Experience a tour of eastern grasslands, an imperiled ecosystem, through paintings. Philip Juras is an artist from the Southeast who has fallen in love with eastern grasslands and is using his paintings to share the story of these imperiled ecosystems. The areas depicted include Midwestern prairies, Appalachian mountain balds, rocky glades of the southeastern piedmont, coastal plain pine savannas, and more.
Participants will learn what makes these different grasslands unique and beautiful, hear about the artist’s approach to painting these distinctive landscapes, and discover the importance of conserving and restoring prairies and other grasslands for the future.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructor: Philip Juras, artist
Age: 16 and older
Course number: A420
Instructor
Philip Juras, artist
Artist Philip Juras portrays the rich aesthetics of a wide range of ecologically intact environments. He combines direct observation with natural science and history to create scenes that invite the viewer to step through the picture plane and experience the natural world beyond. A native of Augusta, Georgia, he holds a bachelor of fine arts degree (1990) and a master of landscape architecture degree (1997), both from the University of Georgia. His thesis examined southeastern grasslands before European settlement, a subject that continues to inspire his artwork. His paintings have been exhibited at the Telfair, Morris, and Marietta-Cobb museums in Georgia; the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Illinois State Museum; and the Biblioteca Virgilio Barco in Bogota, Colombia. He has published three books in conjunction with those exhibits, one of them winning a Georgia Writer of the Year award. His work has been profiled by Garden and Gun, The Bitter Southerner, Minding Nature, and other media, and he has been the featured speaker at numerous events. Since 2009, he has volunteered as a wildland firefighter type 2, or “ecoburner,” with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy.
What to Know
This program is held entirely indoors.
No previous experience needed.
Materials for taking notes may come in handy.
Program Schedule
Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Arbor Room, Thornhill Education Center, West Side
