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Sensory Deep Dive: A Nature Journal Lab with Kate Rutter

$50.00

Surf the human umwelt*, connect with your unique personal qualia*, and expand your sensory vocabulary in this embodied observation session. In this Lab guided by Kate Rutter, we'll use Nature Journaling methods to observe, to explore, and to evoke the sensory nuance of a specific subject from nature, seeing it in fresh and novel ways through sound, smell, touch, and taste.

After a welcome and brief introduction, we'll have a series of guided prompts for exploring your chosen subject through multiple senses, followed by small-group sharing in breakout rooms. We'll wrap with a group Q&A, discussion, and closing circle. You'll leave with a deepened vocabulary for your own qualia and related images and free-writing prose. You'll also have the skills to apply these prompts and methods across a range of sensory experiences.

Please bring:

  • An edible item from nature, such as a piece of fruit or a veggie, a sprig of herbs, an edible plant. Something unprocessed and with a little complexity works best. Feel free to bring a particular nature or culture food that is meaningful to you and/or your work.

  • Pen or pencil

  • Blank paper or journal/notebook

  • Colored pencils or watercolors (or any color media you like to work with, such as markers, crayons, pastels...)

  • Printout of Lab Manual handout ( will be sent prior to session)

  • A knife, cutting board, and napkin or cloth

* Umwelt: the world as it is experienced by a particular organism.

* Qualia: instances of subjective, conscious experience.

Thursday, November 20, 2025, 12-1:30 PM Central Time
Live online

Surf the human umwelt*, connect with your unique personal qualia*, and expand your sensory vocabulary in this embodied observation session. In this Lab guided by Kate Rutter, we'll use Nature Journaling methods to observe, to explore, and to evoke the sensory nuance of a specific subject from nature, seeing it in fresh and novel ways through sound, smell, touch, and taste.

After a welcome and brief introduction, we'll have a series of guided prompts for exploring your chosen subject through multiple senses, followed by small-group sharing in breakout rooms. We'll wrap with a group Q&A, discussion, and closing circle. You'll leave with a deepened vocabulary for your own qualia and related images and free-writing prose. You'll also have the skills to apply these prompts and methods across a range of sensory experiences.

Please bring:

  • An edible item from nature, such as a piece of fruit or a veggie, a sprig of herbs, an edible plant. Something unprocessed and with a little complexity works best. Feel free to bring a particular nature or culture food that is meaningful to you and/or your work.

  • Pen or pencil

  • Blank paper or journal/notebook

  • Colored pencils or watercolors (or any color media you like to work with, such as markers, crayons, pastels...)

  • Printout of Lab Manual handout ( will be sent prior to session)

  • A knife, cutting board, and napkin or cloth

* Umwelt: the world as it is experienced by a particular organism.

* Qualia: instances of subjective, conscious experience.

Thursday, November 20, 2025, 12-1:30 PM Central Time
Live online

This is a live, participatory lab and it will not be recorded. A meeting link will be emailed a few days prior to the lab. Cancellations must be made 48 hours prior to the lab and will be charged a $10 cancellation fee. Partial scholarships may be available. Apply here by 11/10/25.

Kate Rutter is an avid nature journaler, sketchnoter, graphic facilitator, and designer who helps people make creative connections with nature through observation, curiosity, and wonder. A lifelong sketcher with an experimental and rambunctious visual practice, she creates visual explanations that make complex ideas simple, memorable, and shareable. Kate’s education work spans online teaching, corporate and nonprofit trainings and conferences, and nature journal workshops at public & private gardens and nurseries. Kate is a board member of the Wild Wonder Foundation and holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Wellesley College. She instas at @katerutter and blogs at www.intelleto.com.