The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Style Your Journal Your Way
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I left some boxes empty to remind me to look up the name of the items. I think the tree is a Cedar Elm? joyce
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Bettie, I'm in the same spot as you. I have a large garden with many beautiful plants, birds, insects and other wildlife that I love to observe. Have never drawn anything outside of elementary school art class, so will have to see how that goes. I am intimidated by the blank page and all I see outside right now is a heck of a lot of snow, so I suppose I can just pretend for a bit longer.... My plan is to get outside and start observing the first buds and insects that show up. I figure I'll start small, and work my way up to birds and other things as I gain confidence. We really are our own worst enemy.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Hi Sara Jayne, Sorry to read about the loss of your husband. I have come to the decision to start a nature journal as a way to be more observant, mindful and present. I enjoy birds and begin out in nature. I, too, have taken other classes from Bird Academy and have really enjoyed them. Bettie
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I have done a little nature journaling in the past and every time I look at those few pictures, it transports me back to that wonderful moment of awareness and the beauty I was lucky to be witnessing. I am intimidated by that blank page sometimes, though, and wanted to see how this course helps with that issue. I enjoyed seeing how each person in the video approached their journals differently with the desire to see and understand the natural world more deeply, which makes me feel freer to use my own expression in my journals. I am intrigued by the concept of making a page a month to fill in all I see - January may be a bit empty, but it will make me look around more during each month!
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I have always been inspired and intrigued by naturalists and their field records. I can pore over drawings, paintings, photographs, and writings for hours, as well as spend countless hours reading biographies, writings, and even children's books about famous naturalists and conservationists. My children and I would often sit outside when they were younger and observe nature, read books, make up stories about the creatures we saw, and make nature journals. I still have some of my children's early nature drawings. I definitely would like to keep a record of date, time, location and weather. I think it is important. I am inspired by the goal of a drawing a day but I think I may need to make it a page a week. That will be my new year's goal. I'm fascinated with a purely observational study but I'm also considering a more imaginative interpretation. Perhaps in a separate journal, perhaps mixed together. I often imagine a fanciful world of anthropomorphic animals and fairy creatures interacting. I am interested to try journaling these ideas. Perhaps it will inspire me. My art skills are somewhat lacking but I've made the resolution to be content with what I have and keep persevering. Who knows? Maybe I'll improve with practice.
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1. I have been nature journaling for a long time without calling it that or really structuring what I was doing. I love to paint, draw, etc nature subjects and I love to find and collect things like shells, bones, rocks, etc. I was inspired to take this class to put some more structure or intentionality behind journaling so that could have more of an overall product to share with others. 2. I really like the journals that have different views of the same thing on one page with notes, it's really interesting to look at visually. I also realized while looking at these journals that seemingly mundane observations are actually fun to read if you werent there - so I need to be more confident about sharing what is on my mind in the moment. 3. I like to draw/paint images from dreams as well when they involve animals, forests, rivers - nature subjects. For example, I had a dream once that I was a fox running through the forest - I could see my paws and whiskers! So, I like the physical reality of nature journaling and observation, but also journaling about our other experiences with nature that are felt and experienced differently too.
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1. I have always enjoyed and appreciated the beauty of the natural world, but I have not drawn anything for many years. Now that my kids are older (12 and 15), I not only have a bit of time at the end of the day to draw, I also find that I am NEEDING more time spent on meditative observation. I am really looking forward to this class holding me accountable. I also want to show my kids that while technology is great, it is important to disconnect and use your senses to appreciate the real-life, not virtual, beauty around us. 2. I am going to be patient with myself and my growth through this course, but I would love to get to the point where I can share my work publicly with others. I absolutely love the final journal highlighted in the video! It would be fantastic to get there. But to start, I like D.J. McNeil's approach to use the journaling and sketching to make the best observations possible, even if I do not complete each sketch. My main goal is the act of careful observation.
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I was inspired by a book about creating mixed media pages about nature and also by following someone on FB who does nature journaling. I love nature, hiking with my dog and photographing what we see, writing narratives to go along with the photos. I am striving to reduce stress and anxiety, and to be more mindful . I never seem to make time for art. It seems to be a luxury. So I think nature journaling would be something wonderful I could do that would bring more peace to my life as I reflect on the beauty of nature through art and writing. So, my approach would be to do a combination of art and reflective writing ,along with research. Seeing all of the styles of journaling was very inspirational. I would use pencil, ink, watercolor crayons, and watercolor .
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I teach teachers about how to make science and nature alive for their students K-12, and one of the methods I use is science and nature notebooks/ journals. I would like to be better about nature journaling myself, for my own benefit, but I'd also like to be better able to guide my teacher candidates in the process, including why doing it can help you learn. I love looking at the watercolors- I have sketches in mine but haven't taken that kind of time to create watercolors. I look forward to giving it a try! The monthly entries that Holly Faulkner talks about could work well for me, even if my drawings are not at that level.
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I have kept note books with my bird and wildlife sightings with some pencil sketches and some watercolours for over 30 years but over the past 5 years my photography has taken over and I’m now keen to get back and start drawing and painting to illustrate my notes and improve on my very rusty skills! In answer to the second question, the drawings and paintings shown over a month were excellent and I love the concept of putting subjects in context with plants, trees, leaves flowers etc. I like the idea of having multiple sketches that show the subjects behaviour or stances, with some just pencil drawings and notes and others in watercolour. The sketches below are from notebooks 10 years ago!
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I love to doodle and sketch in travel journals we've kept over the years. Plus we spend a lot of time outdoors, and wanted to try nature journaling to develop a greater awareness of earth's gifts. I also want a better way to remember time spent outdoors, other than photos taken with an iPhone.
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1. I'm an avid bird lister, but I'm keen to slow my pace down and take more in from the point of view of form and behaviour of birds but also other flora and fauna around them. I have always enjoyed sitting and just being 'in' nature and have dabbled a little in art in the past but always convince myself I'm too time poor. But there are plenty of things I can drop off to make the time for some journaling so I'm keen to give it a go. I've also found the books 'Looking at Birds: An antidote to field guides' by John Busby, and Edward Wilsons 'Birds of the Antarctic' enjoyable in the way they capture the essence of birds behaviour often in partial of loosely formed sketches. 2. I like the idea of having a daily or monthly routine. I think as a beginner it would be good to build some discipline. Generally though I liked the relaxedness of the approach. Try something and see if it works. Keep it (and iterate / improve if it does) but don't be put off and just try something different it it doesn't.
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