Boys doing a texture study near the intersection of Boivin Creek and the Elk River. Photo: Katherine Russell.
Bringing art and nature together
by Margaret Tessman
When Katherine Russell moved to Elkford 14 years ago, she brought with her a BFA from the Alberta College of Art specific to glass blowing and a passion for being outdoors. Now a mom with three young boys she describes as “more active than arty,” Russell has found a way to integrate art and nature with her summer day camps for kids. Called Sketchers in the Wild, the camps have run for the past three summers. The response has been amazing.
The campers are outdoors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for five days, rain or shine. “We hit the trails on foot in the morning with lots of breaks for observing, sketching, nature journalling and play. We can hike ten kilometres on an average day,” says Russell. “The kids carry their own lunches and art supplies, and I carry the bear spray and heavier items.”
If you are picturing a gang of kids running wild through the bush, think again. Russell does a lot of lesson planning to structure the camp activities, balanced with “reading the situation so I can pivot to another activity if the kids are distracted or tired. I have an infinite number of games at my fingertips.”
Walking between sketching locations above Elkford with Mt. Hadiken in the background. Photo: Katherine Russell.
Russell has extensive experience teaching youth. She has facilitated art projects through ArtStarts in Schools at Rocky Mountain Elementary, Elkford Secondary and Sparwood Secondary, and has run an art program for Elk Valley homeschoolers from her glass studio. The day camps are limited to eight participants, mostly ages 8 to 12, although Russell led one group of girls between the ages of 11 and 15. Yikes! Tweens? “They were very easy and never challenged me,” she says.
Each camper carries a notebook that is used for journalling, sketching and recording their individual observations without the element of competition. “I teach the kids to use the sketchbook as a tool for ideas. Some will go nowhere; some will be successful. Nothing has to be finished. They are a space for recording information, a treasure chest of ideas, a safe space to take risks, a safe space to mess things up.”
Playing the drawing version of the game Telephone at Elkford’s disc golf course. Photo: Katherine Russell.
Learning to connect with the natural world and see it better is one of the goals Russell sets out for the campers. When kids draw trees, for instance, without really seeing them, they often end up looking the same. They are triangular or cloud-shaped because that’s the easy and expected way to designate “tree.” “I tell them, ‘Let’s really look at that tree before we draw it. It’s not really symmetrical.'” Another exercise in journalling involves drawing a flower and writing about it using cues to stimulate observing and thinking skills: I notice . . . I wonder . . . It reminds me of . . .
Campers might create a map of the route they’ve covered in the day (with details of the community garden, Peace Park, rock pools and other trail features); they might do a colour-matching exercise by using a handful of crayons or watercolour paints to try to match the exact colour of what they’re looking at. All journal entries are logged with the location, the date, the weather and what is being looked at.
Katherine and the campers working on a colour-matching exercise of plants and rocks on the trail behind the fire hall. Photo: Elana Wannamaker.
Russell also wants to help the kids feel more familiar with the landscape around Elkford by taking them on trails they’ve never been on: spots along the Elk River, clearings up past Hopkins Hollow. She focuses their attention by giving them reference points: “Notice the angle that we see Wapiti Mountain from now? It looks very different here than from downtown.” “That’s the school track down there.” “This is where the Boivin corridor connects to Hopkins Hollow.” Elkford has a population of 2,500, so the trail network is quiet, and the groups often don’t run into anyone else during their days out. Russell loves hearing kids remark, “Wow! I’ve never been here before. I can’t wait to take my dad here someday.”
One non-negotiable is that campers must leave their electronic devices at home. Instead, Russell sends a portfolio with photos of the kids to parents as a history and memento of the week. I asked Russell what some of her favourite camp moments were. She mentions two: When one kid’s Fitbit beeped, she yelled, “What! I already hit my ten thousand steps and it’s only lunch time!” I guess that electronic device slipped through the cracks, but it makes for a great story. Russell also described walking past a resident’s house and pointing out his handmade planters in the complex shape of a train set. “He invited us for a tour of his yard where he showed us many more creations,” she says.
Image: Nature journalling at the rock beach along the Elk River, past the lagoons. Photo: Katherine Russell.
Russell says that half of the campers are returnees from previous years, which speaks volumes about the experience. She also says she gets asked a lot, “Why can’t you do this for adults?” The energy and enthusiasm Russell brings to the camps pays off both for participants and for her as an artist and teacher.
“I love it so much. It’s the highlight of my summer.”
