Let your imagination take flight: art workshop with Rachel Mirus

Illustration of Blue Jay in flight on a green and yellow leafy-textured background.

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

 

Rachel Mirus: A light-skinned woman with straight, long brown and red hair, smiles in three-quarter view at camera. She is visible from shoulders up. She is outdoors with golden autumn foliage in background and a blue mountain ridge behind. Image shown with permission.

Drawing for Mindfulness: art workshop with Rachel Mirus

pencil drawing of wood frog (facing to the left, mostly in profile), by Rachel Mirus. Shown by permission.

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

 

Pencil drawing of dove in flight by Rachel MIrus. Used by permission. Rachel Mirus: A light-skinned woman with straight, long brown and red hair, smiles in three-quarter view at camera. She is visible from shoulders up. She is outdoors with golden autumn foliage in background and a blue mountain ridge behind. Image shown with permission.

See it. Sketch it. Bird It.

nature journaling and sketching materials

Get ready for spring birding with this interactive program.

Learn techniques for observing, describing, sketching, and identifying birds that will immediately help you become a better birder.

All you need is a willingness to make marks—we supply pencils, paper, models, and identification guidance. (You are welcome to bring your own sketchbook if you prefer, of course!)




Suggested: $10 – $30 (pay what you can; includes museum admission)

Recommended for older children and adults

Carving shown is a Red-breasted Nuthatch, carved by Bob Spear.
Books pictured include Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds, Law’s Guide to Drawing Birds, and Johnson’s First Steps: Sketching and Drawing.

 

“The Gift of Art” show continues (March)

“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” show continues (February)

portion of a free-hand machine-stitched quilted wall hanging, showing the tipof a stylized white feather on a brown leaf-patterned background.

“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” show continues (January)

Monoprint art: A black feather, vertical on a yellow-gold background, with a red-shading-to-charcoal spiral of other feathers overlaying it. "Feather Spiral" © 1997 by Carol MacDonald and shown by permission.

“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.