The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Style Your Journal Your Way
-
I have journalled before but adding drawings and watercolor really helps to stick with it. While drawing/sketching anything, you tend to remember it and it sticks with you. Loved all the styles of the artists in preview. I want to add color if possible because in bird ID and any types of identification in the field, color matters. So far, my sketching looks like a first grader but i will stick with it. My Dad and Grandma are mentors to me.
-
1. I'm a wildlife ecologist so I keep a field notebook with me all the time. Mostly this is for data collection but I stray and write poems, remark on how beautiful nature is, write down research ideas and sometimes draw. Most of my drawings are super simple functional sketches that help me find nests in trees or identify individual animals. The sketches are helpful and I often take last years field notebook out with me the following year as a reference. I loved to draw as a kid but didn't continue into adulthood but want to. 2. I like the daily journal idea. I call my home the tree house and there are always birds, squirrels and other critters outside my windows. It would be fun to do a simple daily drawing with notes attached to highlight what I see each day. I want drawing to be a practice. 3. I might want to do a dog journal. I love my dog so much. I could try to capture his coat pattern, expressions, tail wags, and always surprising behaviors in drawings and dog notes.
-
1. What inspired me to take this course? I have always loved watching some dear friends work on their nature journals, and hoped and intended to do this lovely type of recording through art and observation for myself. A little bit of fear, self judgement , and procrastination combined to keep me from diving into this project. So when I saw the email describing the Cornell online class, I jumped at the chance to have the structure that would get me going! 2. Now that I've heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do I want to try? I'm starting with the style of the boxes defining the topics and comments I want to use to encourage myself, so that I can imagine writing and drawing strictly for myself and no one else. The box effect seems to lead me to keep to one thought or noteworthy interest and keep me focused . Just for myself... I will hope to find it helpful to note the date, time, weather, and location. Again, to help remembering the circumstances present during my observations. I am a retired R.N., after 45 years in practice. Drawing has always been something I loved to do as doodling, and I am hoping I can give myself its hidden gifts now, when I finally have more time to do more than just "doodle"! It was lovely to hear and see the enthusiasm and ideas of the journals who presented their work and ideas. Thank you all! Mary Ann
-
Hello all, we are excited for this course. I say we because I am working through this class with my two boys (right now aged 7 & 9). We homeschool and this is a wonderful addition to our studies. 1. We have been inspired to begin nature journaling because it is a great way to connect and learn about the natural world around us. We also follow a Charlotte Mason style of education and it is highly encouraged to nature journal and be outdoors on a daily basis. We have been learning to nature journal for about a year, but we would like to become more consistent with our time outdoors. We also are looking forward to learning more about what to think about, look at, etc. during our time nature journaling and becoming better with our drawings. 2. I personally liked the first example that had an ample amount of writing with some drawings too. I like the use of the boxes and I will be using this idea at a minimum for writing out my date, time, place, and weather conditions. My oldest is still thinking through his approach and has some ideas on how to improve his journal, and my youngest will be mostly drawing with some writing with my help. 3. No new or different ideas here. I am hoping to learn to be less critical of myself because I am not a good drawer but instead focus on why this process is important and to be an example to my kids as I continue to learn about creation. It is my hope that they too will continue this habit as they get older and continue their own learning. Here is a page from each of our journals currently before starting this course.
-
Hello, we too are homeschooling...my boys are 7 and 4! This was my first year learning about the beautiful things that CM suggests for studies, and Nature Journaling was something I was NOT looking forward to. However, as we struggled along and learned and grew, we noticed so much more when we took the time to sketch -- and I love being impressed by nature. These journals were gorgeous and inspirational...I really liked the encouragement to add a bit of the story to the sketch. And I felt a need for "professional development" for myself, so this is the course I picked, to learn and notice and delight; I have a feeling it will be contagious and my boys will end up coming along on this too! I wonder when you started this course and how it has gone since?
