Studio Learning- Nature Art Journaling
The title page of my Nature Book
Imagine a fierce Pacific Northwest afternoon. The sky is darkened with shades of harbor gray. However, inside is a toasty fire with a soft, cozy glow, alighting the room with warmth. Now picture a comfortable chair and a stack of books, watercolors, pencils, an art journal, and a small notebook. There also sits a frothy warm beverage. Doesn't this sound enchanting? I am describing the perfect winter day at my house. I have just come from the blustery streets outside my local Library. I am anxious to sit and leisurely learn from these trusted friends. I am hoping they will teach me how to be a naturalist!
This is the quintessential winter activity for me. I love this slow-living ritual and found out that this is actually a “thing”. In the Scandinavian countries of Denmark and Norway, they often do this same thing in the winter months. They call this type of activity Hygge (hoo-ga with a long 'a' at the end.)The art of being cozy! Luckily for me, I come by this naturally since I am part Norwegian!
For me, winter is intuitively a time to rest, reflect, and do some personal learning. This winter I have been reading about and learning more about nature starting with my backyard and my community. In light of that, I have been filling my mind with the wonder and language of plant taxonomy, trail maps, and gathering samples from the abundance of flora and fauna in the place I call home. I am pulling out my own books by naturalists and nature artists (Mary Jo Koch and Tracie Lyn Huskamp)at have re-ignited my heart on the subject. Discovering the sweet perfection of symmetry, and Fibonacci sequence, and Golden Ratio of plants.
This has lead me to create my Nature Book and art journal! It is a hand-stitched signature which will be part of many I hope. I have used many types of papers and a file folder for its covers. I love making handmade books.
Here is the map of where I spend most of my time in the forest.
Here is a 2 page spread and I have decided to create chapters highlighting what I see in the same forest over the course of the four seasons. This as you can see is for Winter Wanderings.
During this wintertime and COVID time, I am adding to my Nature Book :
sketches
paintings in gouache and watercolor
poetry
quotes
maps
journal entries
specimens and rubbings
A collection of found on the ground moss and lichen specimens after a wind storm.
I have posted a couple of pictures on Instagram already but here are some others. I hope you will join me on this journey. Do you nature and art journal? I would love to see what you do too or you can follow me on Instagram. I encourage you to take some time for personal learning and discovery in your family on these cold, blustery, northwest winter, days. Do a little Hygge, it will be time well spent.