Overview: Discover the transformative practice of the perpetual journal—a forgiving, incremental approach to connecting with the natural world through drawing that builds year after year. To begin, you'll label each spread with the dates of a single week, then return to those same pages each year to layer new observations alongside previous seasons. Over many consecutive years, your journal will become a rich record of nature discoveries, seasonal changes, and artistic growth—all achieved by adding small sketches at a reasonable pace that fits into even the busiest life. Join Lara Call Gastinger as she discusses how the idea of the perpetual journal came to be, how to get started and what she has learned from this practice.
Copies of Lara's latest book; A Perpetual Journal Practice: Building a Connection with Nature through Art will be available for purchase.
Please note: This event does not include a tour of Little Oak Spring, the Library, Formal Garden or broader landscape.
About Lara Call Gastinger:
Lara Call Gastinger is an artist and botanical illustrator from Charlottesville, Virginia, and was the chief illustrator of Flora of Virginia, a botanical reference. She has an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in plant ecology from Virginia Tech. She has been awarded two gold medals (2007, 2018) at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show in London and her work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Her art appears in Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America and the American Society of Botanical Artists’ Botanical Art Techniques. She teaches online and in person (occasionally as a lecturer at UVA) and has traveled to Japan, Romania, and France to lead workshops. Gastinger is renowned on Instagram for teaching her perpetual journal process.
About Oak Spring Garden Foundation: The Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF) is a philanthropic foundation based at the former primary estate of the late Paul and Rachel Mellon, who were major philanthropists in the U.S. of the arts, humanities, and sciences in the second half of the twentieth century. OSGF is located in the northern Virginia Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains region (ca. one-hour drive from Washington, D.C.). Led by Sir Peter Crane, the Foundation’s inaugural President, OSGF provides workshops, short courses and supports residencies for artists and scholars. Its celebrated Library comprises rare books, manuscripts and works of art relating to horticulture, landscape design, botany and natural history. It is becoming a new center of stimulation of all things botanical, from fundamental research in plant evolution and conservation, to horticultural and plant conservation practice, to the history and art of plants, gardens and landscapes.
Photo Release Statement: By attending this event, you consent to your likeness and image being used for ongoing promotional and marketing efforts.
Availability: This event will be capped at 60 participants. Registrations will be accepted on a rolling basis through Zeffy until full.
