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Drawn to Nature: Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie
Whether it’s a bird hopping along the sidewalk, water droplets glistening on a tree, or the color of the sky outside your kitchen window, Clare Walker Leslie encourages us to notice and appreciate the splendors of nature. Drawn to Nature comprises excerpts from 25 years of Leslie’s journals devoted to observing and recording the natural world in words, field sketches, and impressionistic watercolors. Delightfully amusing and deeply passionate by turns, this compilation will inspire you to connect with nature, wherever you live.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
4 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Clare Walker Leslie
21 books48 followersClare Walker Leslie is a naturalist, artist, and writer. She is best known for her nature journals. She advocates their use by the wider public.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 28, 2015
Book blurb: For journal keepers, nature lovers, birdwatchers, artists, and anyone interested in using nature as a source for self-reflection or meditation, this book will be a welcome companion and source of inspiration.
This is probably the third time I have picked up this lovely book. I'm a fan of the author and her work, and this is a collection pulled together from her journal pages - a journal page anthology if you will. A reminder to notice what is around us, and make note of it with text and sketches.
This is probably the third time I have picked up this lovely book. I'm a fan of the author and her work, and this is a collection pulled together from her journal pages - a journal page anthology if you will. A reminder to notice what is around us, and make note of it with text and sketches.
July 9, 2017
Such a lovely compilation of journal sketches of observed nature in everyday life. Really inspired me to start my own! You can tell how much Leslie was loving what she was doing, and how much thought and time was spent on it. I appreciated the way it was divided into how you can start to observe the nature around you, even though you might think there's non around, like "looking up" or "looking down" and then proceeding to explain it in organized thoughts and details. I just wish that the book itself had a sketchbook/journal look and feel to it.
May 11, 2021
I love how simplistic and yet stunning her quick sketches are, and how she notices the changing sky — dead leaves blowing down the streets or takes a headcount of all the animal she sees.
I find myself making lists of cool nature finds as I ride my bike, or look out my window at what nature I can see by the roadside (avoiding that urge to look at my phone.)
It’s inspiring to see how much she uses words — that’s ok! You don’t have to draw everything! You can jot down smells, sounds, feelings and take note of colors. I’m going to use her ideas in my nature journaling, and I have a feeling my ideas will flow more freely.
Daily exceptional images — great exercise of jotting down one natural image that stuck out to you each day: “They can be ordinary, extraordinary, funny, upsetting, or unexpected, but always grounded in nature.” (Pg 148)
I find myself making lists of cool nature finds as I ride my bike, or look out my window at what nature I can see by the roadside (avoiding that urge to look at my phone.)
It’s inspiring to see how much she uses words — that’s ok! You don’t have to draw everything! You can jot down smells, sounds, feelings and take note of colors. I’m going to use her ideas in my nature journaling, and I have a feeling my ideas will flow more freely.
Daily exceptional images — great exercise of jotting down one natural image that stuck out to you each day: “They can be ordinary, extraordinary, funny, upsetting, or unexpected, but always grounded in nature.” (Pg 148)
June 27, 2017
Read the entire review, which includes details concerning a walk down a waterfall, cartoon dogs, and present moment awareness, at The Books in My Life!
Drawn to Nature: Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie (2005) is labeled a gift book, as in the type of book purchased in a Hallmark store and subsequently re-gifted year after year. Admittedly, several gift books I enjoy grace my bookshelves: Moving Forward, Keeping Still: The Gateway to Eastern Wisdom (1997) (tacky, yes, but it contains Henry Miller and Miles Davis quotes) and a comical anniversary book titled Me Without You (2011). Other than that, though, whenever someone gives this teacher books with titles like Teachers Make the World Smile, he stifles his vomit and attempts a sincere-sounding "thank you."
But Drawn to Nature is different and not just because I found it in the bargain section of the Salt Lake Gift Store in Utah last summer. Its initial appeal was its air of mystery. The subtitle presumed I should know who Clare Walker Leslie is, but I'd never heard the name. Secondly, the artwork gracing the cover was pretty, but not in an overly realistic manner; it was more impressionistic and was thus appealing.
A cursory glance through Drawn to Nature’s introduction sold the book to me. Here was a woman observing and noting, nothing more. The art wasn't pretentious; rather, it was a way to remind oneself that one of the most important goals in life is reconnecting with nature. The world birthed us, after all. We then erected walls and fences to block out the sun and stars. "I invite you to wander through the pages and see with me that nature is everywhere we are," Leslie declares in the introduction. Of course it is. But, like the healthiest aspects of life, we tend to ignore what is right in front of our eyes.
