Join the Summerville Artist Guild for a peaceful and inspiring morning of nature journaling at Magnolia. This immersive two-hour experience begins with a brief introduction, followed by time spent exploring the gardens—observing, sketching, and photographing the natural world around you. Then, return to the Magnolia Workshop to turn your field notes and sketches into your own personalized nature journal.

About the Instructor: Leigh Mincks

Dr. Leigh Mincks has been an art educator and educational collaborator for 34 years in public education to include pre-school, elementary, and middle school levels, most recently teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the University level in Missouri. During her career in public art education, she also served as a member for the Missouri Fine Arts Curriculum Revision Committee, served as Team Leader / Content Coordinator for the Arts Department for North Kirkwood Middle School and served on various district committees.

Mincks’ passion for creating learning for all students to advance themselves as “intelligent literate artists” reinforced the practice, skills and exploratory opportunities promoted within her curriculum. Her students maintained a daily sketchbook, practiced reflective journaling, shared cognition as a class community, celebrated both process and product of art making during learning and personal skill development of ceramics, drawing, fibers, painting, printmaking and sculpture using various 2D and 3D media.

As an artist, Mincks embraces color, texture and abstract design inspired by nature while creating mixed media collaġe, handmade sculptural books and fiber arts. Playing with purpose in the studio is an integral component to her on going art making. As a newly retired art educator, time now is happily occupied by her grandchildren!