November 8, 2023 • 26 mins
This week, Mama Judy and I explore how stepping into the great outdoors not only fuels your creativity but also works wonders for your wellbeing.
It's scientifically proven that the calming effects of nature can reduce anxiety, a perfect antidote when tackling new art projects or techniques. Whether it's the sea's soothing sounds or the quiet solitude under a tree, nature can help us feel more relaxed and focused, thereby enhancing our creativity.
Join us as we chat about the benefits of being immersed in nature, from the mental wellbeing perspective to being able to observe the tiny nuances of plants to allowing the shapes and colors of nature to inspire your work. There's a certain depth and texture that pieces of nature – leaves, sticks, shells, even tree bark and acorn caps – can add to your artwork.
Whether you're an artist seeking inspiration or simply a lover of nature, we hope you'll enjoy this episode.
A few inspiring creatives mentioned in this episode:
Alexandra on Instagram (uses shells and pebbles in her art)
Megan on Instagram (uses eco dyeing/printing in her art)
If you'd prefer to watch this podcast, you can find us over on our YouTube page (The Mama Judy & Jill Podcast).
We'd LOVE to hear from you! Click here to send us your thoughts and ideas for a future episode.
Send us a direct message on Instagram:
>> Mama Judy on Instagram
>>Jill on Instagram
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Oh good, you made it.
We are so glad you're here.
Welcome to the Mama Judy andJill podcast, an
intergenerational chat aboutlife, art and the creative
process.
I'm your host, jill, andjoining me is my wonderful
co-host and bonus mom, mama Judy.
Let's get started.
Welcome back everyone.
(00:21):
Mama Judy and I are so thrilledto be spending some time with
you today.
And hi, mama Judy, I see you'resitting outside today for our
episode.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I am Jill.
You guys can probably hear thebirds in the background and if
you hear an occasional voice,it's just someone walking by.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We like it.
We like the activity in thebackground and some of you may
know this, but Mama Judy is backhome from her travels.
She traveled for five monthsand now she's back in California
where she lives in the SouthernCalifornia desert area.
So in the background, whereit's getting a little cool here,
where I live in North Carolinahere it's green, the sun's out,
(01:02):
there's a palm tree trunk in thebackground.
So two very different sceneshere today.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That's right and that's why we go off.
As we've said before is I can'tdo the 120 degree heat, but
sure love the 73 degree heat inthe winter time.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So yeah, I was talking to dad, who is Mama
Judy's life partner my dad theother day and he said it felt
like a vacation coming back toyour own place and then you all
will be ready to like take aweekend getaway soon, probably
in a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yes, yes, that seems to be our pattern.
But you know, the other reason,jill, that I kind of wanted to
sit outside is that today wewere going to talk about nature
in art, and it just seemedstuffy for me to be inside when
we're going to talk about nature.
And, as you know, every timethat I visit one of those
(02:00):
different areas in the summer, Ipick up leaves and sticks and
whatever I can find from thatarea, because every area has
different trees, differentleaves, and so I thought it
would be interesting to talkabout nature in art and nature
(02:22):
and art.
I know, for example, thatAlexandria, which you can put
her full Instagram name in, usesshells a lot and stitches them
into her wonderful littlejournals.
So there are a lot of peoplethat use different parts of
(02:44):
nature in their work, and Ithink you have to, am I correct?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yes, and actually just last night I spent some
time creating a little smalljournal and I had a stick that I
got in Oregon.
I just found a little stick.
It's a stick that I could findhere too, but I just wanted to
take something back with me fromOregon and so I broke off a
little piece of that stick andthen I did some couching with it
into my little fabric journalthat I was creating last night.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Absolutely, and there's something wonderful
about having some natural thingin your work, whether it's a
twig or a leaf or feathers and Icollect a lot of those, as you
know, and put them in myjournals, usually on the cover,
(03:33):
and I think the reason I do is Ifeel such a connection to the
natural world, and that justseemed to me that art in some
ways mimics the natural world,and so, by bringing it to my
work, I'm combining two thingsthat I love together.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yes, and I.
Another thing too.
This was a while back when Iwent on a beach trip and there
were some wonderful, beautifulgrasses that I found along the
way, and so I clipped those andI still have some sitting on my
mantle ready to be used at anypoint.
I used a little bit of them.
But yeah, I love how the foundobjects, the natural found
objects Another thing that I'veincorporated into some of my
(04:19):
journals has been tree bark.
So you know, and it's flatterand you can stitch that down, or
I guess you could glue it downalso.
But pine cones I did somethingwith a pine cone, but what I did
the other day was I took anacorn cap you know the little
comes off of it and stitchedthat into one of my journal
pages as well.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
So I've mentioned why I like using natural things in
my work.
What about you?
What prompts you to put naturalthings in your stitching?
Speaker 1 (04:54):
I feel grounded in a different way when I add things
from outside.
