(SPENCERTOWN, N.Y.) – Beauty and the Feast, an exhibition of botanical photography by Ellen Hoverkamp opens at Spencertown Academy Arts Center with a reception on Saturday, June 1, 2013, from 4pm to 6pm and remain on display through Sunday, June 30.

Beauty and the Feast is the kick-off event for the academy’s ninth annual Hidden Gardens, which includes the Twilight in the Garden Cocktail Party on Friday, June 21, 2013, and an array of events designed to inform, inspire, and intrigue garden enthusiasts on Saturday, June 22, including an expanded Garden Market on the Green, Hidden Gardens Tour to seven exceptional private homes, and a lecture by native plants landscape designer Duncan Brine.

Hoverkamp will offer a lecture/demonstration titled “Introduction to Floral Scanner Photography” on Sunday, June 2, 2013, from 10am to noon ($20, reservations required).

Ellen Hoverkamp was a pioneer in the use of the flatbed scanner in creating fine art. Her technique involves making intricate arrangements from plants, vegetables, and natural objects directly on the scanner. The light from the scanner reflects the subject, with the arrangement appearing to glow against a dark background in the resulting photograph. Her photography has been widely exhibited at venues such as the Macy’s Flower Show and James Beard Foundation in New York City, and it is in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut.

Classic botanical illustration, European still life painting, mosaic, collections, and garden design inform and inspire Hoverkamp’s compositions. Hoverkamp says, “My aim is to bring attention to nature’s beauty and to honor the efforts and passion of gardeners and farmers.” Hoverkamp  lives with her husband in West Haven, Conn., where she taught art for 33 years in the public schools and now enjoys life as a full-time artist.

Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm or by appointment. Admission is free and the artworks are for sale, with prices ranging from $60 to $700. Proceeds benefit the Academy and its arts-in-education programs in local schools.

Housed in a restored 1840s Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Spencertown Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, N.Y. To register for Hoverkamp’s “Introduction to Floral Scanner Photography” lecture/demonstration and to purchase tickets to Hidden Gardens events, visit Spencertown Academy Arts Center or call 518-392-3693.