Wild ImaginationExploring Creative Ecology
This is an immersive, hands-on course where you’ll learn to create art directly in cooperation with the world around you — utilizing the elements of fire, water, air, and earth.
Module 1Earth
In this opening module, we dig into the earth beneath our feet, journeying with earth-artists and pigment makers, Lucy Mayes and Mirella Salame.
Chapter 1
Introduction to Wild Imagination with Hannah Close
Chapter 2
Module 1: Earth with Hannah Close
Chapter 3
Bonding with a Tree with Mirella Salamé
Chapter 4
Introduction to a Pigment-Making Practice with Lucy Mayes
Chapter 5
Extracting Earth’s Colours with Lucy Mayes
Chapter 6
Transforming Clay into Colour with Lucy Mayes
Chapter 7
Closing Thoughts: Pigments as Storytellers with Lucy Mayes
Module 2Water
During our second module we dive deep into the element that connects us all – water. With Leya Tess and Anna Selby, we explore how this vital element infuses our lives with creative energy.
Chapter 1
Module 2: Water with Hannah Close
Chapter 2
Moving Water Mindfulness Exercise with Leya Tess Anderson
Chapter 3
Three Poems in Place with Anna Selby
Chapter 4
Step Outside: Poetry Awaits with Anna Selby
Chapter 5
A Way to Feel Into with Anna Selby
Module 3Air
In this module, we’re joined by Hanna Tuulikki and Sam Lee for an imaginative foray into the most ubiquitous of elements – air.
Chapter 1
Module 3: Air with Hannah Close
Chapter 2
Making More-Than-Human Kin with Hanna Tuulikki
Chapter 3
Towards Whaleness with Hanna Tuulikki
Chapter 4
Opening Notes with Sam Lee
Chapter 5
Tellers of the Land with Sam Lee
Chapter 6
Every Species Has a Song with Sam Lee
Chapter 7
The Air is Changing with Sam Lee
Module 4Fire
During our final module, we ignite our creative practice with the guidance of fire, Jiordi Rosales and Julie Brook.
Chapter 1
Module 4: Fire with Hannah Close
Chapter 2
Working with the Elements with Julie Brook
Chapter 3
Introduction to the Firestacks with Julie Brook
Chapter 4
Integrating Fire with Julie Brook
Chapter 5
Firestack Diary Entries with Julie Brook
Chapter 6
Fire Your Imagination with Julie Brook
Chapter 7
In Relationship to Fire with Jiordi Rosales
Chapter 8
From Fire Ecology to Fire Climate with Jiordi Rosales
Chapter 9
Becoming a Fire Janitor: Responsibility for the Land With Jiordi Rosales
Chapter 10
Death and Renewal in Prescribed Burning with Jiordi Rosales
Chapter 11
Closing Thoughts with Hannah Close
Nature is an artist, and we are nature.
This course invites you to nurture a deeper, more imaginative relationship with the living world.
Through the practice of Creative Ecology, we’ll explore how engaging creatively with the rest of life inspires ecological storytelling and stewardship, strengthens our sense of belonging to place, and fosters an Earth-centred way of living – now more necessary than ever.
With guidance from seasoned practitioners, including Robert Macfarlane, Mirella Salamé, Sam Lee and Charlotte Du Cann, a supportive group of creatives, and an embodied practice rooted in the elements, we’ll seek out ways to ‘express the Earth’ (Kenneth White) with sensitivity and attentiveness. By listening and responding to nature’s voices – from the hum of spring hedgerows to the rhythm of ocean waves – we’ll learn how creativity can help us attune to the life around us, discovering how:
Creativity nurtures a reciprocal relationship with the Earth Ecological storytelling emerges from the interplay between inner and outer landscapes Engaging with creativity as a lifeform in and of itself can reshape our environmental behaviours and values Creative work can be a source of personal healing as well as have an impact on global issues
Guided by the principles of nature as a ‘conversational partner’ (David Whyte) and reality as a ‘creative wilderness’ (Andreas Weber), this course offers a transformative way to collaborate with the living world, and attends to the creative blocks some of us may face in communicating our ecological relationships in meaningful ways.
This is an immersive, hands-on course where you’ll learn to create art directly in cooperation with the world around you — utilizing the elements of fire, water, air, and earth — guided by professional artists and ecological thinkers.
You will learn to work with the living world as both inspiration and material. You’ll make pigments from earth, create art using seawater and beach-found objects, stack fire, write poetry, and engage in mimesis for dance & design inspired by weather, exploring how even microorganisms can shape visual and performance art.
This is not a course for passive learners. You’ll become a fire janitor. An apprentice of the trees and the wind. You’ll practice ecological storytelling with your whole body, in direct connection with your imagination.
With guidance from leading artists and practitioners — including Julie Brookes, Mirella Salamé, Sam Lee, and Charlotte Du Cann — you’ll engage in collaborative sessions that bring together art-making, ecological awareness, and embodied creativity. You’ll use the four elements to explore:
- Earth to make your own pigments and clay-based art
- Water to shape ink, write poetry, and explore coastal textures
- Air to craft sound, weather mimesis, movement, and voice-based practices
- Fire for stacking, ceremonial acts, and transformative creative rituals
And so much more!
Join us at the turn of spring for a deep dive into the imagination of life!
