I am going to "Plant Camp"!

 

 "Cyrtopodium flavum"  Watercolor 14 x 18 ©2012 Mindy Lighthipe

I just wanted to share with you that I have been accepted into  "Plant Camp" this week. The 5 day workshop is an annual event of the Florida Invasive Plant Education Initiative – an outreach program designed for Florida educators. Both are made possible by the Invasive Plant Management Section of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in partnership with UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. I am super psyched about participating.  They were thrilled when they found out I was a botanical artist. They asked me if I would be interested in helping train the teachers to bring field sketching and drawing into the classroom. I immediately said "YES!!!!" I will also be doing a demonstration for the other participants on drawing leaves. Here is a painting that I just finished of a Brazilian orchid that has made its way into the USA and is considered to be invasive. If you want to learn more about the orchid, visit my blog. I just did a post about it. I will be bringing my sketch book with me and will hopefully be able to post some of my drawing and information about the workshop and how the teachers did with their new drawing skills!