Join artist Rachel Mirus and let your imagination take flight with bird-inspired creative drawing.
Observing nature has inspired many artistic flights of imagination. In this class, we will look closely at feathers, one of the hallmark traits of birds, and spend time observing birds.
Along the way we will cover field sketching and easy ways to add color to drawings, working primarily in graphite, color pencil, and brush pen.
From this observational foundation we will consider how scientific or fantasy illustrators reinvent vanished animals like feathered dinosaurs or create images of mythical animals like the phoenix.
Class will culminate in project time for students to experiment with their own creative ideas. Come learn ways your appreciation of nature can fuel your imagination!
All materials provided, but participants are encouraged to bring any natural objects they wish to draw or share. You are welcome to bring any materials you prefer. Rachel also provides materials, but sometimes people have preferences and she support students using what they are comfortable with.
Bring a friend! You are welcome to enjoy your lunch here at the museum after the workshop.
Sliding scale fee
Registration link coming soon
Or call (802) 434-2167 to pay at the door.
Minimum: 4 participants
Maximum: 15 participants
Ages 13 and up

Join artist Rachel Mirus in practicing observational drawing techniques that can quiet the mind and encourage being wholly present in nature.
In this short workshop, we’ll practice drawing techniques inside with a variety of materials for every ability level. Weather permitting, we’ll move outside for a nature walk and en plein air drawing. (If not, the museum’s bird-in-habitat exhibits are available.)
All materials provided, but participants are encouraged to bring any natural objects they wish to draw or share. You are welcome to bring any materials you prefer. Rachel also provides materials, but sometimes people have preferences and she support students using what they are comfortable with.
Bring a friend! You are welcome to enjoy your lunch here at the museum after the workshop.
Sliding scale fee
Registration link coming soon
Or call (802) 434-2167 to pay at the door.
Minimum: 4 participants
Maximum: 15 participants
Ages 13 and up

“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.
This changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November…
Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.
Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events.
Past Exhibits
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages
“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.
This changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November…
Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.
Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events.
Past Exhibits
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages
Spark! fueling a love of birds
Many birders—and artists—have a “spark” moment that fueled a lifelong love of birds and birding and took them in unexpected directions. What’s your spark story? How did you start combining birds, birding, art, and science in your art? Does it show in your work? Continue reading “Call to Artists: Spark!”
“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.
This changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November…
Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.
Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events.
Past Exhibits
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages
Featured image: “Feather Spiral”: monoprint © 1997 by Carol MacDonald and shown by permission. Exhibited in the Fine Feathers show.