Drawn to the Sea: Day 2

Today was Day 2 of Drawn to the Sea. (If you haven’t read Monday’s post, check it out so you know what is going on!) Though it was sweltering hot, we fearless creative teachers braved the elements to take a field trip to Fort Phoenix, Fairhaven! With the help of Science Guy Dr. Dave Welty coming to the rescue with digital camera technical difficulties, plus lots of water and sunscreen, we boarded a yellow bus and drove down to the shore.





Armed with words of inspiration from Ginny and Mary Ellen, Jack encouraged us to find some shade (yes there are some good spots especially behind the fort next to the hurricane dike) and we were off to collect ocean relics, sketch, paint, journal, photograph...




I took a few pictures of some interesting spots. I love the rock moss and the textures of different objects that find themselves in little still-lifes along the sand.


I did some sketching and writing, too and also got to chat with a few of my fellow students during those two hours. It’s really nice to get to talk with people who are open to being creative and love teaching, too.



And everyone made it through the heat with a damaged digital camera being the only injury to report. We are hearty folk!




So after the beach, I’m thinking about a few things that I’m inspired by...
...the possibilities of change the ocean represents even as it seems ancient
...the feeling of a connection to the sea, to some humanity that the ocean shares with us
...gratitude for the senses to appreciate the power and beauty of nature and for people who help me to stop and see it
...the ocean layers as I look through the water, numerous and different and all at once visible, and how that might reflect me as a person



Following a delicious lunch catered by Shipyard Galley (thanks for taking good care of us, Jack!), I took out my sketchbook for a while. I wrote and created a watercolor painting from a memory of watching a rare meteor shower out in East Fairhaven several years ago around 2:30 in the morning one cold night.






At the end of class, it was inspiring to me that everyone shared something about their experience today with the rest of the group, be it writing, art, insights, weavings. It is a brave thing to do, and helps others to be brave enough to express themselves. It’s also really nice to be surrounded by people who are supportive and positive about what is going on with their own work and others’. I’m excited to see what some of my classmates’ creations-in-progress will become at the end of the week. I’m curious as to what mine will look like, too!


Tomorrow I will bring in my rock (more on that later) and I am going to sign off to read Peter Stone’s very beautiful book of paintings and written reflections, Sanctuaries, before our day tomorrow with Peter on the New Bedford waterfront!

Back to the Beach with Ocean-Inspired Art: Day 1

I’m on break from my summer illustration project and taking on the role of fearless art student!!! Today was Day 1 of the course I’m taking this week called Drawn to the Sea: Art, Science and the Nature of Seeing though UMD/CUSP and Connecting Oceans Academy. So far, being an art student again has been pretty fantastic.

We met today in the former AT&T building in Fairhaven where we had some course intro by scientist Jack Crowley and artist Virginia Freyermuth. Both Jack and Ginny are also experts at providing teachers with very meaningful experiences that they can bring back to the classroom. Also facilitating our creative processes are teacher and textile artist Mary Ellen Nochimow and artist Peter Stone.

Today I was one of several art educators in the group, but there were also lots of teachers of other grade levels/disciplines. The atmosphere is totally supportive of everyone creating, writing, and being expressive. The majority of the group has already taken this class before and have had to come back, so that’s a really good sign!


When we arrived we could choose a studio space which had lots of supplies all ready for us and books, too. The course is inspired by the work and writing of environmentalist Rachel Carson, and I’m looking forward to reading more about her work.


At different points during the day, we broke into groups for some demonstrations by Ginny and Mary Ellen. Even though I'm in student mode, I am always interested in seeing not just what people are teaching, but how they are teaching it. How does the person describe what they are doing? How much is explained in instruction, how much left to discovery?


Today I began working on scientific observational drawings. I tried out a beautiful golden spotted seahorse which Ginny had photographed at the Ocean Explorium (also known as the Oceanarium) in New Bedford. I drew him in pencil, and I am working on a pen version, then maybe color. I'm still thinking about how to deal with some seaweed in the background of the pen drawing do that it doesn't take focus away from the seahorse. Maybe I'll use stippling or keep it in pencil...


I’m also trying out some weaving. (My experience with textile design is mainly quilting so this is much more organic and out of the box for me). I’ll leave you with a picture of the in-process weaving which is inspired by the ocean’s edge. (Trying to figure out how to make some skinny black seaweed weave the way I want it to without breaking.) When it's done, I want the weaving to express the feeling of the ocean creeping up on the sand.


Now it’s time to sew the top of my weaving to hold a cool piece of drift wood I got from from Mary Ellen’s stick collection. Tomorrow we are going to Fort Phoenix to draw for a couple of hours. It may be hot, but that never stopped me from going to the beach! More tomorrow...