Four SUNDAYS IN FALL: October 14, 21, 28 and November 4
2PM to 4PM
at Mountain Lakes Preserve, Princeton NJ
$100/ for series of 4 workshops
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR ENTIRE SERIES ONLY (If you find that you cannot attend a workshop, you may invite a friend to take your place)
Direct link to registration here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/capturing-the-colors-of-nature-tickets-48277712939
In the latest installment of our Nature As Muse series, Friends of Princeton Open Space is excited to host a series of workshops that explore observing, recording, extracting, and applying color from nature. On four consecutive Sundays, a creative professional will lead a walk in Mountain Lakes Preserve to explore the colors of nature through a variety of perspectives, including:
• extracting colorants from nature (paints and dyes);
• observing and recording the color palette of place (watercolor);
• the impact of light on color in photography (photography);
• using nature as color inspiration for design (graphic design).
After each walk, the instructor will lead a simple exercise that puts those concepts and ideas into practice.
Instructors:
October 14: Extracting Color: Lucia Stout, painter, and Fran McManus, natural dyer
October 21: Observing Color: Barbara DiLorenzo, illustrator and author
October 28: Recording Color: Frank Sauer, photographer
November 4: Applying Color: Sarah Smith, creative director, Smith + Manning
PLEASE NOTE: THESE WORKSHOPS INCLUDE A MILE-LONG WOODLAND WALK OVER UNEVEN TERRAIN AND WILL BE HELD REGARDLESS OF WEATHER. NO WEATHER-RELATED REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED UNLESS A WORKSHOP IS CANCELED.
REFUND POLICY: Workshops sold as a series only (no single workshop tickets will be available). Full refund is available until October 7, 2018. Between October 7 and October 13, refund is available only if we are able to fill your spot. No refunds after midnight October 13.
EVENT PARTNERS: Mountain Lakes House and the Arts Council of Princeton
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:
Extracting Color from Nature
Sunday, October 14
Artistic Discipline: Painting and Dyeing
Instructors: Lucia Stout, painter, and Fran McManus, natural dyer
“I especially enjoy the broad range of values I can achieve with the walnut ink." - Lucia Stout
Although the natural world is ablaze in color, extracting that color in a form that can be applied as a paint or dye is an age-old challenge. In this workshop, we will begin with an overview of the plant, mineral, and animal origins of natural dyes and paints. We'll then walk in the Mountain Lakes Preserve to collect black walnuts, one of the most abundant and indelible local autumn pigments. Back at the Mountain Lakes House, artist Lucia Stout will teach us how to make ink from black walnuts, which we will test out using brushes and pens.
LUCIA STOUT is an artist and farmer. She and her husband, Charlie Huebner, raise pastured livestock on a preserved farm in Hopewell and sell their meats to the Whole Earth Center in Princeton and at local farm markets. The farm is often the subject of Lucia's pastels, watercolors, and oil paintings. Known for her walnut ink drawings and paintings; she makes the sepia-colored ink from black walnuts that she forages on the farm. Lucia founded the Tuesday morning Artists at the Station — a free time and space where artists are welcome to paint and enjoy the fellowship and mutual support of other artists. A graduate of Vassar College, Lucia received her BA degree in Art History. luciastout.com
FRAN MCMANUS has worked in food and farming for almost 40 years—beginning her farming career at Woodsedge Wools, a New Jersey farm that raised and dyed wool for the hand knitting market. As chief dyer, her job there included scouring fields and roadsides for natural dye materials and then dyeing a range of wool and alpaca yarns in large vats over wood fires. Fran went on to apprentice in Switzerland where she learned to apply natural dyes to silk using 19th century European dye technology. She has also studied with several legendary French dyers to learn a more ecologically benign approach to natural dyes. A Friends of Princeton Open Space board member and freelance writer and educator, Fran is interested in the web of culinary, social, ecological, and economic relationships that deepen our experience—and love—of place.
