Beyond the Brush . . .
Making a greater impact
When I started this project, I had two goals. The first was to create art that showcased native fauna & flora that often goes unseen and underappreciated in modern media. The second was to give back to organizations that make a tangible difference for native wildlife.
That’s why I want to donate 10% of proceeds from featured print releases to organizations across North America that impact our native wildlife.
Listen in
After meeting Jon Rossi at the 2022 AZA National Conference, he invited me to come and speak on an episode of his podcast, Rossifari. On this episode, we talk about ambassador animal ethics, how I came to be in my career, and the story of how I know what hawk drool tastes like.
Tools to teach others
I am a naturalist and educator by trade, and more often than not, I am the one creating all of my own teaching materials. I know how hard it can be to find accurate and engaging teaching materials that center around North American native wildlife.
That’s why I’ve joined Teachers Pay Teachers, a community of millions of educators who come together to share their work, insights, and inspiration with one another. I will be developing, curating, and sharing my own unique worksheets, coloring pages, and lesson plans for educators around the country to use.
Featured lessons will correlate with NGSS.
Learn something new
In 2021, I teamed up with Sktchy, a community for artists looking to learn new skills and share their art, to create a 4-part video series teaching the basics of block printing and beyond. And, before you ask, there is definitely a lot of snake talk!
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Learn the Block Printing Basics - California Kingsnake
This lesson covers sketching your design, transferring it to the block, carving tools and techniques and the printing process. To get started, we'll focus on a simple design inspired by an often vilified animal: the snake. We will focus primarily on the snake's scales and patterns, using its reliable repetition to practice carving techniques and build the skill set needed for the remaining lessons.
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Add Patterns & Color - Eastern Box Turtle
In this lesson, you'll create a block print illustration of an Eastern Box Turtle, focusing on its beautiful structure and patterns especially on the reptile's carapace. You will also layer color into your prints.
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Capture Fine Details with Multiple Colors - Red-Winged Black Bird
Now that you've learned the block-printing basics, it's time to create a more complex design inspired by the Red-Winged Black Bird. We will focus on the minute details within our subject's feathers and learn how to implement multiple colors into a single printing block.
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Create a Multi-Block Print with Varied Colors/Patterns - Western Hognose Snake
In our final lesson, you will create a layered print of a Western Hognose Snake combining all of the skills learned in the previous lessons. We'll focus on carving fine details into our block, layering multiple blocks with different patterns and mixing custom colors with our printing ink to create original shades perfect for our subject matter.