as the Daisy Family. These include bright yellow black centred Rudbeckias, tall lemon yellow Helianthus, russet coloured Heleniums and bright pink Echinaceas. Blue and purple Asters bring a cooler touch to the palette. On this two day course you will create a beautiful portrait of these late summer blooms. Reinhild will help you to choose and arrange the stems on the page, creating a colourful and exciting composition.