-
-
1> I have always done some sort of journaling and even drawing and journaling. I have wanted to fine-tune these skills to develop further, not just artistically but also a sense of purpose. I teach middle school students, and I hope to help instill some of these practices with them. I enjoy being in the classroom again. 2>I appreciate the quality of each of the Journals and approach. I believe the descriptions are as important as an artistic capture. The one I also like the simplistic approach and while it may not have been as attractive as the final day to day journal. I also think that those details are essential and perhaps can be overlooked through art. So while one may not be as artistic, one can focus on poems, descriptions, etc. The simple things such as date, time, area, weather were all critical. 3>The video component incorporated that captured the individuals' actual explanations of the day and what they were trying to achieve and express is an essential component.
-
My first experience with art journaling was long ago when I bought a facsimile edition of A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. I was thrilled! Though I'm primarily a photographer, the idea of sketching and writing seems much more 'mindful' to me. I've been keeping a travel/art journal on and off for a few years, and I hope this class will help me settle into a routine and a preferred way of doing things.
-
I remember that book--I treasured it and now I am wondering where it is in my stacks of books. Thanks for the memory!
-
The book you mentioned is on my list to read, one day. I understand how with sketching you tend to be more "mindful" I found I pay much more attention to the detail/s when I force myself to draw instead of just taking a picture. I rather take a picture because I don't like drawing nor am I particularly good at it but I learn so much more when I take the time to sketch/draw it out.
-
-
Hello all, Getting a bit of a late start to the course here but I am very excited to begin my nature journaling. I am an avid gardener and I also love birds and the two interests keep me outside quite a bit. Over time, I have become a bit of a naturalist, and keeping a nature journal is something that will help me forge an even deeper connection with the natural world around my home. I love art with the natural world as its subject and I would love to be able to create some of my own. This class will help me get there!
-
Hello Cassandra, Thanks for posting. Don't worry about the timing of your posts compared to others. This is a go at your own pace course. There are new people buying and or starting the course every single day and no deadline to start or finish the course. So feel free to take your time on any and all assignments. There will always be freshly starting folks nearly every day that will see and benefit from anything you post or share. Thanks.
-
-
1) Currently I am a teacher and very busy. I want to begin nature journaling because I am outside so often and want to learn something new (sketching and water coloring). I love making observations when I am out doors and would love to journal about them in a creative way. 2) The approaches I would like to take are trying to make some kind of entry 2-3 times a week using pencil, pen, and water colors.
-
I am Kris from WA state. I retired a few years ago from teaching special ed. preschool and have always loved to draw and watercolor. I have not always had time to pursue that interest however. I usually draw from photos and so this class will challenge me to draw what I see in the natural world around me. I did like Shayna's journal because she had some things that were consistent in it (boxes, date place etc.) but also was fluid in how she wrote, observed, media used and what she documented. I have created some journals/books nature alphabet, colors and numbers as well as currently drawing/painting my memories of a Costa Rica trip.
-
Am a retired Special Education teacher and have taken up weaving small tapestries. The tapestries have all been based on objects found on a beach, in the yard and in one case, a bacteria as it looked under a microscope. I saw this course and believe it will help me in my weaving by better understanding the shapes, colors, & contours in nature. Appreciated the opportunity to see the various journals. Am a real amateur at drawing so think this will be a fun challenge.
-
Hi all. My name is Cathy and I live in Wilson, Wyoming. I am a bit late to the course. Had some travel then WiFi issues. I am very impressed with the number of posts! 1. I was inspired to take this course because I am a landscape designer with very limited drawing skills. I also have kept a written journal of my own natural surroundings to help track nature's schedule - weather, leaf changing and dropping, first snow, spring bulb appearances, etc. Sketching would add so much to this record keeping! I took a 3 day intro to drawing class last winter and sketched on a trip I took immediately after. It was such a better way to record the trip than all the photos that stay on my phone! 2. A daily sketch would be an excellent goal, especially for the practice. I'll have to see what is most realistic. I also love the color. Especially when tracking seasonal changes, so much can be conveyed with a little color.
-
unsubscribe
-
Not sure how to post drawing. The bill proportion was most difficult for me. And the smudging of the part pencil while drawing. I usually use a very hard pencil. I used a #2 pencil and one can see the smudges.
-
Yea me! I figured out how to post my drawing. I am a retired high school biology teacher and field biologist. My son is very artistic and I have always wanted to draw and use water colors. Just returned from Brazil and wish I had taken this course before traveling.
