Nature Notes: Art in Nature – Patterns, Contrasts, Cycles, and Inspiration
By Ana Hinkle, Environmental Educator
Art in nature is defined as many things. When I think about art in nature, I feel like I have to understand what nature is. Nature has symmetry and patterns, but it is also unruly and follows no direction. Nature is wild and calm. Nature is predictable and surprising. Nature is inspiring.
Nature’s Design: Order and Wildness
We find symmetry and patterns; we find predictable, repeating phenomenon and uncertainty in shapes and designs. The Fibonacci sequence appears to be a blueprint for many things in the natural world. Each element is the sum of the two elements that precede it, and it occurs in gastropod shells, pinecone bases, and an unfurling fern frond. Nature’s design is also unruly and follows no direction. Wood-boring beetles found in forests eat trees under the bark, leading to the host tree’s slow demise. However, each design left in the wake of the beetle’s destruction is unique.
Nature is wild – it is not tamed or domesticated. Forests grow without cultivation; animals survive by any means necessary. Northern white cedar trees will produce up to nine liters of cones annually, which can mean upwards of two hundred thousand seeds a year.
Nature is calm – like frost creeping along the forest floor, or ice skating across a swale. Morning mist evaporating in the early sunshine to begin the day.
Nature is predictable – we find patterns in seasons, life cycles and ecosystems. We understand that the spring ephemeral flowers bloom quickly across the forest floor so that they receive sunlight before the leaves on the trees burst from their buds and shade the forest floor.
Nature is surprising – dragonflies have compound eyes with up to 28,000 lenses, that allows them to view the world in a panoramic view including ultraviolet and polarized light. To compare to humans, each eyeball has one lens to focus light onto the retina.
Nature is inspiring – the ever-changing-yet-always-constant ecosystems seem to defy itself, but that is what art is. Art is inspiring, wild and calm.
Finding Art in the Natural World
Art is predictable and surprising – I find art in the depths of the forest during spring rainfall. The world is quiet, yet there is the quiet splashing of leaves and needles grabbing raindrops as they fall to the earth. Often, birds take shelter in their nests or cavities.
I find art in the different textures and color variations in moss along the trunks of the northern white cedar trees, to the lichen along the branches in the sky. Moss gathers droplets of water running down the trunks of the trees and slowly absorbs it. Moss cannot grow up, so it grows out. It spans the length of trunks, logs and parts of the forest floor. Human eyes with one lens view the shades of the rich, deep green.
Lichen growing along the branches offer a variety of colors and textures. Lichen can be a soft, pale green, or sunset orange. It can grow tight to the branch like a crustose lichen, or in a sporadic pattern of the fruticose lichen.
Celebrating Nature Through Art
Nature is wild and calm, predictable and surprising. Nature is inspiring. To celebrate Earth Week, homeschool students will be sharing their nature-based art with an art exhibit in the exhibit space at The Ridges Sanctuary between April 19th and 26th. Their art reflects how they see the beauty of nature – its patterns, unpredictability and quiet inspiration – captured through their own creative works.
Earth Week Events
Saturday, April 19, 8:30 am – 11 am
Join us in celebrating Earth Week at The Ridges with a roadside clean up around The Ridges and down Ridges Road! Help us keep our surroundings clean and beautiful by making sure we properly dispose of collected garbage. This opportunity is perfect for individuals, families, or groups looking for volunteer hours and is suitable for all ages.
Fee: Free. Although this is a free volunteer event, we need an accurate count of attendees. Please register in advance here.
2nd Annual Forest School Artist Reception and Celebration
Saturday, April 19, 11 am – noon
Join us in celebrating Earth Day with students from The Ridges Forest School at the 2nd Annual Earth Day Art Show. Various artwork created by the students will be displayed at the Cook-Albert Fuller Nature Center throughout Earth Week.
Fee: Free. Donations appreciated!
Roundtable Discussion on Reforestation
Thursday, April 24, 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Join experts in the community at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall for a roundtable discussion on reforestation. Learn about the new Boreal & Temperate Forest Climate Survivability project on which Climate Change Coalition of Door County, Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, and The Ridges Sanctuary are embarking and what it means for the future of Door County’s forests.
Fee: Free. Donations appreciated!