It all starts with looking at nature first, but for these sessions we skip that bit and I provide the nature suggestion. And today it was slugs - who doesn’t like a slug?
Whilst I do supply some materials each of the attendees bought one of my nature journal kits to help through their journey. These are available on my website here.
Little did they know that they would be drawing slugs!
Arion ater
Why you must love a slug ... after all, it has texture, colour, shape, character and taste - okay bad taste due to the toxins contained in its mucus. And, it has more than one type of mucus - three in fact. A slug, like a snail is a molusc, but its shell has become internalised ... but back to mucus ... one type helps he/she to "walk" using its foot fringe ... another to stop he/she from drying out.
Look closely at our slug and you will the mucus formed as silver jewels lodged in her/his body. They eat my cabbages, but also fungi, carrion, earthworms, dead plant material and dung. Basically they are a clean-up act. Being hermaphrodite they can self fertilise, but they do prefer a mate, often several - who doesn't eh? What I love about slugs is their noble demeanour. They ask for nothing! In fact ARION means Noble, Spiritual, warlike spirit ... illustrious even!
So let's leave our noble slug to do her/his thing and take delight in the fact that they live a life of love and laughter, unseen by us.
I am not sure that the attendees thought they would come away with such lovely little pictures, nor did they imagine that they would be drawing slugs and walking away thing of this little critter as “Oh Noble Slug”.
You can find the next free taster session will be here. And if you would like to book on a two hour workshop with me at Queens Hall Arts Centre check out the Queens Hall website here.
