ENTRY Q

Idaho Botanical Garden Art Project/Field Trip

Our trip to the botanical garden was awesome. I have been there before but never in the past decade. I was awestricken by the serenity of the garden. We were given watercolors and assigned a series of tasks to complete in the garden.

We were asked to paint flowers, scenes, non-flowering vegetation, and man made artwork. I was overwhelmed by the options and finally settled on a bench near a bridge and some yucca plants. They were especially difficult to paint because the flowers were white with just a hint of yellow and my paper was white.

Watercoloring

• Put some water in your paints to begin releasing the pigment.
• dip your brush in the paint and go to town.
• The less water you use the darker the color will become.
• Water colors volunarily blend so be careful
• Unlike other paints, water colors will show through on subsequent coats, so be sure to plan your project and paint from back to front as much as possiblle.

Integration

• Water gives life to the garden, especially in this desert. Watercolor is the life of the art. Biological ties can be made simply in this project.
• The garden features an area that contains native landscape. This could be a great opportunity for students to explore the way the valley looked before settlement.
• The botanical garden is inspiring. Students could be brought here to write about the scenerey.
• The structures in the garden could be utilized to show the students the complexity of mathematical calculations in architecture.
• The garden is located on the grounds of the former penetentary. Students could learn a lot about history from the sheer emotion that surround the buildings and walls.