Life Is In The Balance

As I conceived these drawings I was intuitively selecting organisms to represent the symphony of collaboration and connection that is this small ecosystem at Narrows Botanical Gardens. As I look back over the series of drawings, they reflect the bigger picture of how each one of these organisms represented in the drawings plays a role in the whole ecosystem of the garden. This corkscrew willow provides shade, modifies soil density with its roots and provides a haven for birds and insects. They all live in relationship to each other.   The mullein of this drawing grew under the canopy of the willow, sharing resources. When the mullein dies it will be composted back into the soil to enrich the resources available to the tree. Mullein and Inula, 30" sq, mixed media on paper Close by and with roots in close proximity, the trumpet honeysuckle grew on the fence right behind the tree.   Trumpet Honeysuckle and Chinese Redwood These redwood trees, in a spectacular grove of five support

On September 9th, I had the wonderful opportunity speak with an enthusiastic group of Narrows Botanical Gardens visitors about the Life Is In the Balance series of drawings. I briefly discussed my academic background and related work from my fifty year career as a professional artist. There were questions about the materials used in the original drawings and how they were reproduced to be weather resistant. I talked about each one of the drawings in the order they were created and identified the plants and where they can/could be found in the gardens, when seasonally appropriate.     Photo:Luz Diaz The most informative for the visitors, and the most fun for me was to go around the gardens and visit a few of the locations where they could see the plants that inspired me.  As luck would have it, the milkweed seed pods were "ripe" and full of seeds. We reminisced about our intrigue as children with the floating seeds. We all had forgotten how soft they are. Photo: Luz Diaz Next

I am having lots of fun collecting t-shirts with the Life Is In the Balance art on them! You can have your very own!    Trumpet Honeysuckle and ChineseRedwood drawing My Zazzle Store is open and ready for your order. Want to make my day? Wear your t-shirt to my Artist Talk on Saturday, September 9th. See you there. I continue to be humbled by this wonderful opportunity to share my work and my passion for exploring the wisdom and beauty of the natural world. We are really all connected and we can see those connections all around us IF we look. Learn more about my work at KristinHarrisDesign.com  

In my beloved Chinese redwood grove at Narrows Botanical Gardens   Please join me on Saturday, September 9th  from 2 - 3pm at Narrows Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn  for my Artist's Talk for the exhibit Life Is In the Balance Learn about my process in making the drawings, the 40 year history of my making work that has a very similar structure in sacred geometry and radial symmetry and how my four years as a volunteer at NBG informed this project.  Find out where each drawing's subject matter is located in the garden. I look forward to answering your questions and talking about the art and nature and visualizing the connection of all life on Earth.  If you have questions, please contact me at krharris46@gmail.com.

Chinese Redwood Grove at Narrows Botanical Gardens On Saturday, August 19th I taught a drawing workshop at Narrows Botanical Gardens in conjunction with my Life Is In the Balance exhibition. I was thrilled to welcome 15 participants to our drawing studio, inside a grove of Chinese redwoods in the Gardens. We had artists from 4 to 70 years old. My students from the Bay Ridge Center were well represented and a welcome addition.     I brought a number of drawing pads and pencil and as I introduced myself I handed out the supplies. The students first task was to open the tablet and write; My Nature Notebook and their name. I challenged them to  continue to fill the notebook with drawings from nature after they left the workshop.     For those who chose an alternative to drawing the trees (complex subject matter) I had a collection of natural object for them to draw. There was a cicada, a few seed pods, a small branch from the redwoods complete with pinecones. I explained I frequently

I am having fun preparing for my drawing workshop this Saturday at Narrows Botanical Gardens. This is one of the featured events of the Life Is In the Balance exhibition funded by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.      Join me this Saturday from 2 - 3pm at NBG and let's draw nature at its finest. Seating is limited so don't be late. We will do the best we can to accommodate everyone but come prepared to sit on the ground. This FREE event is for all ages, bring the whole family. I can provide supplies for about 10 artists, so come early or bring your own. Wonderful Chinese redwood grove where we will meet for the Drawing Workshop.   You will be drawing with pencils in "Nature Notebooks" or with chalk on the sidewalk recreating my drawings on the sidewalk.   This will be lots of fun, don't miss out. Narrows Botanical Gardens is located on Shore Road between 70th and 72nd Street in Ba