I find that I feel prettygrounded anyway when I'm
stitching, but bringing in apiece of bark or a piece of
grass, it just makes me feelgrounded in some sort of way.
I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I don't really know what it is, but I love it that's
an excellent word to use andit's been proven through
scientific studies that being ina natural environment in nature
actually lowers your bloodpressure, makes you calmer,
lessens anxiety and so all thosewonderful things we can bring
(05:35):
into our life and we're bringinginto our art.
By putting those things in ourart and actually, after I was
kind of thinking about things totalk about on this podcast, it
occurred to me there have beentimes when I have started a new
(05:56):
project or a new technique thatI have not been comfortable with
and that it's been a little bitof anxiety.
I wonder if I would do betterby doing that in a natural
environment.
So what I mean by that, insummary, is if the natural
environment has been proven toreduce anxiety.
(06:18):
It made sense to me that if I'mgoing to do something that I
know is going to kind of raisemy anxiety, take it out to sit
under a tree or sit here on thepatio down on the end, where all
of the trees and bushes are, sothat I then surround myself
(06:39):
with a calming energy.
It'll make it easier for me todo something new rather than
sitting in the house and lettingsome kind of anxiety build up.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yes, and for people that live near the sea, which
neither one of you hasnecessarily lived there, but I
can imagine if I lived by thesea I would probably want to go
hear the waves crashing thegoals or the birds flying
overhead and the air beingoutside too, just the feeling,
the air on your skin and justyeah, I believe that that would
(07:15):
be a truly great thing to do forus as artists.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I do too, and just watching you and listening to
your voice as you weredescribing that, you got more
excited about it.
So I think there's something inhuman beings that we innately
connect with nature and in ourart we can bring it into it in
small pieces and we can submergeourselves in an environmentally
(07:43):
friendly environment to do ourart, such as plein air painting,
where they go out to thenatural environment and they
paint that scene.
But they're right there,they're submerged into it, not
just painting from a picture,and we can all, no matter what
(08:04):
our form of art is, we can takesome piece with us to do in that
natural setting.
In fact, knowing me, I'llprobably be running around and
every time I see a park I'll be.
Oh, I could come over here andsit under that giant tree.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Right, or you see a picnic table somewhere.
Just stop anywhere you can andwe have little benches sitting
down by the lake and I'mthinking I've never gone down
and sat and stitched at the lake.
I've gone down and writtenpoetry before which.
I like being out there writingpoetry, but I've never thought
to go down and stitch.
But that seems like something Imight want to do too.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yes, and I don't think we're alone in this,
because as I watch out onInstagram, I see a lot of people
like Alexandra who do includethe pieces that they have found.
You not only have a wonderfulpiece that has additional colors
(09:06):
and additional texture, but youhave a memory that you're
sewing or you're gluing intoyour art.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right, and, like you said, alexandra, we keep
referring to her who does this,and I will put her Instagram
link in the show notes, but sheI know one time I commented on
one of her pieces and I said howmuch I enjoyed seeing that, and
she said that it was nice toeven the collecting process, the
being outside and collectingalong the way, and so just that
(09:37):
part of being outdoors.
Another thing, too, I thoughtabout is we've talked a little
bit about just being inspired bynature before, but a new thing
that I learned recently, which,if you go outside and I think
this was a painter that I saw onInstagram, I don't know who it
is, but she suggested you takeyour piece of paper and put it
(09:57):
where the shadow of, like a leafor a tree or something is back
there, and then you can tracebasically the shadow and then
come back and either paint it orI could stitch it, and so,
before we talk today, I actuallywent outside because I hadn't
tried it yet and I thought Iwanna go see how that feels.
So I went out to our backyard,put it in front of some leaves
and different things loved it.
(10:18):
I wanna go find some reallypretty flowers or some sort of
grasses.
That I'm gonna do, but nexttime I'm out in nature I'm gonna
use that just to get somethingstarted that I would have never
thought before, like take thatand then do something different
with it.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Absolutely, and you know, speaking of leaves and
flowers, not only can they beattached, but I was thinking, as
I was getting ready for this,that this week Lynn and I are
going to have a play day wherewe do jelly printing, and one of
(10:53):
my favorite things with jellyprinting is a flower or a leaf.
So nature can be used in allsorts of art.
And in fact, one thing I'venever done, but I do, look at
the beautiful things that peoplecreate with ecodyne and they
(11:14):
know what plants will give whatcolor, and so there's just an
endless array of the way thatnature can be used.
And if you're interested indrawing or painting, you can
study the bark of a tree or aflower for texture and shape and
(11:37):
color.
In fact, I think it was VanGogh, who has a famous picture
of the sunflowers, studiedsunflowers for a long time
before he painted them.
Oh, so studying differentaspects of nature up close is
(11:57):
also a way to increase the depthof our own art.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Well, and mentioning plein air painting, that started
back in France and I actuallyhad to look up.
Plein air means outdoors and sothat started in France for the
painters, but we just said itdoesn't have to be painters.
