Use Facebook to market available courses to and develop communication
​with existing and prospective students

Note a number of Facebook Pages / Groups are normally associated with face to face teaching
which may well be suspended fdue to Covid-19
​

Botanical Art Schools and Teachers on Facebook - an Index
​

​This page aims to create an index of Facebook Pages and Groups about Botanical Art Schools and Teachers
  • for people wanting to learn more about botanical art and illustration
  • whether they are students or a practising professional who is an eternal student.

This page is a work in progress. It covers:​
​
GENERAL
  • Why use Facebook for Botanical Education?
  • What can be learned from Facebook Pages created by educators?
PLACE SPECIFIC
  • UK - Botanical Art Schools & Teachers / Instructors
  • ​Europe - Botanical Art Schools & Teachers / Instructors
  • North America -  Botanical Art Schools & Teachers / Instructors
  • Resources for Botanical Art Education

​At the end are notes for those wanting to find out more about developing a Facebook Page.
CONTACT ME
​if you know of a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group dedicated to a Botanical Art School or Teacher that is not listed ​
Note: I have a degree in Education and am qualified as a teacher.
What if a Botanical Art School or Teacher does NOT have a Facebook Page?
You can find more information about learning about botanical art on the following pages:
There are also other pages on this website are for:

Why use Facebook for Botanical Education?

Botanical Educators - both institutions and individuals - have grasped the importance of social media, and Facebook in particular, for:
  • marketing - raising their profile with their target audience
  • communicating their benefits and 'brand values'  (i.e why choose us/me?)
  • developing relationships with new prospects
  • maintaining relationships with past and existing students
Below I describe attributes of two different models of botanical art education. Both have pros and cons. They may well suit different people.  ​
Botanical Educators have developed Facebook Pages in order to
  • market their study programmes and classes
  • share the artwork of their teachers and students
  • provide an insight into the nature of course content
  • share tips - without charging a fee​
Viewing Educators' Facebook Pages enables you to see how active they are in terms of education, communicating lessons and sharing tips without charging a fee!

Explanation of terms used
​

"Botanical Art Schools" are organisations
that deliver a botanical art education and are not dependent on one teacher.

It should be noted however that:
  • Teachers / instructors may or may not be qualified to teach.
  • The teachers:
    • may all have consistent high standards re. instruction
    • or they may be of variable standards.  
  • They may be conversant with the latest methods for teaching (eg online) - or not.
  • They may have been around for a long time - or they may be very new.

Organisations which deliver botanical art education differ significantly in terms of how they operate online and/or whether they deliver their courses using the Internet.  They may provide
  • classroom based / face to face teaching and/or
  • online teaching 
  • Or they may require all teaching and assessment to be done by post (which means putting your artwork in the post).
​
If an organisation did NOT have a Facebook Page I'd be very surprised if they were trying to promote botanical art education via online delivery.
"Botanical Art Teachers" are individuals 
who deliver botanical art education that they have devised on their own and which they deliver on their own.  
  • They may or may not be qualified to teach.
  • They may or may not have an appropriate level of personal expertise as an artist
Botanical art tutors who are frequently regarded as popular and/or very successful are often those who work very hard at communication. Students often comment on how easy it is to understand how a technique works or what they have to do.

Teachers are not necessarily less sophisticated than botanical art schools - particularly in relation to online learning.
It's often much easier for an individual tutor to get to grips with developing models for online learning involving:
  • the use of Skype for assessments,
  • Zoom or Facebook Live videos for demonstrations and
  • Facebook Groups for communicating with groups of students

Teachers may provide:
  • workshops at home - or around the country or overseas and/or
  • face to face teaching in classes - sometimes in their home and sometimes based in other venues and/or
  • online tuition via Skype, Zoom, Facebook Live and/or videos and/or websites designed for interaction with students

What can be learned from Facebook Pages created by educators?

What all students need to be aware of is that just because somebody is good at art does not mean the same person is also good at teaching.

A Facebook Page is an excellent way of working out
  • how an organisation or an individual behaves
  • whether the standard of the teaching is as good as the art produced by the tutors
  • ​whether it has a lot of fans
CHECKLIST:
  • How active is the page? (Look at date of last post and how many posts this year)
  • Is it customer-facing? Does it demonstrate it thinks about your needs?
  • Is it professional? Or is it neglected?
  • Do they use good images to share?
  • Do they tell you about the teaching they provide?
  • Do they show you classes in action?
  • Do they show you the number of students in a workshop or class?
  • Do they show you the venues used for teaching?
  • Do they show the equipment provided for your use?
  • How much do they share tips and techniques for free?
  • How often do they produce and share videos?

Facebook Groups for Botanical Art Educators
​

​Facebook Groups are ONLY open to people who are already members of Facebook - and IMO are one of the major benefits of membership of Facebook - IF the groups is moderated well.

Botanical Art Schools and Tutors frequently use Private (Secret) Facebook Groups for communication  with students as a class.

