We'll meet at Mountain Lakes House to draw from Nature in a playful and non-judgmental setting. This meetup is FREE, although registration is required. The program is designed for adults and older teens. Younger participants (under 16) are welcome to join if accompanied by an adult.
What is a meetup and how is it different from a class? While a class is a structured learning environment with a defined curriculum, schedule, projects, and goals, a meetup is a gathering of people with shared interests who get together, often with a facilitator (in this case Eleni Litt).
What to expect: Meetups with Eleni start off with welcoming everyone, and sharing brief introductions. Eleni will provide suggestions for themes and approaches along with some initial prompts so you won’t be looking at the blank page for long! You’ll be encouraged to notice what grabs your attention the most and to follow your own curiosity, mindful that using the suggested themes and/or prompts is entirely optional! Participants then set out on their own for 45-50 minutes or so to draw, paint, and/or collage on the grounds of the Mountain Lakes House, after which we meet back for an informal conversation to share the results, noting that sharing is always optional! In this setting, learning is embraced as an experience and a process rather than an explicit destination. These meetups are for artists and non-artists alike, and prior drawing or Nature Journaling experience is neither required nor necessary!
What to Bring: Please bring a sketchbook of any size and any of the following: pencils, pens, colored pencils, pastels, watercolor pencils, watercolors with brush pens, and anything else you like to work with.
About Eleni: Eleni Litt (EZL Studio) is a teaching artist, anthropologist, and lifelong learner, with a keen interest in the intersection between art and science. She loves to make art in community, sharing an approach that encourages curiosity and close observation in a non-judgmental and playful setting for artists and non-artists alike.
Eleni teaches at the West Windsor Arts Center and the Princeton Adult School; she is a frequent presenter and participant in John Muir Laws’ Nature Journaling Educators Forum https://johnmuirlaws.com/. She shows her work in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania and is increasingly involved in Artist Trading Cards, Mail Art, and Sequential Art (ie Comics!).
Eleni has Certificates in Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design, and Creative Arts Therapies from The New School, as well as a PhD in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics (UK). She is a Rutgers Environmental Steward, as well as a Certified Nature Journaling Educator with John Muir Laws and wildwonder.org. She served as the Inaugural Artist-in-Residence at The Athena Advisors.
Meet-up Location: Mountain Lakes House.