But what I loved is thatremember when we talked to Bee
and Molly, molly said as alittle girl that they would have
their birthday parties andstuff and her mom would take all
(12:26):
the girls out and they wouldpaint plein air.
And I thought about that too.
And one thing that I know, thatthe artists that go out I see
some of you, for, like the lakethat I live near, I'll see
someone set up with an easel andI know one of the things that
people do plein air, at leastfor painting is that they're
able to capture, in the momentthe light changes, the
(12:48):
difference.
You know the way the light is orthe kind of the how it truly
looks, versus if they took agreat picture at that one time
and then we're painting fromthat.
They can actually see thingsthat are going on and that might
affect like ooh, I like addinga little more pink here or
whatever it might be at themoment.
Even if they're there for anhour, the sky may look different
than they thought of 45 minutesago, to how they ended up with
(13:10):
it, because of how it changed infront of their eyes.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Absolutely, and you know taking that, I'm not doing
plein air painting, but I'mdoing plein air podcast.
I'm out here in the naturalenvironment.
Yeah, and sitting here Ithought you know it really does
feel different than sitting in aroom which, no matter what you
(13:38):
do, you don't necessarily getthe right angle or the right
light.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It just feels better doing it outdoors in the natural
air Well and where you'resitting right now, besides
recording this podcast, that isyour workspace a lot.
Are you at the table therewhere you usually spread
everything out?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, yes, I am and I have.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
I have overmaking and journaling and all that out at
that table also.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And, as you know, before I got into the books,
when I was doing the jewelry, Iwould spend hours out here
because I could take all mystuff on one tray all the beads
and bindings.
It's a little harder with allthe supplies that I have, but
I'm certainly gonna make surethat I do more of it now that
(14:27):
I'm back where I have a coveredpatio.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, One other thing too, being in nature, and this
is a little different, butremember William and I used to
have that little farm inTennessee.
We owned a 10-acre propertythat William ended up creating a
huge garden, like I think thatgarden was a half-acre big, but
I remember him saying when wewould go out there and he'd work
in the garden and be workingwith his hands and just getting
(14:52):
into the earth, he was creatinga garden.
He also said he felt connectedto God in a way never had.
He felt he's like I just feelthis connection to God in nature
and he felt creative and goodand so anyway, that just came to
my mind and he was using hishands and he was planting.
So it's different than anartist like we are, but that
(15:14):
garden was kind of his palette.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
It was his palette and that's absolutely right.
When you step out into thenatural environment, you're
closer to the rhythm of theessence of life, To every tree.
I have a fig tree out here thatis probably 40 years old and I
know it's rhythms.
Now I know by the end ofDecember it's not gonna have a
(15:41):
leaf on it, by my birthday inMarch it's gonna be blooming.
Not blooming, it's gonna haveit's little green leaves.
So you get closer to theessence of the rhythm of life
and anytime you can bring thatinto your life, and especially
into your creative process, Ithink that's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yes, and you mentioned the eco-dying before,
but I wanted to shout outsomeone that I follow that has
been really experimenting withthe eco-dying and the leaves and
stuff and her name is Megan.
Her name is Megan, but herInstagram handle is thread
spells, and she has really beenexperimenting with growing
flowers and then taking them inand working to her art and she
(16:27):
does a lot of slow stitching aswell.
So she's making things onfabric.
And I've seen another artistthat I follow I cannot think of
what their name is, but I lovethat they do pressing.
They take a lot of stuff infrom inside and have some
pressing going on, but thenpulling the things out and
incorporating them into journalsor that, or you could just
(16:47):
frame it too, but a lot ofthings that they tuck away and
press and then maybe later bringout.
Or I think you've taught methis is taking a leave and like
with a paintbrush or something,just painting it and smacking it
down on a piece of paper tojust have this cool design.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Absolutely.
I love the word smacking itdown.
Smack it down, see what comesup.
Yeah, now all those ways,because in doing that you're
bringing design, additionaltexture, additional elements
that if we just paid attentionto cloth or paper, they would
(17:29):
not be as multi-dimensional asyou can get by adding natural
found objects into your art insome way.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yes, and it just adds that depth.
You know, thinking about thedepth of it.
Another thing that I don't.
I mean, I guess this is notnatural, but, mama Judy, I think
I told you this a while ago Iwent to a friend's house who has
horses and I asked her can Ihave some horse fur Not fur, is
it hair, horse hair?
And she gave me some, and sothe other day in my journal, I
(18:03):
just hadn't known quite yet whatto do with it, but I just took
some of it, clipped it off andput it near a stick this was
like a different stick that Iwas talking about earlier and
just couched that in.
So there's like a little tuftof horse hair and it just
delights me and that is part ofnature too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Well, you know our audience won't know our
connection through the horserescue that I used to work at
and you came out and fell inlove with the Clyde Stale named
Munchy.
Well, when Munchy passed awaybefore he passed away, when I
was grooming him, I saved all ofhis tail and mane hair.
