A Moment with a Praying Mantis

Creating content for children appeals to me primarily because children have a sense of wonder that many lose as adults. Children's imagination engine is firing on all cylinders. It doesn't hurt that my mental age is 5 years old. There is a natural affinity.

Many of our formative experiences as children frame our lives.  So as a creator, it's fun to imagine producing content that makes that kind of impression. It's even more fun to have those experiences that engage the awe and wonder of childhood.

Praying Mantis        Public Domain

4 Ways to Say Goodbye

I am saying goodbye to Central Virginia after living here for over 12 years. My home in Lynchburg is on 3 acres (much of it trees) that borders a large rails-to-trails park system along the Black Water Creek. I have probably spend over 1500 hours walking on the trails and riding on the bike path over the years. Many more hours were spent puttering around my vegetable garden, a water garden and a flower garden. 

My California Giant Zinnias

I am saying goodbye because I am moving to Brooklyn into what I can only assume will be a small apartment.  This move is for the happiest of reasons and we are thrilled to be making this transition. That said, I will be leaving some wonderful outdoor spaces that have fed my soul and informed much of my artwork and animation for the last 12 years.

1. Savor Every Moment Together

Animating Science

I am producing Anim8Nature, built around animated life cycles to get kids outside and inspire environmental stewardship. I am finding this marriage of art and science has a long history, think Leonardo DaVinci, and many modern proponents.

Leonardo da Vinci A page showing Leonardo's study of a foetus in the womb (c. 1510) Royal Library, Windsor Castle

One fabulous resource I found celebrating the art/science connection is the SciArtCenter. Established to facilitate collaboration between artists and scientists, they publish a magazine. As a new member, the August issue was the first I really perused. Oh, my what I found.

Anim8Nature Production Collaborator: Dr. John Styrsky

 

Dogwood Stone Circle  Caran d'Ache crayons  Kristin Reiber Harris

When I was teaching at Lynchburg College I met Dr. John Styrsky who is now the chair of the Biology Department. Our collaboration at that time revolved around the college's specimen collection. John lent me objects to study and include in my drawings. It was mostly moths and butterflies, some shells. These drawings are from that series.

Stone Circle Grasses  graphite  Kristin Reiber Harris

Anim8Nature: A Beginning

Adult cicada  Wikipedia: Public Domain

Growing up on an old farm outside of Washington DC, I had access to 40 acres of fields, barns and woods. It was a time when kids wandered and explored for hours a day, especially in the summer.