Your Favorite Nature Sanctuary Brought to Your Kitchen Table

Why is nature so good for us?

The making of fern frond inspired art for your kitchen table

And a contest to see your favorite outdoor sanctuary turned into a Bitty Bowl…

If you know me or my art, you know I’m hugely inspired when I get to experience nature. Being outside in beautiful places brings a sense of calm, supercharged ideas, and a foundation of happy.

I heard a fascinating Hidden Brain podcast a while back about the benefits of the great outdoors. It turns out being in nature is like a multivitamin providing numerous psychological and physical health benefits that have a lingering effect (even when measured 30 days later). Looking at greenspace can lower your heart rate and counter fatigue for example. Even more amazing, you can attain benefits by looking at images of nature or being reminded of being outside.

So it’s no wonder, capturing images and the essence of my experiences outside is so important.

I want everyone to have visual reminders of nature and the goodness it has to offer through my art.

Since we’re officially hitting summer this month and hiking/beach/garden season will be in full swing, I thought it’d be fun to focus on areas we love outside. I’m in the Pacific Northwest and have come to love the abundance of ferns I see while hiking in the mountains. So of course, I had to draw a version on a Bitty Bowl.

I love how the final bowl turned out - not only does it remind me of ferns seen on the ground, it also makes me think of the trees above.

And it’s useful! It can hold your precious objects like jewelry or in the kitchen for spices or olive oil dipping. Or just for admiring and being reminded of those delightful nature multivitamins.

Now it’s your turn!

What is your favorite spot in nature? Where do you feel most inspired and alive outside?

Submit a photo of a place that makes you happy (your garden, the beach, a special hiking trail, etc). I’ll choose one to use as inspiration for a Bitty Bowl drawing like the fern example above.

TO ENTER:

1. Comment below naming your favorite spot outside.

2. Post an image of that spot in our private facebook group or email it to c@catherinegrisez.com

3. Enter by September 9th, 2019 - giving you lots of time to play outside all summer!

Want to own the sweet one of a kind Fern Bowl shown above? You can find it here. (Oh, and since we’re entering the season of weddings… this bowl and others from the series make fantastic gifts.)

I look forward to seeing your favorite place in nature!