(18:42):
So I have a whole bunch of itin there that I am working into
my natural wall hangings.
So, yes, your dog's hair.
Some people are able to savetheir dog's hair.
There's actually a form ofpottery that is called horse
(19:03):
hair pottery and they take itand they put it in the clay and
then it gets burnt into thefinished piece.
So there's just all kinds ofways that we can add nature into
our creative process.
So we're talking about twothings you can add elements in,
(19:24):
but we're also talking about thebenefit of getting out into a
more natural environment everyopportunity that you can, and
that's for not only thedevelopment of your art but also
for your own well being.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Yes, probably more so than anything.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Yes, it is, and you know any place you can go, any
time that you're feeling anxiousor upset.
If you can walk into and sitfor 20 minutes in the natural
environment and it naturallylowers your blood pressure, hey,
I'm all for that.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yes, me too.
Well, and then another thingwith the well being that is true
with any doctor or counselorsays you know, if you have
anxiety, depression, that istheir number.
One thing is to get out andtake a walk if you can.
Yes, it is.
That is going to elevate yourmood, and so no matter if you're
an artist or not, that is justsomething that the doctor always
(20:25):
orders.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Absolutely.
And before we leave thissubject, there was another thing
I wanted to mention.
I we started out and I saidthat no matter where I am, I
pick up the leaves and thesticks because they're from.
They're not necessarily whereI'm living, and that's the same
(20:48):
with the audience.
You may have a friend thatlives in the desert or someone
who lives up in the rainforesttype of environment.
You can exchange elements and infact, eucalyptus grows out here
, and Val, who we've had onbefore, was doing, I believe,
(21:12):
some ecodyne and wanted someeucalyptus, so I sent her a
whole thing of eucalyptus I loveit and I saw one of the other
women that I follow who doesspirit dolls, which often I mean
most of the time they haveseveral natural elements in them
, and she had just received apackage of elements from a
(21:34):
friend that lived in the totallydifferent area, and I thought
that's another way we, asartists, can share things in our
lives.
If you have someone that wantswhat you've got in your area,
send them a gift package.
Yes, that is a great idea.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I love that you sent those to Val the eucalyptus
leaves, because not only arethey pretty, but they smell so
good.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I know.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I know.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
And I thought you know I live here with these
eucalyptus leaves.
Maybe I should try doingecodyne or something with them.
You know I can't go down thatrabbit hole.
Yet I haven't even come out ofthe rabbit hole, I've already
started down.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Well, this was a fun chat about this, but I think it
is just an encouragement foranyone, especially if you're
feeling stagnant or you justhaven't gotten outside.
Like, make it a point to do it.
It's going to be better offbecause of it, and who knows
what will come out creativelyjust inspiration, ideas or the
actual pieces.
One thing I wanted to ask youto don't you think being outside
(22:40):
in nature like that theinspiration and all could you
potentially learn perspectivemore?
Like?
I don't do a whole lot ofdrawing or painting, but it
seems like that's where you'regoing to get your perspective
training, and I'm guessingthat's why plain art artists too
.
They're able to see the depthof things.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Absolutely.
You're going to get theperspective.
And if you, let's say, you lovetrees, which I love, and I do
sketch them quite often, well,when I go out and sit by a tree,
I get the nuances of the bark,the coloring.
I may not capture it exactlyrealistically, but I've added
(23:19):
another depth to my drawings bystudying it.
And you mentioned Bea and Molly, who we've also had on before.
When Bea was an art teacher,she would take her class out and
have them look closely at thebark of the tree and study it,
for all of those things.
(23:41):
So again, I'm going to jump backto what we said about being out
in nature is calming.
I'd like to improve mysketching skills, so it makes
sense that I find a tree, go outand study it and sketch it
(24:03):
sitting underneath it.
I think that would be a perfectway for me to do that and I
could bring a piece of bark home, which I've done.
You know, you see birch treesor aspen and they peel their
bark and I'm the person runningaround ripping it off to help
(24:25):
them out.
But that's not the same as if Iwere to go find that birch tree
and sit there and do my art,right there under that tree or
in front of that tree.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Whole different depth , whole different perspective,
as you well pointed out and Ithink also, you know there's the
term tree huggers, but I loveto hug a tree or to just put my
hands on the tree or put myhands in moss.
You know, just sink your hands,there's nothing again.
(24:59):
It's a grounding type thingwhen you feel, and especially
with these trees, you'rethinking look at what are the
history of this tree.
It's life, and the moss too.
But that's a beautiful thing todo when you're out there in
nature.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Yes, I finally trained, as you know all family
and friends.
If you go on a hike with me andyou can't find me, it's
probably because I'm back therehugging and talking to a tree.
So it's just the way it is.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Okay, well, let's leave it at that.
We just encourage you to go outand give a tree nearby a big
old hug please do, while you'restudying that and thank it for
being there.
Yes, all right, mama Judy.
