I want to slow down and be more observant of my surroundings outdoors and nature journaling will be the perfect way to do that.  I also need to be better at identifying plants and birds which this will also help me with.  Several years ago I was pretty good at sketching but have lost my touch and need to start over.  Looking at the journalers here, I hope to become as great as they are!  I like the tip to think of the fundamental shapes in nature such as circles and ovals which is an easier way to start sketching.  I also liked the patches of color that the journaler used on the pages to show all the colors in the place that was being observed.

As I do landscape watercolours for myself already...and love being out in nature...I think this course will inspire me to examine things in more detail and do quick sketches while I move around. I love the suggestions of using boxes, both for text and for framing pictures ( even when they grow out of the frame!). And the Zoom makes so much sense. Then living where I do on a remote island and not having taken art courses before, the opportunity of taking this course by internet is such a great opportunity... I am excited.

I want to try at the top or bottom to do the weather, the time, the day, and the location. I'm going to try and get in one picture anytime I can. And do a close-up where I zoom in on something interesting. If I can't get a great part in. Stella (Age: 7)

When I was younger, I took a nature journaling class from Claire Walker Leslie and loved how it helped to focus my observations or the natural world. When I began to teach middle school science, I used her teachings to have my students keep nature journals. I drew and recorded my observations to share with my students, but seldom found time to nature journal outside of work. Now, I have retired to Costa Rica, and I have still not made the time to keep a nature journal. I spend a great deal of time hiking and birdwatching, but rely on my camera to document my experiences. I am hoping this course nudges me into drawing and recording more detailed observations. I enjoyed all the different journal styles in the video, and will incorporate ideas from them all. I love how Shayna's drawings aren't actually contained in her boxes, but like the loose compartmentalization of sketches and descriptions. I want to make quick sketches to capture movement and behavior of birds to help me remember all the new species I am encountering here. I am struggling to remember field marks and identifying features of Costan Rican birds, and I hope to make my own personal field guide with drawings and descriptions of my own. I have not used watercolors with any success, and I am hoping that this course will improve my skills. I am amazed and inspired by the paintings people have shared here. Thank you.

I find the graphic ideas of others very interesting. A goal of mine is to revisit my  journal finding the information and design pleasing.

i really like the idea of building a month by month observations of what you see around you with the goal of completing a full year. I also liked how there were many sketches of a subject (bird) from various angles, some complete others just a part of the bird.

I have always loved the aesthetic of field drawing. A good friend of mine gave me a book a few years ago filled with watercolour sketches of shorebirds and I was hooked ever since. I find I'm not very good at that style because I focus on the details too much. I am hoping that with practice, I can loosen up and just enjoy what I see instead of focusing on finding things. The idea of viewing a nature journal like a journey definitely appeals to me.

These are very impressive journals..I feel a bit overwhelmed. I think I am not so focused on technicality of the subject, but more on the connection...dare I say the essence, the spirituality of things, if that doesn't sound too weird?

I am a 5th grade teacher and often get a lot of parents screaming "STEM" as loudly as they can and pushing of arts education as I find myself saying, "STEAM" in response.  Trying to make students understand that they need to accurately describe what they see through a microscope or through observation using drawing and words often are lost in the screaming.  I refer my science kids to Audubon's work and then lead them to James Gurney's "Dinotopia" and Tony DiTerlizzi's "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide" to show them how science journaling works.  My classroom has several Ed Emberly drawing books, some of Chris Hart's manga books, etc because my boys tend to be more comfortable in that cartoon realm and then moving into the science realm.  I now have some books on architecture after a Frank Lloyd Wright unit which has some of my students thinking about the marriage of art and engineering. As a person who has never been brave about her art, I have been meeting up with a local Urban Sketchers group and learning.  I am now ready to leap beyond what I do and learn more to inspire my students and start doing more storytelling with my own art/observations. My big question as I watched the others was: how do you capture moving creatures. The birds helped a lot (capturing shapes, etc.) but when you look at the frog, it's not like it's going to sit there and let you draw it, color and refine your thoughts and work.  Do you snap a quick photo and then work, using the photo as a reference?

I am inspired by bird and nature music. I like the song, Golden Bird, and Free Bird. So I have gotten into experimenting with art/music, that is bird related/inspired. I like birds, especially, because they are different from all other animals. I also like, and studied, Praying Mantis.   My favorite birds are, Green Heron/Ibis/Osprey.

My backyard is a rich nature sanctuary. We routinely have a Great Blue Heron who visits our koi pond (!) and a red-shouldered hawk who bathes and drinks from the waterfall flowing into the pond. I feel so fortunate that I only have to walk out the door to begin sketching. I especially like the thought of adding sketches to a monthly page. I think I'll try that.

