Sea, Solstice, and Sun

Wow, it’s been a wild few months! So many exciting developments to report. Most recently, I spent an amazing evening guiding the staff and volunteers of the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk on a nature journaling adventure. This evening was devoted to helping the staff and volunteers find calm and relaxation through practicing nature journaling while connecting with each other and the animals in community. This was truly a beautiful evening where many of the staff and volunteers noted that they were seeing some of the animals in different ways for the first time. We spent some time observing using the “sit spot” technique at each of the major areas of the aquarium. “Sit spot” is spending time just observing without writing or drawing. Without a focus on doing anything, this can allow us to really settle into our senses and discover our connection with all beings more deeply. When we were watching the seals swim in the underwater viewing area, it was beautiful to watch their graceful movements and effortless swimming. I invited the journalers to draw the seals’ paths swimming through the water. This was one of my favorite things to watch people connect with. We don’t usually draw the way things move, and it was wonderful seeing the squiggly paths different people created and how they chose to express these movements through words and additional expressive sketches. 

A participant’s sketch from the Aquarium nature journaling event

We also explored movement at the manta ray tank where we observed the flying winglike movements and diamond shapes of the rays. Jellyfish were another wonder. And speaking of wonders, many of us wondered about jellyfish and how they know how to migrate and move when they have what we regard as such a "primitive" brain, which is actually known as a neural net. Nature journaling can prompt us to ask wondering questions, and this is one of the great things about this practice - it ignites our curiosity. We don’t have to know or ever find the answers; simply the act of wondering gets us into an imaginal space of awe and yes, wonder. I also shared with the journalers my philosophy that there is no good or bad with nature journaling, and that nature journaling is a great way to release the inner critic and open up to the experience of the present moment. When we are nature journaling, it is a personal practice. We are not being scientific illustrators or trying to make great art - we are simply documenting our experience in whatever way feels right to us at the moment. These sketches may turn into scientific illustrations or great art, and if they do, that’s great, but they are simply a way of connecting with our experience in the present moment.

journaling at the aquarium

I also guided the staff and volunteer journalers in some writing prompts, and it was such a gift to be able to spend this time with them. I was thrilled to hear from many of them that they were excited to incorporate this relaxing, grounding, and centering practice into their work and lives.

In other news, last weekend, I had the joy of sharing “art from the sun” with families at Winding Trails. We made cyanotypes (sun prints) of nature objects out in the sun. It was a wonderful afternoon of discovery and fun as we collected nature items, laid them on the special paper, and waited for the prints to develop. It takes a few minutes, and then when you wash the paper off in water, the print appears. We had prints of clover and cattails, ferns and flowers, rocks and sticks, and all manner of other plants, on paper large and small. This is another way of seeing the intricacies of nature while making some fun art.

I’ve been busy. I also guided a nature journaling workshop at Jerry’s Artarama, etc on the summer solstice, and we spent time writing and reflecting on the solstice, summer, and all of the sensory experiences summer brings. We also sketched and explored different summer nature objects.

I have been spending time developing new class offerings such as “Ecstatic Painting,” “The Gentle Art of Calm” workshop, and “Wake Up and Paint” to name a few. In June, I guided my first ever “Ecstatic Painting” class at Mill Street Marketplace in Wethersfield where I have an art space. Ecstatic painting is a pure experience where “the rules” of art and ideas of good and bad don’t apply. (Releasing good and bad is a theme in my work!) In this a relaxed process, we set an intention, enter into a safe and sacred space, open to awareness, and free ourselves to tune into the beautiful true artist within. Painting to music, we seek to rediscover our creative essence through a freeform, mindful practice, exploration of colors, brush strokes, and connection with the body’s natural rhythm. I was inspired to create this class after attending an ecstatic dance.

Wake Up and Paint is a watercolor class that offers an alternative to the familiar step-by-step paint-and-sip experience. Wake Up and Paint invites you to connect with your inner truth and authentic self within a supportive creative community. In this class, we focus on color, sensation, and expression — letting go of the outcome and allowing the paint to guide us. I find that students are continually surprised and delighted by what naturally emerges from within.

I will be hosting another Ecstatic Painting event outdoors in August at Bridge Center for Healing Arts in Farmington, so stay tuned. 

And I’ve been crafting! I recently shared some Fourth of July fun with residents of Avery Heights and seniors at New Britain Senior Center making “sparklers” from fun decorative papers, and made Juneteenth and patriotic wreaths with patrons at Hartford Public Library.

What I’m reading: Hildegard of Bingen by Regine Pernoud. I will be guiding a retreat on nature connection through the eyes of women medieval mystics this fall at Holy Family Retreat Center, so stay tuned for more info on that!

What I’m listening to: Whiz the MC “Left will go right”. I got to see him open for The Kid Laroi earlier this year and I love his flowy, upbeat music and inspirational message.

What I’m watching: the FIFA World Cup of course! It’s wonderful to see how the “beautiful game” and sport can bring the world together.