Well, this was a funconversation.
Love you dearly.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Yes, me too, and it was, and we hope that people
will find some way to bringnature more into their life and
their art, and we would love tohear the various ways we've
talked about people that we knowuse it, but if anybody has
anything they'd like to sharewith us, we would love to hear
(26:06):
it.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Yes, we love that.
We love seeing what everyone'screating out there.
So, yes, all right.
Well, we will talk to you allnext week.
Now every Wednesday, newepisodes.
We would love it if you wouldshare this with a friend or two,
this episode, and we're justgrateful to be with you.
And we'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Absolutely goodbye everyone.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Bye mama, judy love you.
Oh good, you made it.
We are so glad you're here.
Welcome to the Mama Judy andJill podcast, an
intergenerational chat aboutlife, art and the creative
process.
I'm your host, jill, andjoining me is my wonderful
co-host and bonus mom, mama Judy.
Let's get started.
Welcome back everyone.
(00:21):
Mama Judy and I are so thrilledto be spending some time with
you today.
And hi, mama Judy, I see you'resitting outside today for our
episode.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I am Jill.
You guys can probably hear thebirds in the background and if
you hear an occasional voice,it's just someone walking by.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We like it.
We like the activity in thebackground and some of you may
know this, but Mama Judy is backhome from her travels.
She traveled for five monthsand now she's back in California
where she lives in the SouthernCalifornia desert area.
So in the background, whereit's getting a little cool here,
where I live in North Carolinahere it's green, the sun's out,
(01:02):
there's a palm tree trunk in thebackground.
So two very different sceneshere today.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That's right and that's why we go off.
As we've said before is I can'tdo the 120 degree heat, but
sure love the 73 degree heat inthe winter time.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So yeah, I was talking to dad, who is Mama
Judy's life partner my dad theother day and he said it felt
like a vacation coming back toyour own place and then you all
will be ready to like take aweekend getaway soon, probably
in a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yes, yes, that seems to be our pattern.
But you know, the other reason,jill, that I kind of wanted to
sit outside is that today wewere going to talk about nature
in art, and it just seemedstuffy for me to be inside when
we're going to talk about nature.
And, as you know, every timethat I visit one of those
(02:00):
different areas in the summer, Ipick up leaves and sticks and
whatever I can find from thatarea, because every area has
different trees, differentleaves, and so I thought it
would be interesting to talkabout nature in art and nature
(02:22):
and art.
I know, for example, thatAlexandria, which you can put
her full Instagram name in, usesshells a lot and stitches them
into her wonderful littlejournals.
So there are a lot of peoplethat use different parts of
(02:44):
nature in their work, and Ithink you have to, am I correct?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yes, and actually just last night I spent some
time creating a little smalljournal and I had a stick that I
got in Oregon.
I just found a little stick.
It's a stick that I could findhere too, but I just wanted to
take something back with me fromOregon and so I broke off a
little piece of that stick andthen I did some couching with it
into my little fabric journalthat I was creating last night.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Absolutely, and there's something wonderful
about having some natural thingin your work, whether it's a
twig or a leaf or feathers and Icollect a lot of those, as you
know, and put them in myjournals, usually on the cover,
(03:33):
and I think the reason I do is Ifeel such a connection to the
natural world, and that justseemed to me that art in some
ways mimics the natural world,and so, by bringing it to my
work, I'm combining two thingsthat I love together.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yes, and I.
Another thing too.
This was a while back when Iwent on a beach trip and there
were some wonderful, beautifulgrasses that I found along the
way, and so I clipped those andI still have some sitting on my
mantle ready to be used at anypoint.
I used a little bit of them.
But yeah, I love how the foundobjects, the natural found
objects Another thing that I'veincorporated into some of my
(04:19):
journals has been tree bark.
So you know, and it's flatterand you can stitch that down, or
I guess you could glue it downalso.
But pine cones I did somethingwith a pine cone, but what I did
the other day was I took anacorn cap you know the little
comes off of it and stitchedthat into one of my journal
pages as well.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
So I've mentioned why I like using natural things in
my work.
What about you?
What prompts you to put naturalthings in your stitching?
Speaker 1 (04:54):
I feel grounded in a different way when I add things
from outside.
I find that I feel prettygrounded anyway when I'm
stitching, but bringing in apiece of bark or a piece of
grass, it just makes me feelgrounded in some sort of way.
I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I don't really know what it is, but I love it that's
an excellent word to use andit's been proven through
scientific studies that being ina natural environment in nature
actually lowers your bloodpressure, makes you calmer,
lessens anxiety and so all thosewonderful things we can bring
(05:35):
into our life and we're bringinginto our art.
By putting those things in ourart and actually, after I was
kind of thinking about things totalk about on this podcast, it
occurred to me there have beentimes when I have started a new
(05:56):
project or a new technique thatI have not been comfortable with
and that it's been a little bitof anxiety.
