Giving Back - Nature Sketchbook Journaling at CT Audubon Society in Pomfret, CT

I've just recently completed the Master Naturalist class offered by the Connecticut Audubon Society in Pomfret, CT. All of my classmates agreed that we've barely scratched the surface.  But we've been fascinated, enchanted, and amazed at the things we have learned each week. Life around us is never boring - there is always something new to learn and wonder about! 

As part of our course, we agree to share what we've learned with others - in the form of volunteer hours.  The facility and grounds in Pomfret offers so much! Our summer programs are beginning this month, and I am offering a series of Nature Sketchbook Journaling (yes, as my form of volunteering!). 

I do hope you'll join us at the Pomfret Center, here's the address so you'll find us on these Saturdays (listed below):

Grassland Bird Conservation Center

218 Day Road

Pomfret Center, CT 06259

(860) 928-4948

 The schedule is as follows: 

Saturdays, June 4, June 25, July 23 or August 20, 

9a.m. to Noon

You'll spend time outdoors sketching and painting from nature, using pencil, pen and watercolor. Learn new skills or develop ones you already have.

I'll show you how to simplify what you see and teach you basic drawing and quick intuitive watercolor techniques. Enhance your creativity, observe nature, record the day and enjoy the meditative qualities of sketching outdoors. 

*Cost per day: $5 CAS members, $10 non-members. (all fees go to CT Audubon)

*Materials you'll need to bring:

-Pencil, eraser

-Permanent, waterproof, black drawing pen

-Watercolors (a travel size or kid's set)

-Watercolor brush (or waterbrush)

-Watercolor Sketchbook or 'multi-media sketchbook' (regular paper will buckle)

-Water Bottle

-Small plastic container for holding water/rinsing

-Camp chair or stool to sit on outside

 Please share this post with friends who may be interested!!

"Monday FUNday"- Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

By my way of thinking, summers are meant to be enjoyed. 

Even between our routines and daily work and necessities, 

sneaking in a bit of fun should be something to aim for, 

plan it, do it, make it happen! 

Even if it is not a BIG deal, those little bits of fun here and there, 

add up to some mighty fine memories. 

So, leave the kitchen sink behind....

grab a sketch book if you're so inclined. This is in my back yard, a small stone lantern we added to our garden this year.  Makes a nice light on the patio as the evening turns to dusk.  The sketch is another 'multi-media' bit of fun. The under layer is a poem, written with a brown Tombow felt tip pen. The ink is water-soluble, so once you've written down your thoughts/poem, etc, you can take a watercolor brush to the whole page and make a soft wash of it. This poem is, "Between the apple blossom and the water".  On top are little sketch doodles (in permanent ink & watercolor) of the lantern, some hosta blossoms, and some yellow green Japanese ornamental grass.  Click on the image to enlarge it.

Now, depending on where you live, your summer might be much hotter than mine. It's been pretty decent here, I must admit. Okay, downright delightful.  That is the New England payback for tolerating a long winter.  We get the good stuff right now! All the local farms are having "u-pick-em days".  I spent a nice morning with my neighbor picking blueberries at Holmberg Orchards, in Gales Ferry last Thursday.  So what do you do with all these berries, you might ask? Well, besides putting them in your cereal or oatmeal or yogurt at breakfast, I made a big frozen smoothie with about a cup full of blueberries, a ripe banana, a large dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt, and ice cubes. No recipe here, just kept adding ice or yogurt until I liked the consistency. Easy enough. That's a lot of antioxidants in that glass, and the banana adds plenty of sweetness, so you don't need to add sugar. And the ice....well, that's perfect for a hot day.  And, from a fellow berry-picker, she puts them right into a big zip-loc freezer bag, and freezes them as soon as she gets home. Doesn't wash them until she's ready to use them.  She says she'll pick enough to last through May of next year! Wow, now that's an idea (and sounds like a good way to eat my way through winter!)

 On Saturday afternoon I went on a five-mile hike with my hubby. I hadn't been on this part of this trail before, just the beginning (and a different section) of it. It was part of the old Groton-to-Stonington Trolley line, now partially paved....perfect for biking. But it goes through a wooded area, and in most wooded areas in CT there are wild turkeys.  Well, one mama turkey waited until we were almost right up on her to cross the path in front of us. I could hear all this peeping as she stepped out into the path...followed by almost a dozen babies...too many to count. I'm sure there were at least nine of them. They just kept coming out of the brush to follow her to the other side. So we waited and watched. There's always a little brother straggler! 

(no this photo isn't mine, but Michele Kelly's photo in Frank Picchione's  wonderful blog of animal conservation. Thanks for permitting me to use this photo, Frank! ). The babies we saw were a bit smaller, and more of them. But they were all lined up following mama!
Now, did I do all this on a Monday? No, this was all fun from last weekend. I was fondly remembering this while I was finishing up a large oil painting today.  That's just part of the fun of Mondays, thinking about what you did last weekend...and having five whole days to plan for the next one! 

Hope your summer is full of FUN Mondays! (and all those days in-between!). 

Garden Walkabout Sketchbook

Just for fun, like things you do on a summer vacation; 

Filling sketchbook pages, with memories and treasures.

This page is a bit of mixed media, gessoed stencil designs and 

pale watercolor washes underneath a lightly sketched 

garden scene from my back yard. (click on image to enlarge!)

Sketchbook Journal - Lotions & Potions

A little more effort with the Tombow (watersoluble)pen. The sketchbook I've been working in is a "Holbein Drawing Book F3" for watercolor and multi-media, 205g/m. It's a nice weight, and stands up to washes, and 'most' inks don't bleed through. In this drawing I used a permanent marker in addition to the water-soluble one. I knew there would be certain places where I wanted the inks to run and other areas where I didn't. So far, I'm finding this fun.

Sketchbook Journal- Beachcomber's Finds

And now for something completely different. I've been working with my sketch book a lot this past week - and thought I'd share some of the pages inside with you! On this page I was using a water soluble Tombow pen and a bit of watercolor for these finds from the beach.