Gestures in the Field

Find a place to sit, and center yourself by taking a few slow breathes. When you are ready, focus on a plant, building, animal, human, rock or any form at all. Look at it closely, thinking about the general shape of this thing. Make a quick mark on your paper to show this shape. Move quickly on to another object or being, and quickly jot the shape of that onto your page. Quicken this practice as you go, eventually taking only 2-5 seconds to describe each thing. Do this at least 20 times. Then take a break, and look back at your shapes.

Which ones remind you of the things you saw? Did the process get easier or harder as you sped up?

Now choose another thing to draw for longer, or you may choose something you had already captured quickly. Begin by looking and again make a quick line to get the overall shape. This time, adjust that shape by making new lines or using your eraser, adding the nuances that you see. You may add details to the shape, or the space around it.

Did the drawing exercise affect your sense of the space around you? Did it affect how you were looking? How did it feel to make the longer drawing after the gesture practice? What did you learn from this activity?

Please post any reflections or surprises in the comments below so that we may build community around this practice!

Color Stories

Begin by finding a quiet place in nature. Take some deep breathes and allow yourself to get truly present in the moment and in this space. Look around you and find a plant, insect, fungus or other organism to focus on. Look closely at the overall shape of what you see. Make an outline of it, tracing around the edges of the shape and including any details.

When you have the outline, make arrows to where you notice different colors. Describe each color that you see using 5 or more words per color. You may say things like “sandy brown with yellow greenish hue,” “stormy ocean blue, with some cerulean” or “reminds me of my mom’s salt and pepper hair, but with more blue tones.”

Try to notice how the colors shift throughout the being you are looking at. Note where shadows fall and where the light hits. How does this change the colors that you see?

When you are done, look back at the organism you chose. Do you see it differently now? How so?

Please post any reflections or surprises in the comments below so that we may build community around this practice!

Baby Waldens

Henry David Thoreau took two years of his life to live simply on the shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Over these years, he observed the way the second growth forest surrounding the pond and the pond itself changed over the days, weeks, months and seasons. He wrote about this (alongside his economic theories, transcendentalist philosophy and grumpy musings on his neighbors) in a famous book called Walden. It is a difficult time (during the Covid era) to be an explorer, as we cannot responsibly go on big, long adventures away from our everyday lives. Instead, this prompt is an invitation to notice how the things around your home, and your perspective, may shift in smaller ways as you observe them over time.

First, pick one very small “natural” place near where you live. This could be a patch of grass, the bottom of a tree, the area around one plant — any small place that catches your eye. Don’t think too hard about where you choose, let your first intuitive idea be your spot. Take some time to sit and observe this space closely. Sketch, draw or diagram what you see, being as detailed as you can. You can add words or phrases to describe anything that is difficult capture with images. Notice any shapes, smells, colors, textures and sounds that stand out. Set a timer for 5-10 days from now to revisit this place.

When you revisit your little Walden, begin by looking closely. Again, sketch, draw or diagram whatever you notice. Has the space changed or shifted in these days? What has stayed the same? How has your way of looking or recording changed? Set a timer again and do a third visit.

What did you learn from this activity? From this space? If you are able, keep returning to your space to check on its development over time. The more you return to this space, the more you will learn from it.

Please post any reflections or surprises in the comments so that we may build community around this practice!