July is heating up for our nature journaling group! We have two opportunities for getting together this month. Our first regular monthly meet up, and a Field Trip to Tuolumne Meadows on July 19.
July Gathering Details
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm (<– Note: we are meeting a half hour later than we have been to make it easier for folks to get off work and join us!)
Location: Sentinel Parking/Cook’s Meadow
We can meet at 5:30 at Sentinel Parking to make it easier for people to gather (1) on the hand-drawn map above, but will move quickly to the small shaded gathering spot (2) along the trail back toward Yosemite Village, so if you don’t see us in the parking lot, try looking for us there.
What to Expect:
Bring:
- Something to write with and on. I’ll try to have some extra stuff if you forget, but a bit of printer paper and a pen or pencil is just fine! The goal here is to slow down and observe, wonder, and record our insights and questions on paper.
- If you have a watercolor set, this would be a good time to bring it. We are going to be getting a short demo from Claire on her watercolor style, and you may wish to give it a try afterward.
- If you have more than one portable water color set, consider bringing an extra along to share in case someone doesn’t have any, or forgets theirs. I have a couple, so there will be at least a few extras for people to experiment with.
- Layers to be ready for whatever the weather is going to throw at us.
- Something to sit on (optional) – note that this location does not have chairs or tables, so some people may want to bring something to sit on. Of course, you are also welcome to make yourself comfortable on the ground.
- Insect repellent? (also optional) I am much calmer when not being swarmed or bitten by the winged vampires, so I’ll try to have some to share.
- Previous journal pages: This won’t be the first time we have met at this particular spot, so if you have some nature journaling pages from that gathering back in October, it could be interesting and fun to compare and contrast from last fall to this summer.
- Your Curiosity and Wonder.
Meet Up Outline & A Demo!
I’m particularly excited for this get-together because Claire has generously offered to share some tips about her beautiful watercolor process, and I’m eager to get a chance to learn more about painting from her.
As usual, our plan will be to catch up, take care of a bit of housekeeping and announcements, and then launch into Claire’s demo.
After the demo, we’ll all have a chance to do some of our own nature journaling. This will give us an opportunity to practice what we learned from Claire’s demo, if so desired. Then at the end, we’ll have a chance to share what we noticed, and any questions or connections that came up, before choosing a location for the next month’s gathering.
Meeting Summary
A warm sunny day morphed into clouds, gusts of wind, and even a few sprinkles over the course of our July gathering in the small shady spot close to Sentinel Bridge Parking. So dramatic!
After her demo, we had a chance to experiment with the watercolor-first process that Claire showed us. I particularly appreciated how forgiving this method is, and if you look carefully at my journal page from the evening, you can see an ‘accidental’ watercolor line that is easily overlooked (at least I think so) with the addition of ink elsewhere. Linda also brought a few scraps of Arches 100% cotton watercolor paper for some of us to experiment with. Even the texture of the blank paper feels gorgeous and luxurious! I pasted my small bit into my journal after I got home.
I returned to the bay laural nuts that we looked at last time we met in this spot. There are clusters of them and so much smaller than we found them in October! Others were inspired by pine cones, the texture of the bark on the surrounding trees, and the beautiful showy milkweed plants that are blooming throughout the meadow. We also plucked a few ripe raspberries just across the trail at the end when the storm looked it wasn’t going to blow any trees down on us after all.
Unfortunately, as usual, I got so engrossed with the nature journaling, that I forgot to take any pictures. If you have some you’d like to share from the event, please send them to me. In the meantime, here is a (too big) picture of my nature journaling page on the bay laural nuts.
