Expedition Guidebook: Visual Journal as Evidence of the Journey
Date: Friday, August 27, 2004
Time: 9am – 4:30pm
Instructor: Juliana Coles
Cost: $125

You don't have to be a gardener, botanist or anthropologist to keep field notes. Learn how to document the world around you by combining creative assignments such as collage and drawing (yes, drawing- you can do it!) with writing exercises such as observations of plant life, animals, weather, etc.

We will learn to integrate images from our blooming surroundings with notes from the field without ever having to leave the classroom! Tell stories about the birds you see and the frogs you hear screaming along the ditches at night. Paint desert backgrounds or futuristic cityscapes. Glue in leaves and flower petals and implement photos from your garden, backyard, or magazine clippings from the outdoors that appeal to you. In this class we will focus on the outer landscape and our relationship to it. The emphasis of this journal keeping class is on note taking and tools of observation rather than emotional expression. Bring in ephemera and images such as botany prints, plant definitions, or seed packets. Everyone must bring in at least one natural element: a rock, a piece of driftwood, a crystal, a leaf, a shell-anything that is personal and has meaning to you. Please bring a Blank book, sketchbook, Field Book, garden or nature journal you are currently working on. All participants will receive a Me& Pete Booklet on Creating Field Notes. No outdoors, scientific, writing, or art experience necessary - All levels welcome- we're all naturally creative!

You will need: a book any size to contain your field notes (or two or three ! You could even alter a Victorian Garden Book or Anthropology, Astronomy, or Geology text book or anything else that could make a cool background for your Field Notes!) and your favorite mixed media supplies. (suggestions*** following) Bring your favorite glue, scissors, some brushes for your paints, a rag or two and a jar for water.

*** Suggested supply list : Please bring your favorite supplies as well as collage items (use copies of things that are precious to you) and one or two magazines. Bring different kinds of things in your favorite colors. I like to use Black and White acrylic, (its always good to have at least one light color and at least one dark color) cheap craft paints in light blue and butter cream, brush markers in orange and hot pink, yellow black and red permanent markers, some colored pencils, a regular pencil, a sharpener, all kinds of tape, even a little stapler, India ink and walnut ink, red watercolor, a few water color crayons, my rubber stamp letters, poetry books to cut up, my Staz-On stamp pads, and I never travel without masking tape ... just make sure you have a few wet items, and some dry items.

Please email me if you have any concerns or questions: meandpete@msn.com.

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