I’ve found myself interested in how the research element of this project could work having never been part of such a research project before. It has been such a learning curve for me.  I am truly aware of it’s value now. It has excited me; stretched me; and rewarded me in many ways.

The importance of the manner, attitude and support of the project leaders cannot be overstated. Managing to gel the group(s), encouraging individuals while giving full freedom to co-researchers own expression and needs.

Through the project I have found ways to give myself permission to enjoy facets of life that I have struggled with, to use these personal freedoms to live more expressively within my own parameters.

Deborah

‘During the Co-production research summer school, I shared our approach, research tools and experience of being co-researchers on the Art in Nature Connections project. The presentation included a video, capturing our time spent on the project. 

The biggest surprise was how touched people were by it, including myself. Even those who said art and nature was not their ‘ thing’ said they felt moved and connected to it.  

I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in reflecting on what we had achieved. It all felt very human, in the nicest, gentlest sense of the word. 

I was also proud that I overcame my nerves and was able to present as I felt it was important to share both our experience and research findings to allow others to benefit from the project, as we had benefited.

Sharing in this way has helped build my confidence.’

Polly

I found helping with the creation of our gathering event to be fulfilling as it felt good to be able to share our experience with others. I thought that the rooms looked wonderful as the exhibits and the information flowed through the rooms and out the doors into nature.

The visitors seemed absorbed and interested; lingering to watch and listen to the film and appeared to be open to the ideas held within the exhibition. They relaxed and enjoyed the activity room where they experienced something of what we had found within the project; suggesting to me that our experience was being in some way transferred to them.

Hi, I’m Mary, spectacle-wearer, care-giver and grandma. I love walking in nature with my elderly dog, Jessie, and I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated art – as long as it was done by someone else!  I moved 500 miles to live in a new home and a new country, and I’m living alone for the first time in 47 years. I’d love to share with you some of our discoveries in Art, Nature & Wellbeing in our Moray group. It might help you to try out something similar too.

We all brought with us a variety of previous experiences and expectations. My own experience of making art was limited to washing the pots after art lessons at school.  And as for making art outdoors…..well, I just had a vision of some great Impressionist with an easel and a palette contemplating the landscape!

My new glasses experience has helped our group to find a way, a metaphor if you like, to explain our new, wider, more focussed view of creativity in nature as we worked together.

With our new ‘metaphorical’ lenses we looked more closely and purposefully at the influence of nature on our own art-making. Some of us looked at details, other preferred a wider view. We learned to adjust our lenses to accommodate the many new perspectives our research has opened up in recent months.

‘I’m not suggesting everyone need a new pair of glasses! But it is always worth adjusting our old ways of thinking to take in new ideas and perspectives…’

Thinking about art and nature in the context of wellbeing has led us to

• • look at the potential for art making in the most insignificant natural found-object, such as a pebble or a piece of lichen
  • focus on new techniques such as collage or cyanotype printing
  • think about new perspectives on art-making in the context of our groups
  • adjust our ‘lenses’ as we worked quietly on our own or shared the company of others. We each had our own unique views to share with the wider group.
  • find new perspectives which led us to consider wider issues, such as access, participation and evaluation

Exploring, creating and connecting with others, adjusting our ‘lenses’ accordingly, has allowed us to appreciate the world of ‘good stuff’ to be had when you start an Art & Nature journey.  And best of all, we know that at any moment a new perspective will open up and the journey will go on.

We’re looking forward to sharing more about our new perspectives with you soon. We’d also love to hear about what is coming into view for you if you have decided to ‘give it a go‘ and join us in the journey.

Over the first year of the Art & Nature Connections project each Co-researcher embarked on their own creative journey with art & nature. Naturally this led to very different paths for each individual person, giving our research activity amazing diversity and depth. Through a series of reflective sessions our co-researchers spent time revisiting their experiences. Read more about Beth’s own personal connection with art & nature.

What is my relationship with art & nature?

Confronted with a leaf or a feather and told to make art, I can feel stymied. The leaf or the feather is a beautiful object and needs nothing from me. It is a complete item already. I am more interested in studying the leaf or the feather, paying attention to its shape, its thickness, its texture etc., and honouring the leaf or the feather by paying attention to it. Paying attention is a form of worship.

What are my art materials?

“I’m just delighting in yarn, yarn, and yarn! Natural fibres like wool and cotton link me to nature. Thinking about all the steps it takes to go from fleece on a sheep or cotton on a plant, to yarn in a skein, reminds me that my life is quite removed from the lives of my rural ancestors. Yarn is a finished product, and the raw material for useful things like scarves, clothing, blankets. There’s an element of magic in the transformation, and I’m in awe of the people who figured it all out.”

How does nature help me?

“Nature helps me to notice processes that last much longer than my lifetime (e.g., the life of a large tree, erosion, the change from a pond to a bog to a marsh to dry land). Or it might help me remember that whole lives occur in a metaphorical blink of an eye – the lives of insects, for example. Nature puts my concerns into perspective. By paying attention to nature, I close off other trains of thought and become open to an awareness of that which is greater than myself. This can fill me with joy and comfort.”

Look out for more of our project blogs in coming months as each of our co-researchers share their own discoveries and reflections.  I wonder if this stimulates or makes you start to question or reflect on your own journey and connection with creativity and natural the world?

I was fascinated how the Art and Nature Connections Project would evolve for me personally as my own nature connection has always been one that relies on space and solitude. So, the thought of sharing this special experience with others felt a slightly uncomfortable one! Part of our project activity was to explore how these connections with others can impact our wellbeing… could they? How would that work for me?

Our first connection as a group was through our series of online creative sessions – a chance to discover new things about each of our relationships with all things creative as well as the natural world. This online space included both time for sharing and a quiet space to work creatively. What soon unfolded was truly surprising and enlightening.

Developing bonds

It became an enriching space where I was able to feed my own connection with the natural world, by drawing both connections and noticing differences in others’ experiences. I noticed how nature and talking and sharing our experiences helped us to develop a bond and safe space together; we all had experiences to share.

Feeding this connection happened in our online time together but also for me it occurred in the physical space between our sessions, sometimes this would not be obvious or even immediate.

I might be outside in nature, when a thought or a reflection previously shared as part of our online space would pop up, whether it was the light shining on the river, or the movement of the branches. Suddenly I was seeing these familiar sights for what felt like the first time, with a fresh perspective or a different association.

A love of foraging

After an ankle injury last spring, I was unable to head for the hills or stride for miles along the beach, restricting my daily relationship and routine with nature. However, one of our co- researchers told of how she loved to forage, and her delight at the plants and species at her feet, which most of us do not even notice as we step ” outside.

I immediately felt intrigued. “Did I too have those plants outside my door?” And it was there that I discovered delights and species that I had simply trampled over before as I headed to the hills.

Altering perspective

This experience has enabled me to have a deeper appreciation of what is around me as well an awareness of the smaller, less obvious, things in nature. Previously, nature, for me, was always about vast scale and space and distance. Within our conversations in our group, some would speak about how vast landscapes felt overwhelming and it was the smaller details that made people feel safer or more comfortable. This has altered my perspective on the importance of scale in Nature. As have the discussions around nature not always being a beautiful thing and that at times Nature can be cruel and dangerous and frightening.

So, what has making those nature connections meant for me? It has enabled me to value these connections with others to help broaden and strengthen my own personal connection with nature. It has become clear that these connections did not need to compromise the privacy that I felt was necessary to encourage reflection, but that sharing these experiences with others simply adds new value, appreciation, companionship, and great warmth to the experience.