The Nature Book - Art and Nature Journal
” I hope it will document the time I spend in the forest but also free the artist in me. I spent most of my young life in the forest, hours and summer days wandering amongst the ferns, frogs, brambles, and trees, delighted in the natural world and all she had to offer my childhood. As an adult I have wandered back into the woods and I have rediscovered its healing power to calm the aching senses and bring order and simplicity back to my weary soul. Nature is such a great teacher…” Heather Wombacher, 1/7/21
I now understand what Thoreau meant when he said,
“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless I spend four hours a day at least and it is commonly more than that, sauntering through the woods and over the fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagement.”
The video below is how I started this project, a blank handmade signature from materials in my studio. I used a file folder, and all kinds of papers on the inside then sewed them together with waxed twine. I suppose this could be considered a junk journal of sorts, however, I was strategic in my planning of this project. I will have several signatures to make up a book of nature with themes like forest and fauna, by the sea, birds, butterflies, and flower specimens. These are the subjects that I get really excited about.
Life by the Sea-Art and Nature Journal
“The cure for anything is saltwater...sweat, tears, and the sea”
Oil Painting
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Here is a video of my process portfolio. This is more of a showcase or culmination journal that houses all my final work from a particular class. It is different from my art journal which is more of a working journal that records my thoughts and ideas for a particular subject or experiences gained or observed and the outpouring of art that comes from that experience. Both show progress just in different ways.