I wonder if I would do betterby doing that in a natural
environment.
So what I mean by that, insummary, is if the natural
environment has been proven toreduce anxiety.
(06:18):
It made sense to me that if I'mgoing to do something that I
know is going to kind of raisemy anxiety, take it out to sit
under a tree or sit here on thepatio down on the end, where all
of the trees and bushes are, sothat I then surround myself
(06:39):
with a calming energy.
It'll make it easier for me todo something new rather than
sitting in the house and lettingsome kind of anxiety build up.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yes, and for people that live near the sea, which
neither one of you hasnecessarily lived there, but I
can imagine if I lived by thesea I would probably want to go
hear the waves crashing thegoals or the birds flying
overhead and the air beingoutside too, just the feeling,
the air on your skin and justyeah, I believe that that would
(07:15):
be a truly great thing to do forus as artists.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I do too, and just watching you and listening to
your voice as you weredescribing that, you got more
excited about it.
So I think there's something inhuman beings that we innately
connect with nature and in ourart we can bring it into it in
small pieces and we can submergeourselves in an environmentally
(07:43):
friendly environment to do ourart, such as plein air painting,
where they go out to thenatural environment and they
paint that scene.
But they're right there,they're submerged into it, not
just painting from a picture,and we can all, no matter what
(08:04):
our form of art is, we can takesome piece with us to do in that
natural setting.
In fact, knowing me, I'llprobably be running around and
every time I see a park I'll be.
Oh, I could come over here andsit under that giant tree.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Right, or you see a picnic table somewhere.
Just stop anywhere you can andwe have little benches sitting
down by the lake and I'mthinking I've never gone down
and sat and stitched at the lake.
I've gone down and writtenpoetry before which.
I like being out there writingpoetry, but I've never thought
to go down and stitch.
But that seems like something Imight want to do too.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yes, and I don't think we're alone in this,
because as I watch out onInstagram, I see a lot of people
like Alexandra who do includethe pieces that they have found.
You not only have a wonderfulpiece that has additional colors
(09:06):
and additional texture, but youhave a memory that you're
sewing or you're gluing intoyour art.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right, and, like you said, alexandra, we keep
referring to her who does this,and I will put her Instagram
link in the show notes, but sheI know one time I commented on
one of her pieces and I said howmuch I enjoyed seeing that, and
she said that it was nice toeven the collecting process, the
being outside and collectingalong the way, and so just that
(09:37):
part of being outdoors.
Another thing, too, I thoughtabout is we've talked a little
bit about just being inspired bynature before, but a new thing
that I learned recently, which,if you go outside and I think
this was a painter that I saw onInstagram, I don't know who it
is, but she suggested you takeyour piece of paper and put it
(09:57):
where the shadow of, like a leafor a tree or something is back
there, and then you can tracebasically the shadow and then
come back and either paint it orI could stitch it, and so,
before we talk today, I actuallywent outside because I hadn't
tried it yet and I thought Iwanna go see how that feels.
So I went out to our backyard,put it in front of some leaves
and different things loved it.
(10:18):
I wanna go find some reallypretty flowers or some sort of
grasses.
That I'm gonna do, but nexttime I'm out in nature I'm gonna
use that just to get somethingstarted that I would have never
thought before, like take thatand then do something different
with it.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Absolutely, and you know, speaking of leaves and
flowers, not only can they beattached, but I was thinking, as
I was getting ready for this,that this week Lynn and I are
going to have a play day wherewe do jelly printing, and one of
(10:53):
my favorite things with jellyprinting is a flower or a leaf.
So nature can be used in allsorts of art.
And in fact, one thing I'venever done, but I do, look at
the beautiful things that peoplecreate with ecodyne and they
(11:14):
know what plants will give whatcolor, and so there's just an
endless array of the way thatnature can be used.
And if you're interested indrawing or painting, you can
study the bark of a tree or aflower for texture and shape and
(11:37):
color.
In fact, I think it was VanGogh, who has a famous picture
of the sunflowers, studiedsunflowers for a long time
before he painted them.
Oh, so studying differentaspects of nature up close is
(11:57):
also a way to increase the depthof our own art.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Well, and mentioning plein air painting, that started
back in France and I actuallyhad to look up.
Plein air means outdoors and sothat started in France for the
painters, but we just said itdoesn't have to be painters.
But what I loved is thatremember when we talked to Bee
and Molly, molly said as alittle girl that they would have
their birthday parties andstuff and her mom would take all
(12:26):
the girls out and they wouldpaint plein air.
And I thought about that too.
And one thing that I know, thatthe artists that go out I see
some of you, for, like the lakethat I live near, I'll see
someone set up with an easel andI know one of the things that
people do plein air, at leastfor painting is that they're
able to capture, in the momentthe light changes, the
(12:48):
difference.
You know the way the light is orthe kind of the how it truly
looks, versus if they took agreat picture at that one time
and then we're painting fromthat.
