Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi, I'm Georgia Mackenzie coming at you from middle of winter, Alaska. I run an artwork business called tiny studio. I make nature-inspired artwork for kids using my background in education and art. Lately I've really been getting into something called Nature Journaling. Specifically, nature journaling was a phonology wheels and the island and to share it with you today. In this series of videos, we're going to start Nature Journaling with the phenology will. This class is for anyone who is curious about the world around them, regardless of age, artistic ability, or where you live. Children and adults can do this nature study project. You might be wondering what nature journaling is. It's simple. It's taken time to connect to the world around you and recording your observations, questions, and connections. There's really no wrong or right way to go about Nature Journaling. One of my favorite ways to Nature journal is with something called a phonology. A phenology will as a way of Nature Journaling that records the cyclical changes in nature over a period of time. In this class, I'll show you how to make a phenology will that works for you regardless of if you live in the city or in the country. If you're young or if you're young at heart, if you have existing artistic skills or if you'd rather write. This is a project for everyone. Creating a phonology we'll encourages a routine of observation. Instead of letting the months pass me by. Now, I like to take a moment to be still and reflect on the changes that are happening all around me. Taking time to connect with the place we live. It is always an important thing to do. By the end of this class, you'll have a phonology we'll outlined in a way that works for you and your lifestyle. You'll have your first entry complete and you will be ready to start confidently making observations for your future entries. So come along with me and learn something new. Let's get started. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Ok, let's go inside because I felt my eyelashes are freezing.
2. Plan your Layout: In this video, I will show you how to plan the layout of your phenology. We'll, we'll think about what variations will work best for you and your life and where you live. A phonology wheel is recording our observations over time. So first, let's consider how you want to divide your. We'll think about how often and how long you might like to work on your phenology wheel. For example, you can do one entry for each season, one entry for each month, one entry for each day of the week, or one entry each day for a month. It's up to you to decide. If you're working with young children. I would recommend keeping it short, maybe doing it for seven days in a row. Of phenology wheel can be used as a way to collect data about the world around you. Think about what kind of information you'd like to include in your wheel, if any. What's important or interesting to you? What might you record that's relevant to where you live? For my phonology wheel, I chose to record high and low temperatures and the length of the day's living in Alaska. These pieces of data are both interesting and important to me. And it's fun to look back on last year's information to compare with what's happening this year. Here are some ideas and inspiration as to what data you might record. Choose something that's relevant to your life and your area. Another detail that you can choose to add to your wheel is an inner circle. The inner circle can be used to paint or record something that captured the spirit of the Year for something that was particularly lovely or meaningful or unusual. Maybe a special animal, plant or a place. In my case, I chose a fire we blossom. I waited until the very end of the year to paint my inner circle. But you can do yours right away if you want. Here are some ideas about what could go into your inner circle. You could do a flower or plant, a map of a place, a special landscape. Maybe some animal tracks that you saw, some colors. A found object, the moon. You could do colors of the month, or you can have no inner circle at all, is totally up to you. The last thing to consider is what kind of media you'd like to use to fill in and phonology wheel. I used watercolor to fill out mine. But you can use whatever is most comfortable for you. That can include colored pencils, pen, pencil, collage style, paint, or even photographs. Choose something that's fun and doable for you. The main point to remember is this is your phenology wheel. It can be as detailed or as simple as you like. Don't get bogged down by trying to create something museum worthy. The 0 phenology wheel is to slow down, observe, and connect with nature. I encourage you to take a moment to scroll through the Pinterest board I created for you. You may find additional inspiration there. It's linked under the project and Resources tab in this class. Now you've thought a little bit about your layout and how you might want to create your wheel. In the next video, I'll show you how to actually outline your wheel. So let's get to it.
