I am excited to officially announce a new collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Berlin; something that has been in the 'planning and development' phase for over a year now. In my pursuit to embody the spirit of the Naturalist, the Natural History Museum seemed like a perfect partner. When I reached out they were very enthusiastic about the workshop format I had already established with the Prinzessinengarten and they wanted to participate in this interdisciplinary dialogue grounded in the overlap between the natural sciences and drawing from observation.

Whereas the workshops held in collaboration with the Prinzessinnengarten and Plant-Expert Matthias Wilkens have been botanical in their focus, the workshops at the Natural History Museum will look through the lens of a Wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosity. The Wunderkammer is the predecessor to modern museums. Instead of following a scientific ordering principle, they were often organized by aesthetic principles, leading to curious combinations and surprising inclusions.

During the workshop Wunderkammer Drawing we will explore the world renowned collections of the Museum, both on display and behind the scenes. We will have the unique opportunity to meet some of the researchers and learn directly from them about the their work within the museum.

Are some of these researchers modern day Naturalists? Or has the process of specialization progressed so far that there is no longer a place for interdisciplinary work within an institution? Let's find out together!

Wunderkammer Drawing

with Mira O'Brien (BDR Founding Director) in collaboration with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Natural History Museum)

Imagine you are seeing a scaly Pangolin or an iridescent Morpho didius butterfly for the first time. Is the timid Pangolin a pinecone come to life? Is the shimmering butterfly more than a mirage? It is this sense of wonder at the natural world that we will seek to reconnect with through the act of drawing.

As we explore the collections of the Natural History Museum, we will assume the role of the Naturalist who was both artist and scientist. Through the act of close observation, we will gain unique perceptual insights into our specimens.

During the first four weekly sessions we will focus on drawing techniques. During the following four weekly sessions we will focus on watercolor techniques. While our studies will be more closely aligned with field work than polished studio work, they will contain the vibrancy of wonder.

Location: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43 · 10115 Berlin

January 11 - March 1, 2019
Fridays 10:30am-1:30pm
Drawing: January 11, 18, 25, February 1
Watercolor: February 8, 15, 22, March 1

Cost: 124€ per 4 week module. 224€ for both modules.
(includes museum admission)

Here are some images from the really fun field trip that the Fall Drawing Workshop took to the Naturkundemuseum. The assignment was to complete a "Drawing Scavenger Hunt," which consisted of many drawing exercises to be completed through out the museum.

The first task on the list was to make a 5 minute Blind Contour Drawing of a dinosaur skeleton! A real challenge considering that the Berlin Naturkundemuseum has the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world!!!

Other challenges included drawing the negative space between bones, making thumbnail sketches of various textures, and inventing a new species by combing parts from different animals! We started out as a group, and then split up to explore the museum and draw different animals.

5 minute blind contour drawing

result of 5 minute blind contour drawing!

assignment: "draw a dead animal as if it were alive"

invent a new species!

Here are just a few images from the last class of the Fall Drawing Workshop. We drew portraits of each other, the students took turns posing for the class. Many of them turned out great!