Nature Explorer Sketchbook
Ignite children’s imaginations with this beautiful sketchbook for drawing, sketching, and recording observations in nature.
There is an artist, a writer, a naturalist within us, waiting to be unlocked. The natural world is a wonderful place to find inspiration. Become a nature explorer with acclaimed artist and naturalist Jenny deFouw Geuder. The Nature Explorer Sketchbook is a kids’ introduction to observing and recording discoveries in nature.
The sketchbook is perfect for drawing, sketching, and painting what children see outside. It also doubles as a journal for everything from taking notes to writing poetry. Jenny’s prompts and tips along the way offer direction for kids who might not know how to begin or who might be looking for different approaches to try.
The Nature Explorer Sketchbook gives children a creative outlet for expressing their thoughts and feelings through artwork and written observations. It’s a keepsake for them to cherish, and it promotes an interest in nature. Use it on its own, or pair it with Jenny’s book Nature Explorer for informational content, craft ideas, and other hands-on projects.
Jenny deFouw Geuder is an artist and educator from Michigan. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art Education (and she minored in English). She has always loved nature and being outdoors. She especially loves gardening and hiking and, over time, began sketching the objects she discovered outside. She bought a bird feeder, and she was charmed by the many visitors. That one bird feeder grew to two, four, and now about eight—along with multiple bird baths! As she immersed herself in bird watching, she started fine-tuning her garden by introducing native plants that benefited birds and other wildlife.
By day, Jenny has taught art at the middle-school level for 16 years. Each year, she includes an art lesson and project based on the famous prints of John James Audubon. Jenny emulated this work at home, and she began painting her backyard finds, everything from leaves and flowers to birds. This soon became one of her favorite pastimes. She loves observing, and she found herself constantly learning more about the subjects of her paintings. To record those discoveries, she started taking notes about her observations. That process led naturally to her debut book, Drawn to Birds. She has continued her own artistic interests in commissioned work and personal topics. She primarily works in watercolor, but she also enjoys oils, ceramics, and graphite.
Artists are professional observers, who tend to see things in a different way, by focusing on colors and shapes, textures or lines. But a person doesn’t need to be a professionally trained artist to observe like one, or to make their own art. In fact, if her book projects have taught Jenny anything, it’s that naturalists are a lot like artists in that they look more closely at the world and recognize all of the diversity that nature has to offer.
Jenny lives in the country with her husband, two small boys, a dog, five cats, a hedgehog, chickens, and occasionally two ponies. She spends most of her summers at a rustic log cabin on a lake in northern Michigan, where she hikes, fishes, and enjoys the natural beauty of the area.
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