Instructing at Islandwood

Maria Coryell-Martin shares about her time at the Wild Wonder Islandwood Nature Journaling Retreat as a guest instructor this summer.

By Maria Coryell-Martin

A group of people sits on the grass in a forested area, attentively watching a woman standing and speaking. A flip chart is set up beside her, and there are several tables with materials nearby. The participants are diverse, with various clothing styles, including tie-dye shirts and hats. Sunlight filters through the trees, creating a serene atmosphere.

I was thrilled to join the Wild Wonder Islandwood Nature Journaling Retreat as a guest instructor. Outreach Coordinator Cole and I visited the beautiful facility (which I visited annually for 10 years straight as teaching artist-in-residence ). Cole set up a small table of Art Toolkit items for sale, and I set up to teach in the peaceful and shady Creaky Tree Meadow.

A diverse group of people sits on the ground in a forest setting, attentively listening to a speaker in a patterned shirt. The speaker stands near a table with various items displayed. Trees provide shade, and some people in the background are seen walking by. — John Muir Laws (Jack) poses for gesture sketches.

A wooden easel displays a watercolor painting of a serene beach scene with trees in the background. Nearby, a sheet of paper with handwritten quotes about observation and creativity is propped up, surrounded by art supplies and a scenic outdoor setting filled with greenery. — My easel set-up!

A serene watercolor landscape featuring a calm body of water with a sandy shore and lush green trees lining the background. The sky is partially cloudy, with soft blue hues. — My shoreline gesture sketch.

We sat under the shade of maple, alder, and cedar trees and listened to woodpeckers and Douglas squirrels. I shared fundamental tools for observation, including approaches for developing a palette of place, contour, gesture, and thumbnail sketches. Jack was a entertaining model for our gesture sketches!

Three sketches demonstrating different poses and timing for figure drawing. The left figure is elongated in a dynamic pose labeled "10 seconds." The middle figure stands upright, labeled "30 sec." The right figure is in an active stance, labeled "1 min." Background includes color swatches. — Gesture sketches made in 10 seconds, 30 seconds, and 1 minute.

Sketch depicting a maple leaf with annotations about its characteristics. There's a color palette featuring shades of brown, green, and yellow. A wooden fence runs along the bottom, and the text includes various trees like alder and cedar with notes on their features. The date "8.26.25" and the title "Creaky Tree Meadow" are prominent. — A journal page of my surroundings including a woodpecker, color studies, and a leaf.

We had a moment of excitement that got our hearts pounding when an alder fell down at the edge of the meadow. We initially were not sure where the creaking and cracking came from and looked a bit wide eyed around the meadow while backing up from large trees. Then with a crash the came down, we caught our breaths, and got back to our journals.

Thank to everyone I met for your warmth and enthusiasm, and to Jack and the Wild Wonder team for hosting me and taking these photos of my presentation!

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