3. Create an Outline: Now that you've given some thought into how you'd like to segment your wheel. Let's go ahead and create our outlines. If you don't want to outline your own, we'll feel free to print one of the PDFs I have attached in the project in Resources tab in this class, I recommend printing on thicker paper if your printer can handle it. You can also trace onto a thicker paper by taping the printout to a bright window, taping your chosen paper over it, and outlining lightly with a pencil. Then trace over it with a. If you want to do your wheel by hand, I use a pencil and eraser, a ruler, a compass for the inner circle, and a protractor. Those two things are optional. A waterproof Penn for outlining. And if you don't have a compass, you can use a jar to outline the inner circle. And for the outer circle, I just use a plate or you can use something round. First. Flip your plate over onto your piece of paper. Outline it with a pencil. Split your circle in half as best you can. I know that this plate is ten inches wide. So I made a little dot in the center at the five. Now I'm making my phonology. We'll have 12 pieces. And if you're doing that to you can follow along with me. First. You cut it in half and then half again to make four pieces. I'm just estimating here and making it as close as I can to four equal pieces. But really it does not have to be perfect. And then I have my four pieces. I know that I need three pieces in each forth to give me a grand total of 12. So I'm gonna go ahead and split these fourths into three pieces. There's a couple of ways you can do it. I just eyeball it and do it as best you can. And remember to just trace lightly in case you make a mistake, you can always erase it. No big deal. Now it looks pretty good. If you have a protractor, you can get exact if you feel like it. Line up the center. Each of your 12 sections will be 30 degrees. So go ahead and mark every 30 degrees. This is just if you want to be really precise but totally optional. Although they're protractor. Ok, once you've got all your pieces done, it's time to do the center circle. If you want to do a center circle, remember it's, nothing here is mandatory. If you wanna do your center circle, you can, but you don't have to. And easy way to do it. Grab a jar I abolished in the center and trace. And an easy way to make two different sized circles is by simply flipping the jar over. And usually the base of the jar or even cup is a little less wide than the top. If you have a compass, go ahead and make a circle as best you can. I'm making my inner circle. And I know I wanted to record high and low temperatures. I'm gonna make a couple more rings outside my center circle. So those are the rings where I will record my data. There. It's not perfect, but good enough for now. Alright, next, grab your waterproof pen. My favorite is called a micron, 0.05, but you do not have to use that kinda in particular, anything works including just a fine tip Sharpie. I do recommend waterproof flow. All right, go ahead and outline everything in pen. The outer circle, the inner circle, all your slices. I use my ruler again to make sure everything's straight. Then erase your pencil lines. And wallah. You have your phenology will. Thanks work you outlined your phenology. We'll in the next video, I'll show you how to do your first entry. And this is where it gets really exciting.
4. Create your First Entry : Now that you have your wheel outlined and you have an idea of what kind of data you're going to record. Let's get started on our first entry. The first thing I do is decide on my subject for the month. The way I usually do this is by reviewing the photos. Ok. I'm always looking to take reference photos when I'm out and about. Sometimes I'll bring an artifact into my studio, like a mushroom or a lovely leaf. Sometimes I'll actually sit outside to do my painting. This month. I decided January's highlight for me was seeing links tracks in the snow When I was cross-country skiing. I'll probably combine a few elements from a few different photos for my entry. They can be daunting to start working on a blank page. So let's jump in and make a mark. Go ahead and write the month lightly in pencil. We'll go over it later in Penn. I'm starting my wheel in January, but the last wheel I worked on started in July. You can start your wheel anytime of the year, month or week. First, I get started by lightly outlining and pencil. After I have a rough outline and pencil, I go over it with my waterproof pen. From there, I go ahead and fill in with watercolor. I won't go over watercolors strategies and this video, since everyone will have their own style, remember, you're using a media that works for you, like writing poetry, using colored pencils, Kranz, et cetera. Next, I find and record the data I'm looking for. In my case, I'm doing temperature high and low and the length of the day. To find this information, I'm going to do a simple Google search. Share a photo of your work in progress to the project and Resources section of this course. I'd love to see what you're working on.
5. Establish a Routine: Let's talk about establishing a routine. It can be hard to remember to keep up with your chronology wheel over time, especially if you are creating one that spans over a year. I have a few tips that will help you establish a routine for doing your phenology entries. Something that is really helpful for my routine is choosing one day of the month to complete my entry. Since I'm doing monthly entries, I usually do my entry on the last day of the month. When the end of the month nears, I start to think about what I might want to record. The next thing I find really helpful is a journaling buddy. See if you can find a friend or family member who might want to do a phenology will with you. I do my entry every month with my mom, which is a great way to stay motivated and also connect with her. Thanks mom. Another way I stay accountable throughout the year, because by sharing my entry every month, I share my entry on Instagram, but I'm also a member of a local Nature Journaling club. And see if you can find in Nature Journaling club that's local to you. And finally, if you do miss an entry, just don't sweat it, cut yourself some slack. You can always come back to it later. You can do two entries in x time or just doing entry when you have a spare moment. So this is all meant to be fun.
6. Final Thoughts : Great job. You did it. You planned and outlined your phenology. Will you created your first entry and now you're ready to make nature normally a routine in your life. Thank you so much for taking this class with me. Nature Journaling really helps me slow down and connect with nature. And I hope it does the same for you. I'd love to see what you've created. Please share a photo of what you've made in the project gallery. You can share your phenology wheel, your first entry, and even entries that you create in the future. I'd love to see them. You can also share it and tag me on Instagram at tiny enough studio. I've loved to see nature journal work from all around the world. Happy journaling everybody. Thanks again.
Georgia McKenzie, Artist & Educator
