“Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart. . . The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity.”
Explore the practice of drawing meditations through an examination of trees under the profound guidance of Christine Olejniczak.
Learn to decode the story of growth, resilience and adaptation in some of the oldest living organisms on the planet.
Drawing provides a means to slow down your sense of sight - a way to examine the world around you and mark time. This workshop will lead participants through a series of exercises designed to embrace drawing as a form of discovery as we look carefully with our eyes and record our experience with our hands. Observational drawing with the natural world puts us in conversation with the ecosystem in our immediate surroundings.
We will focus on incorporating a drawing practice into our lives as a form of mindfulness. Trees outlive us. They have been here long before we were born. There may be trees that have been a witness to the entire trajectory of your life experience.
Let’s take a look at the majesty of their presence and the lessons we can learn from standing still and connecting with the nature that surrounds us.
Meet Your Instructor:
Christine Olejniczak is a drawing instructor at the University of Kansas. Her art practice involves performing the sound of drawing on instruments of her own making since 1994.
According to Christine, “the sound of drawing is my first language.”
Her work has been exhibited internationally. She currently resides in Lawrence, KS.