Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Seminar spotlight: Creating the Illuminated Field Journal

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Good news: There are a few spaces still open in the Creating the Illuminated Field Journal field seminar! This three-day seminar is an introductory course to personalizing one’s time in nature and outdoors through sketches, words, and color in the pages of a field journal.

Caption caption Photo by Elin Ljung.
Join us for the field seminar, Creating the Illuminated Field Journal, for a spectacular weekend of sketching and writing in the Mono Basin. Photo by Elin Ljung.

Creating the Illuminated Field Journal • September 4–6 • $175 per person/$160 for members • sign up here

To be fully present in the natural world, we must be alert and inquisitive—receptive to the small signs and subtle clues around us. A field journal is an ideal vehicle to record moments of discovery, as well as a quiet way of simply being present outdoors. In this workshop, artist/writer Hannah Hinchman will guide you in exploring the variety of nearby habitats, opening windows to nature’s many secrets and learning to personalize these experiences through journal entries, both drawn and written.

Pages courtesy of Hannah Hinchman.
An example of an “event map,” one of many exercises Hannah will teach seminar students. Pages courtesy of Hannah Hinchman.
Courtesy of Hannah Hinchman.
Creating obscure field guides is a great way to practice looking closely at aspects of nature. Courtesy of Hannah Hinchman.

Hannah will provide plenty of individual instruction, beginning Friday night, and during the middle of the day on Saturday. As naturalists and artists, we want to be in the field relatively early in the morning and on into the evening, when the light is most lovely and animals are most active. On Sunday, we will plan a longer field trip to try out our new‐found skills and go deeper into the pages of the journal. At the end of our day afield, we’ll return to Lee Vining in time for a leisurely review of our pages, discussing what we’ve learned and experienced.

Hannah is the author of three books: A Life in Hand: Creating the Illuminated Journal, A Trail Through Leaves: the Journal as a Path to Place, and Little Things in a Big Country: An Artist and Her Dog on the Rocky Mountain Front. She has been teaching field journal workshops all over the US for over 20 years, including popular workshops for the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, and Mono Lake Committee field seminars. Her work is included in Danny Gregory’s most recent anthology, An Illustrated Journey.

Creating the Illuminated Field Journal • September 4–6 • $175 per person/$160 for members • sign up here

Instructor Hannah Hinchman with one of her field journals. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Instructor Hannah Hinchman with one of her field journals. Photo by Elin Ljung.