Drawing From Nature with Suzanne Stryk

The Blue Ridge Discovery Center is excited to announce that the talented artist and author, Suzanne Stryk will be leading a “Drawing From Nature” session at the 48th Annual Spring Naturalist Rally, with a book signing to follow! 

Suzanne calls Southwest Virginia home, and includes many creatures and found objects from the Blue Ridge Mountains in her conceptual works. Her artwork can best be described in her own words as “a dialogue—as in life itself—between the overwhelming tangle of life and the crisp, if fragmentary, vision emerging from it.” 

We are delighted that she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge as a naturalist and an artist with Rally attendees. Her session will provide opportunities for participants to enhance their observational skills and record experiences in the natural world. Part of Stryk’s creative process is to record observations in sketchbooks and collect natural materials; then, back at her studio in Bristol, she will create assemblages about each unique place. In the session, Stryk will demonstrate how to make quick sketches as well as more sustained studies. Participants are encouraged to bring their own sketchbooks and pencils or pens. 

Suzanne’s book The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature of Virginia will be available to purchase after the program! In the book, Stryk proclaims that “everywhere is the middle of somewhere for some living being,” and explores various outdoor sacred spaces encountering many Appalachian creatures in their habitats. She has a knack for weaving in historical anecdotes and personal memories while relating her encounters with all of these “beings” in their “somewheres.” You won’t want to pass up the opportunity to pick up one of these breathtaking books. (purchase proceeds go to the Blue Ridge Discovery Center).

Register For the Rally Here: https://blueridgediscoverycenter.org/mrnrspring