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[If you read my ‘full disclosure’ statement in the right column, you’ll note that I work in the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University. And Marcia is an old friend as well as a coworker.]

Botanical Illustration II: Working with watercolor is a new online course to be taught starting January 25 by Marcia Eames-Sheavly Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Horticulture, Cornell University.

This is the second online botanical illustration course developed by Eames-Sheavly, a Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow. It joins Botanical Illustration I: Basic Drawing Techniques in the growing stable of distance learning courses offered by the Department of Horticulture, which also includes online courses in organic gardening and plant propagation.

Both of the six-week botanical illustration courses will be offered this winter. Cost is $500 and enrollment is limited to 20 students.

“The new watercolor course is designed to encourage your discovery of plants as the subject of art and to express your interest in the plant world by introducing color to your botanical illustration repertoire,” says Eames-Sheavly.

The majority of her previous participants were new to online courses, she adds. But most quickly got the hang of sharing ideas with fellow participants in the forum and interacting with the instructor. “It’s common for students to be nervous about taking an online course at first. But they’re well-supported and feeling confident by the end.”

For more information, visit the Department of Horticulture’s Distance Learning site.

The New York Beginning Farmer Project also offers Beginning Farmer 101 online courses. The next one, Markets and Profits: Making Money Selling What You Grow, starts Jan. 8.