PLANT OBSERVATION AND DRAWING

5.00-6.30pm AEST, 9 September-25 November 2026

Oh, I who wish to grow,
I look out, and inside me the tree grows.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Becoming at home with your garden.

These six online workshops uses the core stages of the phenomenological process of Goethean phenomenology using charcoal, pastels, shaded and dynamic drawing.

Spring and Autumn are ideal times of year to turn our eyes to Nature to learn her secrets. The cycle of the plant is particularly on display to us, as seed becomes leaf, leaf becomes bud, then flower turns to fruit and finally, seeds return to the earth. (Of course, any time of year in the garden is good, but Spring and Autumn have particular qualities of change and transformation, which are especially suited to observation and drawing.) 

Whether you have your own garden or like to walk in a local park, a nature reserve or even just tend a few pot plants on your balcony, being with plant life in its endless cycles of becoming and dying away is both energising and de-stressing. A health-giving counterblance to computer work!

Using Goethean phenomenology to guide us, these six fortnightly online workshops will help you to become more ‘at home’ with nature, Each workshop leads us through a process of becoming ‘at home’ with Nature, using quiet contemplation, careful observation, mood immersion, sketching and colour painting. By getting up close with our garden in this way, we learn to step more deeply into the cycles of life.

What will we do?

The workshops use mixed media and different drawing techniques to take us through this process. Techniques include charcoal, pencil, paint and pastel. Participants keep a visual diary to document their discoveries and observations.

By getting up close with our garden in this way, we learn to step more deeply into life.

This course follows on from A Conversation With Your Garden, which ran in Autumn 2026, but anyone can join in without having done the Autumn course.

What is Goethean phenomenology?

Goethean phenomenology (also known as Goethean observation) helps us develops fresh, new eyes for the world around us. It offers us another way of being in the world, one that brings us into a more participatory connection with both Nature and ourselves.

Who is it for?

• For anyone interested in knowing more about Goethean phenomenology and how to practice it.
• For nature lovers who would like to learn a non-confrontational way of drawing plants.
• For Steiner teachers, artists, art therapists and art students seeking to understand how the formative forces work in Nature

Suitable for all levels. You do not need to be an experienced artist to enjoy these workshops. Video recordings included in the fee, available for private study.

When is it?

5.00-6.30pm AEDT, fortnightly 2 September-11 November 2026

Cost

$230 AUD
$235 PD certificate, conditions apply*
Video recordings included in the fee, available for three months.

^{Feature image: © Olive Whicher}

Bookings

Please complete this form to book for this series of workshop. You will be sent the payment details and a list of suggested materials and readings after booking. 

The Zoom link is sent one (1) day before the workshop begins.

* Conditions for PD are 75% live attendance and 75% of exercises uploaded to the workshop sharing space, Padlet.