Observing the Color of Place
Sunday, October 21
Artistic Discipline: Illustrator
Instructor: Barbara DiLorenzo, illustrator and author
"Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else." - Leonardo da Vinci — and Barbara DiLorenzo's favorite quote
Every place has a distinctive and ever-shifting color palette comprised of the inherent color of natural and manmade objects enhanced by light. Taking the time to observe and record that palette is a powerful way to deepen your connection to place. In this workshop, illustrator Barbara DiLorenzo will tell — and show — us how watercolor is the perfect medium for capturing the color palette of place. We will walk in the Mountain Lakes Preserve to observe color and collect a sampling of natural objects that reflect the colors of the Preserve's lake trail. Back at the Mountain Lakes House, Barbara will teach us how to use watercolor to create a simple color study of the objects we collected so that we can each make our own record of the colors of fall at the lake in the Mountain Lakes Preserve.
BARBARA DILORENZO is the author/illustrator of Renato and the Lion (Viking Children's Books, 2017) and Quincy (Little Bee Books, 2018). She received her BFA in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and studied painting at the Art Students League of New York under Mary Beth McKenzie. In 2014 she received the Dorothy Markinko Scholarship Award from the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. She is a signature member in the New England Watercolor Society as well as the Society of Illustrators. She currently teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton, and is co-president of the Children’s Book Illustrators Group of New York. barbaradilorenzo.com
The Impact of Light on Color in Photography
Sunday, October 28
Artistic Discipline: Photographer
Instructor: Frank Sauer
"For me, photography is a quest for beauty, in particular the quiet beauty in everyday life that does not reveal itself immediately and that takes time to discover and appreciate." - Frank Sauer
Photography is a way to record light and color. In this workshop, photographer Frank Sauer will discuss how light impacts color, and how we can work with color in the digital photography process. After Frank introduces these basic concepts, he will lead us on a walk around the lake where we will take photos that illustrate these ideas. Back at the Mountain Lakes House, we will project and discuss images taken on our walk. Participants are welcome to bring their cameras, but it is not a requirement.
FRANK SAUER's engagement with photography started in his teens, when he built a darkroom in the basement of his parents' house to develop and print black and white film. Many years later, he has now arrived at a completely digital workflow — from capturing to editing to meticulously printing his photos as archival pigment prints that combine excellent quality with superior longevity. Frank has made an extensive photographic study of the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Preserve, spanning four seasons at the Preserve in sunshine, rain, fog, and snow. The photographs in his Mountain Lakes Portfolio originate from more than a hundred visits to the Preserve over the course of three years. The portfolio consists of two series — one in color and one in black and white. Together, these series capture a wide range of moods and details that reveal the complex and subtle beauty of the natural world. Last year, a selection of these photos has been exhibited at the Arts Council of Princeton, in collaboration with FOPOS, the Friends of Princeton Open Space. franksauer.smugmug.com
Nature as Inspiration for Design
Sunday, November 4
Artistic Discipline: Graphic Designer
Instructor: Sarah Smith, Creative Director, Smith + Manning
"Identity design is comprised of elements working together to communicate in a distinctive way. Inspiration will often come from nature – especially color, pattern and scale." - Sarah Lewis Smith
Nature surrounds us with inspiring color combinations and intricate patterns that can be applied to the design of interiors, textiles, graphics, and more. In this workshop, graphic designer Sarah Lewis Smith will explain how she gathers and records design inspiration from nature. And, she will show examples of how she uses design elements that she's found in nature in her work as a graphic designer. Sarah will then lead a walk in the Mountain Lakes Preserve where we will explore the creation of patterns using shapes and colors found in nature.
SARAH LEWIS SMITH is co-founder and creative director of Smith + Manning, design and branding. The Princeton-based company has created identity and branding programs for Princeton University Alumni, the Federal Reserve, Johnson & Johnson and University Radiology. Prior to returning to Princeton, she lived in Europe and Asia and created the identity for Alfred Dunhill, China Airlines, Singapore Post and Singapore Telecom. smithmanning.com