Jessie Arms Botke, 1940
Oil and Gold Leaf on Panel
32 x 40 inches
(Please note this art is copyrighted and is to be used only as inspiration.)
About the Art
This is representative of Botke's detailed, intricate style and her signature gold leaf technique, whereby thin sheets of gold are applied to the canvas or panel. Botke specialized in depicting birds such as peacocks, flamingos, geese and pelicans, often against an imaginary landscape or a background of exotic flowers and plants. As in many of her peacock images, the elaborate tail feathers of the black peacock take up a large portion of the canvas. In 1849, Botke wrote about her fascination with birds, “My interest in birds was not sentimental, it was always what sort of pattern they made.”
About the Artist
Born to English parents in Chicago in 1883, Jessie Arms Botke spent much of her free time as a child sketching and painting. At the age of fourteen, she took art classes at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. When she graduated from high school, she enrolled as a full-time student at the Institute. During her summer vacations she participated in intensive painting workshops in Michigan and Maine, which led to her first exhibition at the Art Institute's American Annual in 1904. After school, Botke worked in wall decoration and book illustration and refined her skills as a decorative artist. Inspired by an exhibition of friezes, decorations, and tapestries from Herter Looms of New York, Botke moved there in 1911 and immersed herself in the city's artistic climate. Several years later, she was employed at Herter Looms where she worked on tapestry design, painted panels and friezes, and began to specialize in painting birds.
In 1914, Jessie Hazel Arms met design artist Cornelius Botke in Chicago, and they married a year later. Together, the Botkes worked as artists in Chicago, San Francisco, and Carmel, CA, and they traveled often to New York City and Europe. They both worked on major art commissions and held their largest joint exhibition in 1942 at the Ebell Club, a conservative club for the advancement of women and culture. When Jessie's eyesight began to fail in 1961, she continued painting small watercolors until surgery and contact lenses restored her vision and she resumed painting full-time. A stroke in 1967 destroyed her ability to paint, and she died four years later at the age of 88.
Born to English parents in Chicago in 1883, Jessie Arms Botke spent much of her free time as a child sketching and painting. At the age of fourteen, she took art classes at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. When she graduated from high school, she enrolled as a full-time student at the Institute. During her summer vacations she participated in intensive painting workshops in Michigan and Maine, which led to her first exhibition at the Art Institute's American Annual in 1904. After school, Botke worked in wall decoration and book illustration and refined her skills as a decorative artist. Inspired by an exhibition of friezes, decorations, and tapestries from Herter Looms of New York, Botke moved there in 1911 and immersed herself in the city's artistic climate. Several years later, she was employed at Herter Looms where she worked on tapestry design, painted panels and friezes, and began to specialize in painting birds.
In 1914, Jessie Hazel Arms met design artist Cornelius Botke in Chicago, and they married a year later. Together, the Botkes worked as artists in Chicago, San Francisco, and Carmel, CA, and they traveled often to New York City and Europe. They both worked on major art commissions and held their largest joint exhibition in 1942 at the Ebell Club, a conservative club for the advancement of women and culture. When Jessie's eyesight began to fail in 1961, she continued painting small watercolors until surgery and contact lenses restored her vision and she resumed painting full-time. A stroke in 1967 destroyed her ability to paint, and she died four years later at the age of 88.
Blog Tour
The Blog Tour deadline is January 29th.
Links must be added to the Art Bead Scene flickr page where you upload your entry.
The Blog Tour will be on January 31tst.
Monthly Challenge Winners
Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on February 1st.
Our Sponsors
Our Sponsors this month are Erin Siegel and Sarah Hornik.
Please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!
Featured Designer of the Week:
From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.
How to enter the Monthly Challenge:
1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.
An Art Bead must be used in your piece to qualify for the monthly challenge.
An Art Bead must be used in your piece to qualify for the monthly challenge.
***Beads strung on a chain, by themselves and beads simply wire or cord will not be accepted.***
2. Upload your photo to our flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group.
Please add the tag or title JAN ABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.
Deadline is January 31st. Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn't followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.
What is an Art Bead?
An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.
***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.
Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***
p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.
7 comments:
Eek! How did you know there are three peacock feathers on my worktable right now waiting to be made into beads. Awesome!
I love green so I will have a nice stash of beads to work with.
What a wonderful piece of artwork! I love peacocks.
http://palumbojewelry.blogspot.com/2013/01/jan-abs-frida-necklace.html
I made it just in time. I have been so sick but didnt want to not join in. Hugs to all. I sure have missed this group. http://kimisjewelryandgifts.blogspot.com/2013/01/jan-abs-2013-challenge-link-to.html
I've made a piece but am failing at putting it in the flickr group but it is here
http://pookledo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/art-bead-scene-monthy-challenge-january.html
I'll keep trying though!
Think I did it right over on Flickr but here's the link anyways: http://www.tooaquarius.com/2013/01/27/peacock-feathers/
I posted to Flickr last night, and here's a link to Peacocks and Persimmons... http://re-maker.blogspot.com/2013/01/art-bead-scene-january-challenge.html
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