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Scraping for Scrapping
By Katherine Stanley – Douthat State Park, Virginia Service and Conservation Corps (VSCC)
As part of my role in the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps, we traveled to Shenandoah River State Park in order to help out with trail renovations.
Using natural pigments from rocks and clay I discovered a new way to show my creativity
We all grabbed hand tools and started chipping away at the clay and stone earth.
I started to see the patterns that the red, yellow, orange, and white rocks made as they blended into the surrounding soil. It looked as if it were transforming into a Jackson Pollock painting the more we scraped away the berm.
I was transfixed by these colors and every time I saw a rock pop out of the solid ground I would scoop it up until I had a collection of five or six different colors.
After work, I took out my art journal to test these pigments with water and light pressure.
This was a wonderful way to decompress at the end of a long trail day. I drew various shapes and plant-like figures. I've been painting with them still. It's a cheap way to come by art supplies after all!
Editor's Note: Katherine Stanley (VSCC) shared how a natural discovery turned into cheap art supplies and a creative way to express herself. If you are interested in finding an art, craft or photography program at one of our parks, click here to search our events database. If you want to find a park to explore and find inspiration on your own, click here.
If you have read the article and have a question, please email nancy.heltman@dcr.virginia.gov.