Blog Posts
I also publish a newsletter with stories from my sketchbook, news about my work, upcoming presentations and workshops, and other items of interest.
Help Rebuild the Eaton Canyon Nature Center
This past January, the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, California, tore through the community, damaging or destroying more than 10,000 structures—including the beloved Eaton Canyon Nature Center. In the face of this loss, the people of Altadena are coming together to support each other and rebuild. Michelle Fullner, of The Golden State Naturalist podcast, is hosting Quiz for a Cause—a…
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Drawing from Insect Specimens
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of teaming up with Marni Fylling to teach a workshop for the UC Davis Science Illustration Club. We used specimens from the Bohart Museum of Entomology teaching collections. I demonstrated sketching a violet-banded palla, and Marni demonstrated a flower chafer. Here are my sketches from the evening: And some beautiful artwork by participants:
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Sketchbook: Red Ironbark
I am trying to get to know the different species of eucalyptus that grow around my Northern California town. This page was drawn from specimens of red ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) collected on a walk along a drainage channel that has become a wonderful urban riparian space. At least two species of eucalyptus were planted there long ago as a windbreak…
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Sketchbook: Earthy Toads
Playing with earth pigments, this page of western toads emerged. The paints were from a couple of artist paintmakers. I love to draw with watercolor as if it were flowing from a calligraphy pen, and this page demonstrated to me that american hematite is just phenomenal for using in this manner. The way that the pigment flows from the brush…
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Sierra Nevada Nature Journaling Retreat
Join me for a Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Retreat in the Sierra Nevada near Truckee, CA: August 3-8, where I will be teaching alongside John Muir Laws and Mark Simmons! WHAT ARE WILD WONDER RETREATS? Led by experienced and engaging educators, Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Retreats offer you the opportunity to deepen your nature journaling practice while inspiring you, challenging you, and…
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A Guide to Sketching in the Field: Examples from a Study of Wildfire
In this series of three workshops, we will combine drawing, painting, and natural science. The classes will weave scientific knowledge into accessible and engaging instruction, where students actively create stories in their own artwork. We will use our sketchbooks to get to know a place, slow down and get lost in the details in front of us, and build all…
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Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference 2024
The Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference is Just About to Start! September 18-22, 2024 You can register to attend the workshops live online, or for a post-conference video pass. The Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference is a welcoming, experience-packed, and incredibly inspiring annual event at which I am proud to have been an instructor since 2020. The Conference is online…
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Nature Journaling the Salish Sea
Join me June 10 from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. for a Nature Journaling Workshop in Friday Harbor hosted by The Whale Museum! I will be leading a nature journaling expedition along the shore near The Whale Museum, documenting the richness of the Salish Sea and the species that make it home. I’ll start with an introduction to keeping a…
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Fiddleneck Bugs and Chaparral Crickets
Lost in the fuzzy whorls of smallflower fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii), I was sketching in preparation for a wildflower nature journaling workshop in Stebbins Cold Canyon. It gradually dawned on me that the stems and leaves of the fiddlenecks, along with the weedy grasses around them, were covered in little bugs. True bugs (Hemiptera) that I was not familiar with. I…
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Art Toolkit Discount Code
After my workshop with Art Toolkit in February as part of their Winter Workshop Series, my sweet parents gave me an Art Toolkit gift certificate for my birthday. I had a wonderful time picking out some useful tools, along with a selection of new watercolor pigments to try. I generally stick to a pretty limited palette of standby colors, so…
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Mushrooms in the Classroom
This school year, I have had the great pleasure of teaching art and natural history in my son’s fifth grade class. Their science focus this year is botany, so the topics have all either focused on botany or tied plants to the other organisms interconnected in their ecosystems. One of our projects has been a detailed study of a mushroom…
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Keynote for Oath Ceremony
I was honored to be invited to give the keynote remarks at a naturalization ceremony yesterday hosted at the Davis Branch of the Yolo County Library. It was very moving to be a part of this momentous event for the 39 new citizens representing 17 different countries of origin. Following is the text of my speech: Keynote Talk for Oath…
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Sierra Writers Conference
I’m excited to talk about writing this weekend at the 2023 Sierra Writers Conference. I’ll be describing how I constructed the literary narrative of The Cold Canyon Fire Journals and how I approach natural history writing more generally. We’ll explore the following themes: Registration and more details about the conference can be found here.
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Reading the Ashes
As someone who never imagined publishing a book and who did not ever think I would be able to call myself a writer and author, I am exceptionally proud to have an essay published in The Common. My essay, “Reading the Ashes,” just came out in Issue 42, and is featured in both the online and print editions of the…
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Robin Lee Carlson 