Yours Naturally
A 3-day Nature Journaling Workshop

Orly Avineri

Henry Miller said: "The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." Let’s create such a world!

Over three unobstructed days, we will explore the vast nature that is around us while discovering our own expansive nature, that of our fellow journeyers, and the many ways that all is mysteriously and beautifully connected. Some birds use man-made materials to build their nests and some humans use nature-made materials to adorn their nests. Our nests are hand-sewn journals (pre-) made out of lusciously absorbent watercolor paper, pages with flaps concealing and revealing, ready to soak in all that is to come.

Our tactile experience will commence with the collecting and gathering of nature elements; branches, leaves, tree fruit, bark, feathers, pebbles, whatever it is that nature will be gifting us on that particular winter day. (Be prepared for the probable "singin’ in the rain.") Touched by direct closeness to nature, and back indoors, we’ll be assigning new functions to these objects, as brushes, line and texture makers, and later on utilizing them as 3-dimensional attachments to our journals. In addition to our traditional art supplies and materials, we’ll also be using our glorious hands to paint, smear, spill, drip, spot, smudge, splash and splatter on our journal pages, with various natural materials and dyes such as herbs, spices, soil, grain meal, salt, tea, and coffee.

At a later time, this sensorial process will take us outside again. With a deep breath of fresh air, we’ll open our eyes and witness the grandness of our natural surroundings. We will listen, touch, smell, and see. We will sketch, write, and record. Newly inspired, we will go back in and move further to explore our own nature. Now we’ll be welcoming our minds and hearts to join in on our spontaneous and sensorial celebration. We’ll be adding photographs and other images that will sure to take us to other natural places of our hearts.

Making our marks, our paths, and visual connections, between seemingly random spots, colors, textures, images, and words, will help us define new associations, form new relationships, between us and nature, ourselves, each other, and our journals. We will be sure to walk away with a bundle of life-full pages representing this significant time and place, tied together with magnificent strings into a most intimate and lush nature journal.

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir

I hope you’ll join me for the Journey—I can be reached at orlyavineri@gmail.com if you have any questions.

To see more of my work, please visit my blog: http://oneartistjournal.wordpress.com/

Supply List

Click here for a printable supply list.

Prepare for a direct and tactile experience; our hands are the best tools ever, so be ready to put them to good use.

• A few photographs, of you as a child and one current. May be originals or photocopied in B&W; some blown-up; may be printed on an off-color paper.
• fluid acrylic paint—black, white, brown, and a few of your favorite colors
• drawing inks—black, white, brown, and a few favorite colors
• black gesso
• molding and/or fiber paste
• matte medium
• multi-purpose Glue-All
• a couple of various size large brushes
• rags and paper towels
• scissors
• Tim Holtz’ brown tones Distress Ink Pads
• gel pens—black, brown, white and a few favorite colors
• two plastic place mats of freezer paper
• heat gun or hair dryer

$20 Materials fee (payable directly to instructor) includes:

• an 8"x10" handmade journal, made with 140# smooth, Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper sheets
• mini-sketchbooks
• misc. papers and surfaces, including cork sheets, printed and textured papers, images, vellum, tissue, etc.
• Additional materials that will make this one, fun messy experience!