"Hibiscus Family" 11X 14 watercolor

Have you ever enjoyed hibiscus tea? I enjoyed painting them, but I cannot say I have ever enjoyed drinking them. I am very curious to see how they taste.   Hibiscus tea is supposed to be very high in Vitamin C and have properties that help lower blood pressure.  Not only are they absolutely beautiful and found growing plentifully here in Florida, apparently they are tasty too! 

Today I had the privilege of teaching art to K-6 students at Circle Christian School.  We painted hibiscus in watercolors like our featured artist, Laura Woodward.  Here are Laura's Hibiscus  below:  (not yours truly Laura, but Laura Woodward!)

Laura Woodward (1834-1926) was "Florida's most important nineteenth-centruy woman artist, one of its greatest publicists, and integral to the development of Palm Beach County."  (Debrah Pollack, author, Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator who Developed Palm Beach.)  I liked her immediately when I saw her stunning landscapes and flower paintings.  But it was her outfits and hats I envisioned that were even more delightful.  Picture if you will, a 50s-something woman fumbling through the Florida jungles in an very long, to-the-ground dress, a petticoat with laces, boots, and a large, matching, decorative hat, carrying a French easel and paints, looking for "just the right spot" to set up!  It was unheard of to wear pants or shorts in those days.  And I imagine they didn't have the light-weight easels, the Solteks, etc., that we have now.  I bet she couldn't run back to the air conditioning in her car for a little reprieve, or grab a squirt of bug spray while she was there either.  It tickled me to imagine her tromping through the Florida tropics in the late 1800s, early 1900s, living her passion, painting the beauty of God's creation. 

Woodward was born in New York and painted as a woman with the Hudson River School painters for many years, which were mostly men. But it is her work in Palm Beach Florida where she spent approximately the last 33 years of her life, that intrigued me most.  Apparently, Laura's enthusiasm and her paintings of Palm Beach's natural beauty were instrumental in persuading Henry Flagler that the island might be developed as a luxury resort.  She told Flagler she wanted to open a studio then and thre at the Hotel Royal Poinciana, that he agreed to begin construction on.  I wonder what would have happened if their paths had not crossed, or Laura hadn't painted these beautiful paintings of the area for him to enjoy? 

Here are some of the Monday's K-6th grade student's paintings in progress.. didn't they do a great job?

and here is my messy desk and my lovely Monday assistant, HS student Lexi Beckman!  I don't know where I'd be without her!

We had so much fun yesterday and today.  The kids learned about radial symmetry found in the hibiscus and the concept of balance in designing a composition.  The Hibiscus Family painting I did above shows assymetrical balance through the use of color.  It's pretty heavy on the left side, but the fuscia-colored hibiscus at the bottom right balances out the painting.  So even though the hibiscus has radial symmetry, we can use assymetrical symmetry to design a pleasing composition.

Here are some of Tuesday's K-6th grade students paintings:

And here are Tuesday's faithful and truly anointed assistants, Bekah Scoville and Kathy Scoville: 

Hey Bekah, that pizza looks delish!                         Kathy is dishing up the paints... Both of these ladies are sent from heaven!  They are so patient and kind.  Bekah is in my 10th grade class.  She painted a hibiscus for an extra-credit project and included a scripture verse.  It is so excellent; I must show it to you:

I am so blessed to teach art at Circle Christian School  The kids are eager to learn and I love pouring out my passion on them.  I get 50 hugs a day from these little ones and I love each and every one of them in a very special way! 

It is fun to prep for classes.  I love learning about the artists and playing with the different media.  I enjoy oil painting best, but playing with watercolors and letting them run around the paper is amazing in its own way.  I think I like the Hibiscus Family painting the best at the top, but here are two more I did with the class.  They're each a little different.  I really like hibiscus.  I think I shall have to buy some hibiscus tea now.  Anyone out there ever taste it?  I trust when I drink it, I will savor its aroma and imagine its incredible beauty simultaneously; how divine!  

Pink Hibiscus, watercolor 8 X 10                                                           Yellow Hibiscus, watercolor 11 X 14

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed learning about Laura Woodward and the hibiscus; stop back again soon!

Prayer:  Lord God, thank you for the amazing creation around us, the beauty of the hibiscus and the joy they bring us as we gaze on their color, symmetry and balance.  Thank  you for all my art students and amazing assitants and all the leadership at Circle Christian that make it possible for me to share my passion for You and this wonderful world we live in.  Bless them and everyone that reads this.  Bring glory to Your name as you reveal Yourself through the work of our hands.  In Your Name, Amen.