1) I used to be fairly artistically active, but haven't sketched or drawn regularly for years. It's a habit that I'd like to bring back into my life and this seems like a fun way to do it. I'm also hoping to transition into a more creative career in the next few years and need to exercise the right side of my brain more. 2) I admired different aspects of all of the journals. It was interesting to see how people formatted their journal pages so differently and did fewer very detailed sketches (like, wow detailed) or more quick sketches that just captured the overall shapes and feelings of the moment. I think doing a combination of quick sketching and sitting longer with subjects to capture more detail will be beneficial for me to not only improve my observational drawing skills but also trying to remain in the moment enjoying what's around me.

Over the past two years I have visited two local birding sites in Alberta on a weekly basis (mostly) during the spring summer and fall,  making notes on the birds I have seen.  My goal was to observe changes over time.  Now I want to take my notes and photos and create a summary page (or two) of each year's observations with paintings of those that stood out for me.  I want to use a similar journaling method for my yearly visits to Vancouver Island.  There is always something new to observe with each visit. I found the nature journals in the video fascinating and took away lessons from them all.  I was particularly drawn to Holly's journal with its very fine watercolour paintings because I too use that medium. The challenge for me now is to not only make notes and take photos on my excursions but to also sketch in the field.

Ever since I was a kid in England and Canada after we emigrated, I have enjoyed doodling.  Once I had kids of my own, I would draw various things for them....trucks, cars, airplanes, and especially faces and eyes and cartoon characters.  My Aunt, who has lived in Ashland, Ore. for 20 yrs is an amazing artist who also started very young and has made a living of it.  My uncle also "dabbled" with paints and was an amazing self-taught artist. Having said that, a few yrs ago, at the ripe age of 65 and retired, I decided to take a college course, Drawing From The Right Side of the Brain. It really opened up a lot of ideas and development of how we see things. I have always been attracted to birds and the many species and diversity of colours.  I love the sound of songbirds in the morning.  Walking through wooded trails is always a delight for mindfulness and observation.  I am excited to get into this as my wife got me into Cornell with a Christmas gift coupon.  I am excited to see where all of this leads.

I have decided that I want to be more mindful, observant and in the moment in all aspects of my life and since I enjoy being outside I figured nature journaling would be a good start. I also feel as though it will help me learn more about nature. I enjoyed seeing the different journals and must admit I am a bit intimidated as I really do not draw well. I am not exactly sure how I want to pursue this but I am very intrigued with doing a monthly journal of what I see at a certain spot over that month. I am fortunate enough to own some acreage so my plan is to start on my property and observe in a certain spot for a certain amount of time and go from there.

I hike frequently and love to observe trees, wild floowers and birds. I find that I have a lot of questions about what I am obseving. The idea of a nature journal is very appealing as a means of documenting what I see and then researching more about it.

1. A few years ago during a local art tour, an artist showed her nature journal to me.  It brought tears to my eyes which seldom occurs unless there is a deep sense of connecting to beauty. 2. I like the combination of a sketch with color and notes that highlight the moment and the fascination of the encounter.  The sense of wonder that you are immersed in and want to capture.

I appreciated the different styles of each journal and has motivated me to add a new dimension to my nature journaling.  My nature journal is usually inspired poems or prose based on my experience in the natural world.  I usually write a poem and then do a drawing.  I have focused mostly on trees, mushrooms, acorns, the forest floor-leaves, pine needles and twigs and a few landscape drawings.  I have taken some nature art lessons so I understand the basics of drawing and illustration. I like the idea of adding some scientific observations mixed in with illustrations.  I was just out in the woods doing some animal tracking and came across moose tracks.  I tried to draw them, but they lack depth so need to learn some techniques to make tracks look three dimensional. I spend so much time outdoors and have a deep spiritual connection to the natural world so love spending more time observing nature when I draw- it really makes me appreciate the incredible beauty, textures and richness of where I am.

I am an avid birder and enjoy birding with friends but recently I have been searching for an excuse to "be still" and enjoy the experience. The practice of Mindfulness has become a way for me to deal with stress after my husband died and I see this nature journaling as an opportunity to be out in nature with some purpose and time to be mindful of what I see.  I have enjoyed other Bird Academy classes and look forward to this one.

I like the whole idea of creating a story about a hike or a trip that will include details about the adventure and will show the things that i thought were remarkable and meaningful to me in context of the entire trip. I can't wait to start using the watercolors.

I want to be able to draw what I see well. I want to spend more time outside focused on individual entities, instead of just plowing through the trail just to get back to the car. I want to pay more attention to the structure and form of the plants and animals that inhabit my habitat.

I think I selfishly want to develop my drawing skills but, looking at the amazing journals presented in this section of the class, I decided that I really want to learn to be present with nature. I realize that journaling is about being with the moment. I think I want to use drawings as a way to ruminate and meditate about the subjects that I encounter in my life.