-
Yea me! I figured out how to post my drawing. I am a retired high school biology teacher and field biologist. My son is very artistic and I have always wanted to draw and use water colors. Just returned from Brazil and wish I had taken this course before traveling.however, I am sure I posted it in the wrong place. Better luck next time.
-
Nice first drawing!
-
-
Hi everyone I’ve kept a travel and garden journal for several years but have never included sketches or watercolors in it. Nature journaling sounded like a good way for me to slow down and take things in more as I go on hikes and visit gardens. I was inspired to take this course because I had recently dropped a course in woody plant identification because of my work schedule. I like having the structure of a course to get me started on a new topic. The online presentation if this course offered the opportunity to participate on my own schedule. And the preview videos helped seal the deal. I liked the overview of the various journaling styles. My main takeaways were to note the date, time and weather for each observation, and to ask questions about what I’m seeing to research later or maybe discover while I’m observing. I’m looking forward to working with water colors and learning to mix colors, since I have a reputation in my family for always ending up with brown when I try to mix colors on my own. Looking forward to the rest of the course!
-
Hello, my name is Cynthia Thomas from Evanston, Illinois. I am an amateur watercolorist & have been wanting to increase my motivation to paint & draw at home. I really enjoyed the examples of the journals, especially the ones done in the Galapagos, as I traveled there myself in 2014. In thinking about my journal, I will focus on autumn, which is just beginning to show color here in Illinois. Cynthia "Cindy" Thomas gracindaisy@comcast.net
-
I am semi-retired and teach art to PreK-8th gr students and have always embraced science and nature in my lessons as I prefer to spend my free time outdoors no matter what the weather. I have painted/sketched inconsistently over the years on walks,hiking, camping over the years. I just have never had the time in my 30+ yrs to be disciplined enough to do it on a regular basis although I have always kept written trip journals and logbooks with photographs. I want to take the course to finally do something for ME and try to be better at this discipline. 2. For me,I like all of what the different journalers are doing but I know I would never have the time to do it daily with my current 3 day part time art teaching job--so maybe the monthly approach would be better? The geometric approach for drawing birds is something I "preach" to my students and for myself as shapes help so much in breaking down the drawing techniques. So many beginning students always start drawing without regard for proportion in my experience. 3.It might be nice to try a handbound journal in the future which allows for pockets or attached glassine envelopes for souvenirs (feathers, pressed plants & flowers-if allowed). I know it was mentioned in another post for keepsakes like this?It has been great reading through everyone's background reasons and ideas for this course!
-
Hey all, I'm so excited to start this course. I recently moved and am looking forward to getting to know my new garden and neighborhood through regular journaling and sketching. I was drawn the the 2nd and the last journals, I appreciate the mistakes and messiness, but also the layout and color in the last journal.
-
What inspired you to begin nature journaling? So I have a journal I use for my day-to-day diary I include a lot of stickers, washi tape, and photos around my written entries. I wanted to doodle in there but realized I often lacked the space or motivation. I came across this course and thought it might encourage me to focus on drawing itself and of course nature. As a programmer I spend most of my time inside and I am hoping this course encourages me to get some fresh air. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? I really liked Shayna's idea of using boxes. I would agree that it makes the blank page seem less daunting. It was very encouraging to see how some of the journalers filled their journals with unfinished sketches because this is something I have trouble coming to terms with and why I'm more hesitant to draw (the pressure to have a "finished" product)
-
Hey Andrea! I am in a programmer type role too, and I totally get how you decorate your daily diary journal. I am hoping this class gets me going outside more too!
-
-
Hello to all, I am a very old newborn to all of this but I want to improve my eyesight by really seeing things. I have never sketched before but DJ's geometric and behavioral observations makes it seem possible. I am inspired by all those who have shared their journaling and am pleased to join this tribe. Carol Shahriary
-
I particularly liked the journal that was done in a diary style, with an entry every day. It made the journal a thoughtful reminder of the day's activity without looking like a travelogue. It was very pretty.
-
1. I have been nature journaling by fits and starts and want to become freer to experiment and become more fluid without self-judgment confining me. 2. The first natural journaler used open boxes that gave a more "finished" look. She also used what she defined as "zoom" to look at a detail on the specimen. I liked that she started with the drawing, used both color and black and white images on the same page, and let the process evolve. Further, I liked using two facing pages as a way to compare different ferns. 3. This was alluded to, but I sometimes will leave a facing page blank for add in the research info I've found in answer to a question.
