Field Notes: Drawing (on) Your Experience

aloe in bloom

Naturalist, artist, and author Roseann Hanson is an explorer. But her definition of the word doesn’t require you to have traveled extensively on 5 continents the way she has.

To her, being an explorer is more about how carefully you study something – whether it’s the Sahara Desert or a grain of sand – than how far you go. (Incidentally, I agree!)

Explorer Roseann Hanson sitting on the hood of a 4-wheel drive vehicle, taking notes in her journal.
Roseann Hanson (photo via her site, exploringoverland.com).

She gave a talk at the Natural History Institute in Prescott called “The Art of Exploration: How Field Sketching and Journaling Bridge Science, Conservation, and Well-being.”

I watched the livestream and found it riveting!

 

 journal page
Krkonoše Mountains drawing by archaeologist Jan Erazim Vocel, c. 1841. Photo via State Regional Archives in Prague + Wikimedia Commons.

Field Note History

In the days before you could just carry a camera with you, it was common practice for scientists and explorers to draw what they were observing out in the world.

Their field notes often included beautiful illustrations, along with handwritten descriptions.

 

Twyfelfontein rock art
Ancient rock art in Twyfelfontein. Photo by SqueakyMarmot / Mike, Vancouver, Canada – CC BY 2.0

Sketched in Stone

The impulse to make a visual record of what’s around us and what we’ve seen on our journeys goes all the way back to the Stone Age, to cave walls and sandstone boulders. Roseann Hanson sees these drawings as early field notes.
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A Short Walk in Flagstaff, Arizona

orpheum theater flagstaff

Flagstaff is a great place to take a walk. For one thing, the summer weather is gorgeous! Plus, there’s the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS), a network of over 56 miles of walking and biking paths throughout town.

Quijote the dog in Flagstaff

Wheeler Park

When we were in Flagstaff recently, I wanted to take Quijote on a short walk before we went to meet up with family. I found a nice little quarter-mile route downtown from Wheeler Park to Heritage Square.

Wheeler Park has a central location with free parking nearby. I recognized the park name from Happenings List events that take place there, like Flagstaff Art in the Park.

I had done a quick search, and it didn’t seem like anything like that was scheduled for that day.

 

chaotic mural
“Sound of Flight” mural on the side of the Orpheum Theater by Sky Black and Mural Mice.

Unexpected Hullabaloo

But there was. The sidewalks got more crowded the closer we got. The street we planned to turn on to get to the park was completely closed. As we circled around the block, we realized the entire park was fenced off. And so was the parking lot.
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Watch This: Still Standing in Small Town Canada

3 people laughing in a barn loft with dried plants hanging above them
Rogersville, New Brunswick.

“When you grow up in a small town in Newfoundland, you see that people have a sense of humor about hard times. I turned that into a career and hit the road.”

standup comedian on stage

Minto, Manitoba, population 85.

That bit of narration begins, and perfectly encapsulates, the premise of the CBC TV series Still Standing. It’s kind of a mix of travel show, stand-up comedy special, and small town documentary.

Think Corner Gas meets Rick Steves, and you’ll be on the right track.

Brick storefronts in a small town.
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.

“Now I’m on a mission to find the funny in the places you least expect it – Canada’s struggling small towns. Towns that are against the ropes, but still hanging in there, still laughing in the face of adversity.”

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Color Story: Gems + Jewel Tones (part 1)

watercolor paper gems

Beyond just decoration, color is elemental.

Think of mineral pigments. The way a body of water takes on shades of what it carries – a cloudy blue glacial stream, a teal bay concealing a forest of kelp, a river that turns mud-brown with sediment. The hue of flames shifting from fuel and temperature changes. Or the impact of heat and chemical makeup on the color of lava, of aurora, of stars.

telescope image of nebula and stars - Webb Telescope image of Pillars of Creation composite image produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).

The rich, saturated colors of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, and other gemstones are actually from trace elements within them. It’s those so-called imperfections that create the gorgeous palette we call jewel tones.

With Tucson’s gem show season beginning today, it seemed like the perfect time to explore jewel-toned things to make, places to visit, handmade items to shop, and nature to marvel at.

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