The book consists of images culled from Leslie's nature journals. What is sketched here was not recorded on some adventurous excursion through the wilds of a foreign locale; rather, the viewer is treated to water colors and pencil sketches of birds, flowers, insects, and mammals all common to the northeast. Leslie paints cloud formations, moon phases, and the daily weather. Some sketches are made in haste and some are meticulously layered, first in pencil, then ink, then watercolor.
The value is multifold. As Leslie points out, historic nature journals reveal our past and predict our futures. Thoreau's meticulous journals have been used to bolster climate change research. It's not that Thoreau was interested in this topic, or even that he was simply interested in nature. Rather, he lived for the natural world, putting himself in touch with it as much as humanly possible.
Drawn to Nature: Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie (2005) is labeled a gift book, as in the type of book purchased in a Hallmark store and subsequently re-gifted year after year. Admittedly, several gift books I enjoy grace my bookshelves: Moving Forward, Keeping Still: The Gateway to Eastern Wisdom (1997) (tacky, yes, but it contains Henry Miller and Miles Davis quotes) and a comical anniversary book titled Me Without You (2011). Other than that, though, whenever someone gives this teacher books with titles like Teachers Make the World Smile, he stifles his vomit and attempts a sincere-sounding "thank you."
But Drawn to Nature is different and not just because I found it in the bargain section of the Salt Lake Gift Store in Utah last summer. Its initial appeal was its air of mystery. The subtitle presumed I should know who Clare Walker Leslie is, but I'd never heard the name. Secondly, the artwork gracing the cover was pretty, but not in an overly realistic manner; it was more impressionistic and was thus appealing.
A cursory glance through Drawn to Nature’s introduction sold the book to me. Here was a woman observing and noting, nothing more. The art wasn't pretentious; rather, it was a way to remind oneself that one of the most important goals in life is reconnecting with nature. The world birthed us, after all. We then erected walls and fences to block out the sun and stars. "I invite you to wander through the pages and see with me that nature is everywhere we are," Leslie declares in the introduction. Of course it is. But, like the healthiest aspects of life, we tend to ignore what is right in front of our eyes.
The book consists of images culled from Leslie's nature journals. What is sketched here was not recorded on some adventurous excursion through the wilds of a foreign locale; rather, the viewer is treated to water colors and pencil sketches of birds, flowers, insects, and mammals all common to the northeast. Leslie paints cloud formations, moon phases, and the daily weather. Some sketches are made in haste and some are meticulously layered, first in pencil, then ink, then watercolor.
The value is multifold. As Leslie points out, historic nature journals reveal our past and predict our futures. Thoreau's meticulous journals have been used to bolster climate change research. It's not that Thoreau was interested in this topic, or even that he was simply interested in nature. Rather, he lived for the natural world, putting himself in touch with it as much as humanly possible.
September 3, 2023
This is inspiration paradise for anyone who journals, no matter what their medium is. For the next year I plan on recording the life of my little free library and the tree it sits beneath. This book gave me so many ideas I hadn’t thought of such as documenting weather, recording entries at different times of the day to capture different light, and adding any evidence of creatures passing through. I can only hope my completed journal is as happy and chock-full of beauty, color, and inspiration as Drawn to Nature.
July 26, 2016
A fun selection from the nature journals of a long time nature journalist and teacher that inspire attention to nature in city, town and country. The various ways of seeing the day, taking account of nature seen on a car ride, cataloging all the types of birds or grasses, etc. provide new ideas for looking at nature even if you don't journal it--and journaling as well, if you do!
January 4, 2014
This is probably my most favorite of all of Leslie's books.
June 24, 2014
Love this artist and her inspiration to sketch nature.
October 20, 2015
I have posted a blog about how some friends and I are using this book. http://www.lazyprimalist.com/soul-jou...
November 1, 2015
Wonderful
March 17, 2022
Beautiful book. Packed with wonderful sketches to help with your own nature journaling and beyond.
Read
October 30, 2019I scanned this book rather than read it but it was an excellent example of a nature journal. A good way to get inspiration for journaling and some springboard activities.
December 11, 2020
Terrifically inspiring. I keep this book on my desk. Very glad I purchased it and use it regularly to muse over and copy technique.
July 16, 2023
Such a lovely and inspiring read. Leslie’s daily reflections, simplistic sketches, and beautiful watercolor art invite us to look upon the natural world, to see with new eyes, the extraordinary that is before us, in our ordinary days.
August 9, 2008
A very beautiful book. Her journal entries are simple but thoughtful. I was very impressed by the scope of her admiration for nature - she even takes the time to distinguish between types of household flies.
January 19, 2022
Inspiring drawings/paintings! How to make a nature journal. Ages 9+
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews