The Embodied Magic of Nature Journaling: Illustrating, Observing, and Recording the World Around You

The Embodied Magic of Nature Journaling: Illustrating, Observing, and Recording the World Around You

$ 30
Sun, May 10, 2026 • 10:00 AM—1:00 PM
Weekly on Sundays at 10:00 AM | Ends May 17, 2026

About this event

Outdoors Workshops Arts & Culture

Beau Romeo hosts a springtime journaling workshop series at NOMA. In this beginner-friendly course, participants will be guided in journaling with their preferred medium through each session’s focus—Observing, Illustrating, Inquiry, and Embodiment—letting their creativity support them in this exploration. Through each session, participants will tune into the seasonal plant life of NOMA’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden. These exercises in curiosity, observation, and recording can be applied to one’s own home and the natural world around us in New Orleans and beyond. This workshop series will be hosted on March 22, April 12, May 10, and May 17. Each date in this series is a unique, stand alone class, so you can attend just one or all four to build on your skills. Workshop registration is $25 for NOMA members and $30 for General Admission (materials not included). Advance registration is required to receive relevant prep materials. In the case of inclement weather, sessions will be rescheduled. Register for March 22’s Observation workshop Register for April 12’s Illustration workshop Register for May 10’s Inquiry workshop Register for May 17’s Embodiment workshop Materials for this workshop series are also available for purchase through the NOMA Museum Shop, where members receive a 10% discount on their purchases. Purchase Materials About the Sessions and Required Materials Class 1 – Observation: Participants will orient themselves to the plants and landscape of the sculpture garden. There we will develop and explore the practice of having a sit spot. Tapping into our sensory awareness, we start to build the internal framework that guides how we choose to record the worlds around us. We will learn basic introductory botany so as to more deeply familiarize ourselves with what we are recording. Class 2 – Illustration: Participants will develop a language of illustration and/or visual representation (watercoloring, markers, pencils, etc.) for their journals. They will learn the basics of drawing from life, botanical illustration, and more importantly be encouraged to find the path of least resistance in order to gain confidence in the pursuit. All skill levels encouraged and all mediums,  demonstrations will be in watercolors. Class 3 – Inquiry: Now that some participants have spent some time in the garden, we are seeing seasonal shifts take place. As new cycles of life emerge before us, we fine tune our natural curiosities into scientific inquiries of our garden observations. We build a practice of story telling to convey what we are seeing, feeling, observing over a period of time. Class 4 – Embodiment: Drawing from the skills we’ve learned in previous classes, (and introducing them for our first time students) – we will incorporate our new practices. What is it to be embodied and present in a place, how do we use a journal to capture this? Participants will become cartographers as they make a map that is relevant to their journalistic pract...

About this calendar

New Orleans Museum of Art

🏛 Inspiring lifelong learning through the arts at the New Orleans Museum of Art and Besthoff Sculpture Garden.