"I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle......Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly rediscover the world."

Frederick Franck  The Zen of Seeing

Life is The Sacred Mystery Singing to Itself

Paying attention to the natural world opens me to the great power and presence that links us all.  Loving nature and its myriad learning opportunities led me to a degree in Outdoor Education, which takes learning outside the classroom to direct observation and hands-on experiences.

                           Workshop students drawing from nature at Wolf Creek Park 

           Would you like to host a nature drawing workshop for your group? 

                                                          paintskyblue@msn.com

The poetry of fellow Ohioan, Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver, speaks to my heart in  "The Summer Day" .  Her poems are exquisite reminders to cherish the moment. 

Betty Edwards' Drawing on The Right Side of The Brain helped me teach high school and adult students how to access the side of the brain that sees as an artist sees.  I use these concepts and tools in nature drawing workshops and classes in drawing as meditation.

Familiarity with the dual brain is a key link to understanding creativity. Watching Jill Bolte Taylor describe her intimate experience of how a stroke put her in the right side of her brain gives a deeper understanding of what happens in that state of complete being. All artists will understand what Jill experiences because it is where we are when we create, when we lose track of everything but the moment and we really Get It.