-
Oct. 13, 2019 1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I have done various types of "journaling" over the years, starting with the waterproof notebooks we used during my geology field camps in college. More recently I've kept a bird and herp journal/checklist on trips to SE Arizona, and I attempted to keep a travel journal on a two week trip to Tokyo and Kyoto (but we did so much and I got so tired that I eventually couldn't keep up!). I also do an above average amount of drawing for and with my students in high school biology and geology, most recently on river macroinvertebrates. We have a natural riparian zone about a half-mile from the school, so with our 90 minute block periods we spend many class periods in the fall observing, measuring, sampling, and data collecting. I think this course will help me expand my journaling skills so I could teach my students to do the same down at the river. 2. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? I recently did the training so I could teach Project Lead the Way engineering courses and the emphasis with engineers is to include drawings and narratives of all ideas, filling up the notebook with information. It's similar to many of the journals seen in the videos. So I'm going to try having a central illustration frame with narratives surrounding and perhaps drawings of details here and there. 3. Do you have a different journaling idea, not mentioned here, that you’d like to share? Engineers have a credo where nothing written ever gets erased. For mistakes in writing or irrelevant passages you put a line through the text so it's still readable. This comes from industry where any idea whatsoever could become important some day and be a million-dollar idea. Not sure if this applies in some way to nature journaling, but I'll be keeping this in mind along the way.
-
Hi, Craig, I like the idea of embracing mistakes and returning to ideas. I too want to continue with photography and how sketching could improve my scene selection.
-
-
1. I was inspired to take this course for so many reasons. Simply, I love to get out, observe and appreciate nature. With that in mind, I sometimes take my camera to capture different observations. I love the idea of bridging journaling and art together too. I have an appreciation for writing and art, however, I don't embark upon either outlet as much as I should. Nor do I find myself gifted in art or writing. Thus, I hoping to take all my loves - the outdoors, writing and art and blend them into something beautiful.
-
This sounds great, Bonnie. I'm interested in how photography will mesh with journaling. If I can take a flower or a leaf inside to work on the journal, is it acceptable to do the same with a photo?
-
-
I want a journal to more properly remember the beautiful, odd things I see when I'm out and about, even if it's just on my small property. I don't always trust my mind to remember, but notations of any kind can help. A journal could be used as 'the spark' necessary to recreate and solidify that memory. I want to be able to return to it and ,with some assurance, subdue the hesitation and chaos I often feel. Ideas on paper might keep my mind sharper, share ideas I had with others. It might feel like pulling the curtains apart and aid me in seeing more clearly into my own memory. I believe Fuller's class will aid me in helping elementary things I learned years ago in the beginners drawing I accomplished. Learning from other students is something to look forward to here also. Muller's idea of zooming in and squaring details of drawing will be useful. Her interest in shadows and light is something all art students share. Nnuro jr's speed with pen and paint is something I wish I could gain. I'd remind everyone to 'DON'T FORGET to LOOK UP! The clouds are something I learned to watch carefully as a sailplane pilot. And I'd have missed a red-tailed hawk perched on a pole in my backyard if I'd not also been watching the clouds.
-
1. I am inspired to nature journal because I noticed I was already keeping a journal with sketches and thoughts. I bring it with me to work and bring it home every day. And when I saw the email about this class, the ad image looked similar to my journal I was already keeping, and I was like...."oh! this is a thing. nature journaling. drawing and journaling". It was quite a cool Ah-Ha moment. :) 2. I am interested in going outside and journaling what I see, and then looking up and learning more about the subject later. 3. I would like to include the symbolism and meaning of the things I see. So, like, if I see a blue jay, what symbolism does that have? What inspiring thought can it bring to my day. What does it mean to me? I'd also like to use any images that really captivate me, and bring them home and maybe paint them on a canvas or make something larger with them so I can display it. I also like glitter and other materials, so maybe turn a small sketch into some sort of mixed media art.
-
I had the same ah-ha moment that you did, Dorothy. I’ve done this, especially on trips to Costa Rica, with drawings and notes but never really did it regularly.
-
Read More: