This morning my daughter joined me in attending a Nature Journaling class at Manassas Battlefield, with their second Artist in Residence.
MY DAUGHTER JOINED ME
Since my daughter nearly majored in art history, I thought she’d enjoy the class.
I assured her that no skills were needed, because she struggles with drawing as much as I do.
Last month, I attended with the first Artist in Residence, Roxanne Steed who drove down from Connecticut to teach us.
LINDA JOHNSTON OF GAINESVILLE – ARTIST AND WRITER
One of the students in that class, Linda Johnston, was the Artist in Residence for this class, who is from nearby Gainesville.
A published writer and artist, Linda Johnston had a wealth of information to share, especially with her experience at being Artist in Residence at other locations, such as Catoctin State Park in Maryland.
IDEA BOOKS AND PRE-MADE NATURE JOURNALS
Although it was still chilly, it wasn’t nearly as cold as last month.
After parking, we met her below the bridge, where she had art supplies and pre-made nature journal books waiting for us.
LEARNING COMPONENTS TO A NATURE JOURNAL
While we focused on watercolor technique in the last class, in this one, we learned about various components we can add to our watercolors.
As she explained these ideas, she showed us examples from several books she had on display, including one of her own.
Linda also showed us her own nature journals, with creative covers she had made.
Displaying a range of ideas from her journals, she explained how we can be thematic based on trips or days out and about.
For example, she gave us lots of ideas of the types of information we can write into the journal, of the things we see.
Linda also presented ideas of the types of nature items to look for: a bug, plants, the overall view, etc.
INSPIRATION
After she set us loose, we looked around for inspiration to create our own unique journals.
Crawling upon my sketchwork was this daddy longlegs, so I must include him.
While I was trying to glean ideas and decide how to incorporate my favorite parts into my nature journal, my daughter was on a roll!
EPILOGUE 2024
While preparing this blog post from the old blog location to the new, I paused to finish my journal.
In the seven years that my journal has sat in a box, I haven’t improved any techniques.
However, while trying my best while making mistakes and learning from them, I learned a lot!
Unfortunately, I’m not able to erase my mistakes.
Oh, well, it’s all part of learning!
Hopefully I’ll remember to take my kit to fun places to try to hone my skills.
STONE BRIDGE HISTORY
Built in 1925 on the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike, Stone Bridge provided an easy crossing over Bull Run due to its steep banks and flash flooding.
After it was blown up by the Confederate Army in March 1862, the Union Army rebuilt it with wood.
On August 31, 1862, the Union Army destroyed it after retreating from Second Battle of Manassas.
Rebuilt to look like the original in 1884, Stone Bridge was closed in 1926, when the turnpike realigned a few yards away for a more modern bridge for vehicular traffic.
In 1959, the National Park Service added Stone Bridge to their oversight.
