The Introduction to our Family Garden Art Journal.

In March of 2008, Southern Illinois was experiencing heavy rainfall. There were many small floods, and the water around us seemed to creep higher and higher. With every rainfall, our own backyard turned into a small swampland, and small signs of spring were popping up everywhere.

Everyday, I walked with my children, or without them, to every crevice of the yard looking for expected buds and sometimes finding unexpected treasures. Each sign of spring felt like new life inside of me.

Desmond was 2 ½; Isaiah was 11. My children have grown in a home that relishes the act of caring for growing things. They watch, learn, and participate in the process of creating space for beauty. They plants flowers and fill bird feeders, and enjoy the fresh air that comes with the new Spring season.

March was a time of planning gardens to come; Desmond spoke daily of planting pink flowers. It was also a time of high creativity in our home. Art supplies of all kinds were finding daily use, by the children and by me. Adam was often tucked away writing a novel, and I was darting off to art classes one evening a week. The children's artwork and writing flowed into every open space in the house.

I was also emerging myself in reading, looking for new ways to create an environment in which our family could best learn about and appreciate the natural world around them. I was rediscovering old ideas, and seeking new ones. My ultimate goal was to help my children develop a meaningful connection to the earth, and to foster an intuitive sense of care and respect for the awe-inspiring world they live in.

The following pages celebrate a short period of our family’s mutual discovery of the natural world, and the endless bounty of nature that exists right in our own back yard. What we saw was reflected in our art and our words.

“For plants to thrive and flourish, they need the best conditions. Your children do also.” Loris Malaguzzi; Reggio Emilia Educator

“We draw to understand.” Dale Leys, Professor of Art at Murray College, and my ink and water color workshop instructor at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts.

“If you don’t learn anything else, maybe you will learn to see.” Judy Mason, Artist, and my acrylic painting teacher at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts.