2024 ART WORKSHOPS

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The following information is based on the 2024 festival.

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Watercolor Takes Wing - SOLD OUT

Presented by Susan Brickner-Wren
Date: Saturday, May 4
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 12

​Transparent watercolor captures light, movement and color like no other media.  This workshop will teach techniques to mix vibrant colors, draw focus to the subject and create a pleasing background.  The paint-along will be done in traditional style with transparent colors while preserving the paper white as needed.  Best suited for artists with some watercolor experience. A small supply list and introductory material will be e-mailed to all registered participants.  Photo of the 2023 painting, but 2024 will be all new!

About Susan Brickner-Wren

Susan Brickner-Wren is an award-winning artist from the heart of Ohio, working in watercolor. She’s currently a featured artist for Arches premium art papers. A born outdoor enthusiast, she draws inspiration from exploration of the natural world. She paints a range of subjects, but has a special appreciation for birds. “Birds have always held a bit of magic to me. Their mastery of flight, freedom and song mesmerized me as a child. The diversity, adaptability and beauty of birds is staggering.” Professionally, she protects the environment as a wastewater operations supervisor with a background in Chemistry and Microbiology. In her free time she’s often birding, gathering reference photos of birds while honing her photography skills, or planning the next trip. ​

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Bird Art Basics - SOLD OUT

Presented by Christina Baal of Drawing 10,000 Birds
Date: Monday, May 6
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 12
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Have you ever wanted to draw birds, but found it difficult to know how to start? Or maybe you already love drawing birds, but want to learn some new tips and tricks to enhance your practice? This bird drawing workshop is designed to break through the trepidation of the “white page” and get you drawing birds right away. We will learn simple but effective techniques to improve drawing and observation skills that can be easily practiced even alongside hectic daily schedules. Most importantly, this workshop is designed to convince you that drawing is fun and can be a practice to look forward to in order to improve your skills as an artist AND a as a birder.

While this workshop is geared toward beginners, all skill levels are welcome! Basic art materials will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own favorites.

About Christina Baal

​Christina Baal is a wandering bird artist whose dream is to meet and paint 10,000 different species of birds. She discovered the world of birding as a student at Bard College in the Hudson Valley. After graduating with a BA in Studio Art in 2014, she started her own art business, "Drawing 10,000 Birds," and set out to find birds. Christina's adventures have taken her across the country and around the globe to places like Costa Rica, Alaska, the Galápagos, and Japan. Her art has been featured at a number of birding festivals and events, including The Biggest Week in American Birding, Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, and New Jersey Audubon's World Series of Birding. In 2022, her Burrowing Owl artwork was chosen as the American Birding Association's "Bird of the Year" art. While not painting and chasing birds, Christina works as an environmental educator, bird guide, and art instructor so that she can share her love of birds and art. She currently lives with her partner, a California Condor biologist, in California’s Pinnacles National Park.

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Sketching in the Wild:
​Field sketching workshop for beginners

Presented by Kelly Riccetti
Date: Tuesday, May 7
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 12

In this workshop, you'll be introduced to the basics of field sketching and nature journaling. You will learn to observe the natural world by slowing down and focusing on what you see. By combining your observation skills with a few simple drawing techniques, you will be able to go outside and start sketching the in the wild with confidence!​

Painting in the Wild

Presented by Kelly Riccetti
Date: Wednesday, May 8
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 12
​
Learn basic watercolor skills and art journaling techniques to spark your creativity and start living an art-filled life! Step-by-step exercises and easy projects will help you learn to paint flowers, trees, landscapes, and (of course) BIRDS!! Use your new painting skills to start an art or nature journal to record your creative journey. No experience necessary. All supplies provided.

About Kelly Riccetti

​Kelly Riccetti is a lifelong artist and student of nature. She writes the birding and nature blog, "Red and the Peanut," where she shares her nature research, photographs, and wildlife paintings. When not blogging or painting, she can often be found hiking the banks of the Little Miami River in Cincinnati, Ohio searching out birds, wildflowers, insects and turtles.

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Make a Bird Comic from Live References

Presented by Charlotte Belland and Rosemary Mosco in conjunction with Joe Dorrian of the Ohio School of Falconry
Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 15
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Learn how to turn your birding experiences into funny cartoons. Start by sketching live raptors from the Ohio School of Falconry and build up observations and ideas. Then, learn the fundamentals of cartooning and turn your experiences into humorous pieces of comic art. No drawing skills required.

About Charlotte Belland

​Charlotte Belland is an illustrator of animals. Her work explores the blending of anatomical accuracy and the beauty of animals with a little sparkle of mischief; the way an animal tilts its head, focuses its eyes, or how it leans into the pose. She is the Chair of the Animation Department at the Columbus College of Art and Design and a Professor of Drawing for Animation. Her daily drawing practice includes a routine post to Instagram. For over 10 years, Charlotte has posted a daily animal drawing under the name bellandpixel.

About Rosemary Mosco

Rosemary is a nature writer and cartoonist. Her Bird and Moon nature comics won the National Cartoonists Society’s award for Best Online Short Form Comic and were the subject of an award-winning museum exhibit. She has published 8 science books for kids and adults, including A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching and Butterflies Are Pretty... Gross! and has written and drawn for The New York Times, Audubon, Ranger Rick, and more.

About Joseph Dorrian

Joe Dorrian has had a passion for birds of prey, and the sport of falconry, since the age of 12, when he first read the book My Side of the Mountain. Now, a Master Class falconer (with over 20 years of experience working with hawks, owls, falcons, buzzards and eagles), Joe served as Ohio’s first Apprentice Falconry Director before opening the Ohio School of Falconry (OSF) in 2014. The Ohio School of Falconry’s mission is the conservation of all birds of prey, the preservation of the wild places that they live, and the education of future generations about the beauty and majesty of all raptors. Dorrian is also proud of OSF’s undying financial support for eight of Ohio’s largest raptor rehabilitation organizations.

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Intro to Drawing Birds

Presented by Catherine Hamilton
Date: Wednesday, May 8
Time: 12:30 - 3 p.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 12
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Open to beginners and experienced artists alike, this workshop will provide an intro to field sketching, with tips and techniques for sketchbook drawing and information on bird anatomy.

About Catherine Hamilton
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Catherine Hamilton began birding at an early age with her father, developing a keen interest in natural history and art. She loves sharing her passion for both with artists of all levels, and believes that anyone can gain insight and greater understanding of the world around them through field sketching and observation. A professional fine artist for over 30 years, she also has illustrated and written articles for books and publications including The Warbler Guide, the journal Nature, Bird Watcher’s Digest, the ABA Blog, and Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White. She taught painting and drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1997-2003, and is a frequent leader of birding tours.

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Needle Felted Bird Painting

Presented by Julie Davis
Date: Friday, May 10
Time: 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Location: Maumee Bay Nature Center
​Fee: $45
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 8
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In this 3 hour workshop you will learn how to do a “painting “of a bird by using a needle felting technique and wool. A pre-felted wool background will be provided. I will have pictures for you to choose from or you can bring your own. Your finished piece will be roughly 8” X 10”. (If bringing your own photo, please bring 2 copies that will fit into the 8” X 10” format). If time allows, we will also discuss the wet felting technique that is used to create the background fabric. This workshop is open to all levels, no previous felting experience required.

About Julie Davis, Felted Nature
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I have been interested in art my whole life. I have tried many different mediums over the years, but never found my “fit”.  So, I put my event coordination skills to work and ran the Worthington Art Festival for 15 years. In 2014, I signed up for a wool felting class. I had the supplies and bought a book. The class was cancelled, but I decided to go ahead and give it a shot on my own. I found my “fit”!

My work is a combination of both wet felting and needle felting. My backgrounds are wet felted. Made by taking loose wool fibers, laying out 4-6 layers of wool, wetting with warm soapy water and using rubbing and rolling to full and shrink the fibers into a piece of fabric. The details are added after drying using the same wool and special needles that push the wool through the fabric. My subject matter comes from my love of birds and nature.

Awards: Best emerging Artist – 2017 Columbus (OH) Arts Festival