​Facebook groups are categorised by Facebook:
  • a public group is one where anyone can see the group, its members and their posts.
  • a closed group means that anyone can find the group in the index of groups but they cannot see who is a member. Only members can see who are the other members and the posts
  • a secret group is one where only members can find the group and see posts. (I don't post about such groups on this page). 
For more about Groups see the Facebook Help Page What are the privacy settings for groups?
​
A good group has:
  • a clear and defined statement of purpose;
  • a set of rules for how it operates and
  • a moderator who is firm and fair.
  • The group is friendly and welcoming to newcomers - and self-polices itself for the most part.
  • It is active with regular activity wholly related to its purpose.
CHECKLIST:
How active is the Group?
  • e.g. how many posts have been today ? How many in the last month?
  • How many members does it have?
  • Does it have an informative description?
If you become a member:
  • Is the Group moderated well?
  • Is there a clear statement of purpose and do members understand this and stick to it - or does anarchy reign?
  • Is the Group being disrupted by attention seekers? (eg people who post daily updates on their current step by step demo?)
  • Are other members welcoming and helpful to new members?

UK - Botanical Art Schools and Teachers
​

​BOTANICAL ART SCHOOLS on Facebook
​alphabetical by name

Botanical Art School - FACEBOOK PAGE Botanical Art School - FACEBOOK GROUP Botanical Art School Teachers
BOTANICAL ART TEACHERS on Facebook
​alphabetical by tutor's actual surname
​
Botanical Art Teachers - FACEBOOK PAGE
These are Pages which are
  • predominantly related to INSTRUCTION and
  • NOT the artist's art
  • PLUS regular updates
 
Picture
If you've got an illustration for your banner image and you're a tutor you probably need to have a nice image of you for your square Page image which identifies your page
Picture
Alternatively use your logo as the Page ID and then include a picture of you in your banner image
FACEBOOK STUDY GROUPS (see more about Facebook Groups generally above and below)
​
Study Groups for specific courses - by Botanical Art Schools or Tutors - are often
  • limited to the course students only
  • CLOSED - meaning only those that are members can see posts and are allowed to post.
  • Course materials are typically not available in such groups. 
FACEBOOK STUDY GROUPS (UK Botanical Art School Courses)
These are groups which are specific to past and present members of the courses
FACEBOOK STUDY GROUPS (UK based Tutor Groups)
These are groups which are specific to past and present members of the courses

​Europe - Botanical Art Schools and Tutors
​

North America - Botanical Art Schools and Tutors​
​

Picture
You can use the banner space for an image which includes text - which says clearly who you are
BOTANICAL ART SCHOOLS (USA) - GROUPS
BOTANICAL ART TUTOR GROUPS (including USA students)

South America - Botanical Art Courses & Tutors
​

BOTANICAL ART COURSE (CHILE)

General Botanical Art Resources

This category covers organisations and/or people who may not deliver formal botanical art education - but do share news about botanical art education and lots of useful information and tips
FACEBOOK PAGES
FACEBOOK GROUPS
These are groups which are open to anyone - but closed in terms of the way they are categorised by Facebook.
  • Botanical Artists (PRIVATE | 11,700+ members) Images are not on view to the general public and admission to membership is moderated. It has very strict moderation on what can be posted so read the rules carefully.  It's also a very effective and friendly group for those with a serious interest in developing their botanical art.​​ Used by everybody from new students to professional practising artists
  • ​Botanical Art for Beginners (PRIVATE | 19,700+ members) Intended for beginners in botanical art who wish to learn together through books and other means. This is NOT a teaching group. Occasionally gets besieged by those who are not definitely beginners who want/need their botanical artwork to be admired
  • Scientific Botanical Illustrations ( PRIVATE | 1,670 members)  This group is only for Botanical Illustrations which are scientifically accurate. No flower painting will be tolerated.

Notes for those wanting to develop a Facebook Page
​

​Facebook can be a great aid to communication, networking and marketing art - if you play by the rules! Some of this is out of date but general principles remain essentially the same - if you're in the education business you need an FB Page.
Every artist promoting their business or products on Facebook needs to have a long hard think about whether and what they need to change to conform with the new rules for Facebook Pages being introduced.

Tell me about your Course's Facebook Page and/or Group
​

If you have a Facebook Page and/or Group for a:
  • Botanical Art School
  • Botanical Art / Illustration Course
  • Botanical Art Tutor (i.e. predominantly about tuition)
and it is NOT included on this page please let me know

USE THE FORM (adjacent) on this page to tell me:
  • your name and email address (latter will not be used for marketing - but may be used for queries)
  • name of the Facebook PAGE or GROUP
  • URL for same
  • purpose of the Page or Group
  • who the Page is open to is open to eg public; 
  • who the GROUP is open to eg. course members only
  • whether it is open, closed or private (Note I will not list private groups)

    Botanical Art COURSES on Facebook

More about Botanical Art and Illustration - Education

EDUCATION
International Directory: Classes, Courses and Tutors
Online Botanical Art Instruction
Diplomas and Certificates in Botanical Art and Illustration
Distance Learning Courses
The Best Botanical Art & Illustration Instruction Books
Tips and Techniques
Materials, Media & Equipment
Fellowships, Scholarships, Bursaries and Residences
Botany for Artists