Artist Spotlight: Ami Sangani

_________________________________________________

Image: Ami Sangani

Nature journaling has been a revelation in my wellbeing journey.  During times of adversity, I often immersed myself in the natural world to feel soothed and turned to artists for inspiration.  However until undertaking the nature journaling course with NatureArt Lab, I didn’t practice any art myself, nor did I have any desire to interact with nature in any depth beyond the passive affect of its beauty. Enter Julia Landford and things look very different now!  

I arrived in Canberra having shed my previous life in the UK, so was seeking ways to feel less adrift in alien-seeming climes.  I decided to ground myself by painting and drawing in the wilds of the region.  As it happens, exploring the differing habitats of my new home in the company of like-spirited locals was just the ticket.   

Image: Nature Journaling page at the National Arboretum by Ami Sangani

Close observation and recording offers an opportunity for the mind to enter a flow state in which you can lose yourself to the sky, the earth and the tiniest of things in between.  Throw into the mix, the questions that arise, the incidental connections you make, how you discover, think, integrate what you learn first-hand, and from the band of people all having the same rich experience but in a completely unique way – and magic happens.

Nature journaling is fast becoming a regular practice that I’m falling in love with.  Nature. Art.  These two anchors in my life have suddenly intertwined in a nimble and light way, opening up my consciousness to a sense of aliveness that doesn’t come often as you age.  What’s more, talent and outcome are not even considerations!  I’m having fun, my curiosity has been roused, I'm connecting with fellow Canberrans, connecting with the land and reconnecting with myself in the process.

Image: Nature Journaling, Natural Temperate Grasses by Ami Sangani

- Ami Sangani, Journaling in the Field Volunteer Coordinator, Canberra