They can actually see thingsthat are going on and that might
affect like ooh, I like addinga little more pink here or
whatever it might be at themoment.
Even if they're there for anhour, the sky may look different
than they thought of 45 minutesago, to how they ended up with
(13:10):
it, because of how it changed infront of their eyes.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Absolutely, and you know taking that, I'm not doing
plein air painting, but I'mdoing plein air podcast.
I'm out here in the naturalenvironment.
Yeah, and sitting here Ithought you know it really does
feel different than sitting in aroom which, no matter what you
(13:38):
do, you don't necessarily getthe right angle or the right
light.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It just feels better doing it outdoors in the natural
air Well and where you'resitting right now, besides
recording this podcast, that isyour workspace a lot.
Are you at the table therewhere you usually spread
everything out?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, yes, I am and I have.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
I have overmaking and journaling and all that out at
that table also.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And, as you know, before I got into the books,
when I was doing the jewelry, Iwould spend hours out here
because I could take all mystuff on one tray all the beads
and bindings.
It's a little harder with allthe supplies that I have, but
I'm certainly gonna make surethat I do more of it now that
(14:27):
I'm back where I have a coveredpatio.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, One other thing too, being in nature, and this
is a little different, butremember William and I used to
have that little farm inTennessee.
We owned a 10-acre propertythat William ended up creating a
huge garden, like I think thatgarden was a half-acre big, but
I remember him saying when wewould go out there and he'd work
in the garden and be workingwith his hands and just getting
(14:52):
into the earth, he was creatinga garden.
He also said he felt connectedto God in a way never had.
He felt he's like I just feelthis connection to God in nature
and he felt creative and goodand so anyway, that just came to
my mind and he was using hishands and he was planting.
So it's different than anartist like we are, but that
(15:14):
garden was kind of his palette.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
It was his palette and that's absolutely right.
When you step out into thenatural environment, you're
closer to the rhythm of theessence of life, To every tree.
I have a fig tree out here thatis probably 40 years old and I
know it's rhythms.
Now I know by the end ofDecember it's not gonna have a
(15:41):
leaf on it, by my birthday inMarch it's gonna be blooming.
Not blooming, it's gonna haveit's little green leaves.
So you get closer to theessence of the rhythm of life
and anytime you can bring thatinto your life, and especially
into your creative process, Ithink that's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yes, and you mentioned the eco-dying before,
but I wanted to shout outsomeone that I follow that has
been really experimenting withthe eco-dying and the leaves and
stuff and her name is Megan.
Her name is Megan, but herInstagram handle is thread
spells, and she has really beenexperimenting with growing
flowers and then taking them inand working to her art and she
(16:27):
does a lot of slow stitching aswell.
So she's making things onfabric.
And I've seen another artistthat I follow I cannot think of
what their name is, but I lovethat they do pressing.
They take a lot of stuff infrom inside and have some
pressing going on, but thenpulling the things out and
incorporating them into journalsor that, or you could just
(16:47):
frame it too, but a lot ofthings that they tuck away and
press and then maybe later bringout.
Or I think you've taught methis is taking a leave and like
with a paintbrush or something,just painting it and smacking it
down on a piece of paper tojust have this cool design.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Absolutely.
I love the word smacking itdown.
Smack it down, see what comesup.
Yeah, now all those ways,because in doing that you're
bringing design, additionaltexture, additional elements
that if we just paid attentionto cloth or paper, they would
(17:29):
not be as multi-dimensional asyou can get by adding natural
found objects into your art insome way.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yes, and it just adds that depth.
You know, thinking about thedepth of it.
Another thing that I don't.
I mean, I guess this is notnatural, but, mama Judy, I think
I told you this a while ago Iwent to a friend's house who has
horses and I asked her can Ihave some horse fur Not fur, is
it hair, horse hair?
And she gave me some, and sothe other day in my journal, I
(18:03):
just hadn't known quite yet whatto do with it, but I just took
some of it, clipped it off andput it near a stick this was
like a different stick that Iwas talking about earlier and
just couched that in.
So there's like a little tuftof horse hair and it just
delights me and that is part ofnature too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Well, you know our audience won't know our
connection through the horserescue that I used to work at
and you came out and fell inlove with the Clyde Stale named
Munchy.
Well, when Munchy passed awaybefore he passed away, when I
was grooming him, I saved all ofhis tail and mane hair.
(18:42):
So I have a whole bunch of itin there that I am working into
my natural wall hangings.
So, yes, your dog's hair.
Some people are able to savetheir dog's hair.
There's actually a form ofpottery that is called horse
(19:03):
hair pottery and they take itand they put it in the clay and
then it gets burnt into thefinished piece.
So there's just all kinds ofways that we can add nature into
our creative process.
So we're talking about twothings you can add elements in,
(19:24):
but we're also talking about thebenefit of getting out into a
more natural environment everyopportunity that you can, and
that's for not only thedevelopment of your art but also
for your own well being.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Yes, probably more so than anything.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Yes, it is, and you know any place you can go, any
time that you're feeling anxiousor upset.
