Nature Journal and Sketches
Recently I have taken a step back from journaling. I do not mean to slow down in routine. School is back in session, the house is still needing work for the upstairs, the little farm still needs tending, and River has taken the other hours - I am even hoping to get a deer this archery season as well. But I have not given up. I currently have four active journals - my journal (a catch all of writings, drafts, ideas, submissions, to dos, and nature sketches), my reading journal (a composition book where I write page numbers, quotes, thoughts, and others while reading books), my bible journal (I keep with my bible and write thoughts, verse numbers, and prayers), and my field notes (a dirty pocket tome with jots and plots - writings while fishing, hunting, hiking, and garden maps).
There are times (and lines) that I wonder whether the act of scribbling thoughts and goings on into my pages is futile, unnecessary, and wasteful. These are my moments of doubt. I often doubt my talents and my ability to keep routine. However, I like that journaling also allows me to grow, and those doubtful moments become less and less powerful (of long) since starting to truly keep a record three years ago. I've started doodling more and trying to keep not only a writer's notebook, but also a nature journal. What I like about the nature journal is I am seeing myself have the childlike curiosity I think we often lose along the way. Aldo Leopold writes, "Education, I fear, is learning to see one thing by going blind to another." I want to see both - curiosity and wonder while seeing science and fact. I'm asking what certain things are, what color something is, likenesses, and observing things closer than I have before writing and sketching them.
I found a wonderful series on YouTube with John Muir Laws where he provides tips and training on how to sketch better. What I find even better is his mentality. He is not that of someone who simply wants you to create art (although I still do love Bob Ross) but become a better observer. He challenges you to view the world and question it as a naturalist. He shows how drawing can lead you to look at minute details and characteristics and ask questions rather than move along.
My own drawings lack. I find my sketches more like doodles and comics. I still struggle with proportion. I am also blown away when watching people start with lines and squares and circles and faded scribbles and end in a beautiful black and white photo. He is a pleasure to watch and I still attempt my own sketches here and there (accidental tip of hat to Aldo Leopold there too). I even try to look for the details that some artists see instinctively, but I'm sure I'd be more excited if my sketches were not so rudimentary and cartoony at this point. Practice makes perfect so on I will continue to scratch words and images.
Looking through the school library's copy of Anna Botsford Comstock's work Handbook of Nature Study discusses methods for teaching nature study. Early she mentions a field notebook and these are her rules and suggestions:
1) Should be large enough for observations but not too large to be carried about in a pocket.
2) Should have a pencil attached.
3) (If teaching) the notes should not be criticized but for encouragement "the spirit in which notes are made is more important than the information they cover."
4) Illustrations are encouraged as "a graphic drawing is far better than a long description of a natural object."
5) This is not an English term paper - do not criticize the language, spelling, grammar, penmanship, etc.
6) We should feel motivated not forced to keep a nature notebook/journal. Therefore, notebooks should be voluntary and may reflect any personal interest of the writer. Perhaps only sketches and notes of birds can be found without mention of flora or other fauna.
As a new father, I want to instill in my son the skills I wished I had honed because of journals. Memory, observation, questioning, research (made much easier by Google now), drawing, understanding of deeper ecology. I want to explore and discover and teach and jot and sketch and observe and learn together. I hope to encourage, uncover, and discover passions and talents with River.
As a writer, I fear that my memory may not always be the strongest. We all know perception can distort a moment because of emotion. A journal has also allowed me to realize those moments for what they are and analyze them as a writer. If I ever get to work on my novel, I know this will become a valuable skill. I can see cause and effect relationships as well as focus on each aspect as well as not lose the moment. I believe there is an old Chinese proverb about the importance of journals - the lightest ink will last longer than a vivid memory. I would suggest that others interested in writing, a certain hobby, or nature start to keep a journal. It may add a value and extra incentive to do the things you love.
