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from Natural Life Magazine, July/August
2008 Her likeness to Raphael’s beloved cherubs was overwhelming – the same cherubs that grace greeting cards and coffee mugs. Photographs would capture the moment accurately. Still that was not enough. Metaphorically similar to how I gave birth to her, I wanted to create her essence perfectly myself with Raphael’s emotions and Leonardo’s realism. The journey to learning to draw began. However, the journey became littered with best intentions and unfinished sketches. I was missing something. Then Nature began revealing itself slowly. Early morning bird songs greeted Kaitlyn’s arrival. How did I miss all her beauty in my past hurried life? Finally, I understood that I needed to observe Nature before I could capture its beauty.
“The most important thing for me is the direct observation of Nature in its light-filled existence.” —August Macke Yesterday, the girls and I took a long walk through the trails behind our house. Our senses were overfilling with nature’s calm transition from winter to spring. Snowdrops showed their whiteness after a long winter spell. The bright red cardinal whistled in the tree above our heads. Returning calls came from the south. As we crossed the field, the first caller’s whistle grew fainter. The second caller’s song led us towards the woods. The wood lot floor of leaves was uncovered from months of snow cover. The bubbling creek flowing through the woods was our companion. A beaver left the bottom half of a gnawed tree to mark our path. A butterfly flew from its resting place on a branch as Brooklyn’s sudden steps scared it away. A chipmunk dug the earth searching for its spring meal and then scampered up a tree. Brooklyn and Kaitlyn joined the male chickadees, singing their mating songs: feee-bee. The absence of the mallard ducks left Brooklyn with the belief that they are nesting on newly laid eggs. Our walk left us with many things to contemplate. With the creative centre and art gallery behind our house, we’re able to explore many artists’ works including pottery, drawings, paintings and sculptures. Our walks through the trails and gardens usually end with a visit to the latest exhibit. I would like our walks to become a metaphor of our lives. Taking in nature’s beauty allows us to capture its essence and present it to the world. “Choose only one master…Nature.” —Rembrandt For the last year, drawing has evolved from the ability to personalize my memories to an indispensable part of our exploration of the world. We’ve drawn the male body, different flowers, a variety of birds and animals, the lifecycle of a frog and so forth. I’m hoping to impart drawing as a habit instead of something we sit down to do. That probably has been the hardest thing to implement with our busy schedules and the gazillion things we want to do. Regardless, Brooklyn and Kaitlyn have become young artists with their drawing, painting and pottery. Imagine my surprise when we started drawing one night and my three-year-old began reciting feelings of inadequacy after spending ten seconds drawing... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition, which includes access to this and other back issues. Junyee Wang lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband and two daughters. Her blissful life is evolving along taking inspiration from her children and nature’s beauty. Having recently purchased a small acreage in Prince Edward County, she dreams of studio space with strawbale walls surrounded by permaculture gardens. |
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