If you can walk into and sitfor 20 minutes in the natural
environment and it naturallylowers your blood pressure, hey,
I'm all for that.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yes, me too.
Well, and then another thingwith the well being that is true
with any doctor or counselorsays you know, if you have
anxiety, depression, that istheir number.
One thing is to get out andtake a walk if you can.
Yes, it is.
That is going to elevate yourmood, and so no matter if you're
an artist or not, that is justsomething that the doctor always
(20:25):
orders.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Absolutely.
And before we leave thissubject, there was another thing
I wanted to mention.
I we started out and I saidthat no matter where I am, I
pick up the leaves and thesticks because they're from.
They're not necessarily whereI'm living, and that's the same
(20:48):
with the audience.
You may have a friend thatlives in the desert or someone
who lives up in the rainforesttype of environment.
You can exchange elements and infact, eucalyptus grows out here
, and Val, who we've had onbefore, was doing, I believe,
(21:12):
some ecodyne and wanted someeucalyptus, so I sent her a
whole thing of eucalyptus I loveit and I saw one of the other
women that I follow who doesspirit dolls, which often I mean
most of the time they haveseveral natural elements in them
, and she had just received apackage of elements from a
(21:34):
friend that lived in the totallydifferent area, and I thought
that's another way we, asartists, can share things in our
lives.
If you have someone that wantswhat you've got in your area,
send them a gift package.
Yes, that is a great idea.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I love that you sent those to Val the eucalyptus
leaves, because not only arethey pretty, but they smell so
good.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I know.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I know.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
And I thought you know I live here with these
eucalyptus leaves.
Maybe I should try doingecodyne or something with them.
You know I can't go down thatrabbit hole.
Yet I haven't even come out ofthe rabbit hole, I've already
started down.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Well, this was a fun chat about this, but I think it
is just an encouragement foranyone, especially if you're
feeling stagnant or you justhaven't gotten outside.
Like, make it a point to do it.
It's going to be better offbecause of it, and who knows
what will come out creativelyjust inspiration, ideas or the
actual pieces.
One thing I wanted to ask youto don't you think being outside
(22:40):
in nature like that theinspiration and all could you
potentially learn perspectivemore?
Like?
I don't do a whole lot ofdrawing or painting, but it
seems like that's where you'regoing to get your perspective
training, and I'm guessingthat's why plain art artists too
.
They're able to see the depthof things.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Absolutely.
You're going to get theperspective.
And if you, let's say, you lovetrees, which I love, and I do
sketch them quite often, well,when I go out and sit by a tree,
I get the nuances of the bark,the coloring.
I may not capture it exactlyrealistically, but I've added
(23:19):
another depth to my drawings bystudying it.
And you mentioned Bea and Molly, who we've also had on before.
When Bea was an art teacher,she would take her class out and
have them look closely at thebark of the tree and study it,
for all of those things.
(23:41):
So again, I'm going to jump backto what we said about being out
in nature is calming.
I'd like to improve mysketching skills, so it makes
sense that I find a tree, go outand study it and sketch it
(24:03):
sitting underneath it.
I think that would be a perfectway for me to do that and I
could bring a piece of bark home, which I've done.
You know, you see birch treesor aspen and they peel their
bark and I'm the person runningaround ripping it off to help
(24:25):
them out.
But that's not the same as if Iwere to go find that birch tree
and sit there and do my art,right there under that tree or
in front of that tree.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Whole different depth , whole different perspective,
as you well pointed out and Ithink also, you know there's the
term tree huggers, but I loveto hug a tree or to just put my
hands on the tree or put myhands in moss.
You know, just sink your hands,there's nothing again.
(24:59):
It's a grounding type thingwhen you feel, and especially
with these trees, you'rethinking look at what are the
history of this tree.
It's life, and the moss too.
But that's a beautiful thing todo when you're out there in
nature.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Yes, I finally trained, as you know all family
and friends.
If you go on a hike with me andyou can't find me, it's
probably because I'm back therehugging and talking to a tree.
So it's just the way it is.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Okay, well, let's leave it at that.
We just encourage you to go outand give a tree nearby a big
old hug please do, while you'restudying that and thank it for
being there.
Yes, all right, mama Judy.
Well, this was a funconversation.
Love you dearly.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Yes, me too, and it was, and we hope that people
will find some way to bringnature more into their life and
their art, and we would love tohear the various ways we've
talked about people that we knowuse it, but if anybody has
anything they'd like to sharewith us, we would love to hear
(26:06):
it.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Yes, we love that.
We love seeing what everyone'screating out there.
So, yes, all right.
Well, we will talk to you allnext week.
Now every Wednesday, newepisodes.
We would love it if you wouldshare this with a friend or two,
this episode, and we're justgrateful to be with you.
And we'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Absolutely goodbye everyone.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Bye mama, judy love you.
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