Walk With Me In The Storied Gardens Of Bonaventure Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia rests on land once the site of Bonaventure Plantation. The year 1850 saw the first burials in its soil. In his 1916 book, A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf, the man coined “The Father of Our National Park System,” John…

Giant Trolls are Guardians of the Seeds “Giant Trolls in the Forest” is the first in a new collection of Ecopsyched! “Shorts” that will introduce to you nature and art wonders from around the world, each adventure packaged inside three inspired minutes. An Enchanted Forest Upcycle artist, Thomas Dambo, and his team create giant trolls…

A Very Fairy Beach Lighthouse Not My First Fairy Home Annmarie Garden’s annual Fairy & Gnome Home Festival offers children and adults alike an opportunity to get creative. I created my first fairy home for the festival in 2012 with downed bamboo and other natural materials. Complete with tower-top glass domes housing a reading nook,…

Magical Fairies and a GIVEAWAY The Lure of Magic Imagine, me at age *ahem*, sporting my own pair of fairy wings for this adventure (pictured above). They were not provided by the venue where I filmed. Rather, I pulled them from my closet just a few feet from where I type. Haven’t yet sprouted your…

Tiny Upcycling Brainstorming I’ve always found joy and peace in creating art, particularly painting. I more recently found that I thrive in the creative process that comes with upcycling found materials. Putting the figurative puzzle pieces together is as much fun as physically creating the art. But there are times I need to dig deeper…

Bloom of the Cherry Trees The Perfect Day I had been planning for a couple months to visit and film the cherry blossoms at the peak of their bloom. The first day of this peak-blossom time frame came four days earlier than predicted by meteorologists. When I saw the ticker at the bottom of the…

The Golden Bobber “Trashy Treasure” Dreams Dashed During last week’s episode to visit the frogs, I pulled an old tire from the river. As much as finding litter on the trail is upsetting, I admit that I get a twinkle in my eye when I daydream about the upcycle potential of a piece of trash….

The Sound of Spring An Unexpected Experience Walking onto the trail beside the river, I was expecting simply to enjoy the sun on my face and a soft breeze on a warmer-than-average early spring day. My experience was so much more. It was a first for me, and it made me question my worldly notion…

“Trashy Treasures” Bag It’s Not a Bottle (yay) During last week’s outdoor adventure, I navigated main roads and neighborhood side streets as I searched off-script for D.C.’s lesser-known mural artwork. One of these large-scale paintings dresses up the side of the last of a row of modest brick and mortar townhomes. If you look closely,…

This Colorful City The Iconic Murals Washington, D.C. is a hub of culture and art, and the art is not just for galleries. Murals decorate the sides of aging buildings and new construction in this buzzing metropolis. Iconic murals like those outside Ben’s Chili Bowl, change every few years and have featured prominent figures such…

Feeling Steampunked What’s a Steampunk?Many of us have heard the term “steampunk,” though we may not know what it means. If you joined me on last week’s outdoor adventure to Vanadu Art House, you got an eye-full of steampunk art. This art process fuses industrial technology from the 19th century with artistic aesthetics. To illustrate…

A Home Covered in Upcycled Art The House of My DreamsOkay, maybe I don’t want to live in the house, but I’d like to live next door and visit often. As an upcycle artist, I’m enthralled with Vanadu Art House, which happens to be a quick 20 minutes down the road from me. I’m not…

Beautiful Trash Is this a joke?A pizza box, a take-out bag, and a thrift store frame walk into a…studio! You may think we’re headed into a disaster of an upcycle episode with the trash in hand, but I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Hint: the trash was attractive to begin with! What do I have…

Black History Month and a Park Steeped with It Is it my place?I asked myself this question quite a few times as I searched for an outdoor location with a story to celebrate Black History Month. The question wasn’t, “Is this place fitting?” or “Is this story interesting enough?” The question was, “Is it my…

How to Upcycle a Glass Bottle with Graffiti Art and Foil Flowers The Challenge Do you set realistic goals for yourself? Too often, we expect more of ourselves than others hope from us. We are hardest on ourselves when we should be cheering ourselves on for every hurdle leaped, high and low. My biggest obstacles…

The Graffiti Brought Me Here High Rock The platform on top of High Rock in Maryland once launched hang gliders into the skies high above the Pennsylvania valley below. Gliders no longer launch from the rock due to safety concerns, unless permission is granted by local officials. First responders urge visitors to practice responsible behavior…

How to Upcycle Trash You Find in the Mud at a Castle Each of my outdoor adventures offers something different for me and you—a beach one warm day and an abandoned quarry another. Last week’s visit to The Lonely Castle was my favorite so far. I got to be outside, soaking in a cool, sunny…

A Storied Castle It must be this grey, cold winter vibe that has me craving the creepiest of adventures. While the lonely castle does not disappoint, there’s something inspiring in this structure that has lasted more than a century, during much of which it stood empty and neglected. With a new life for the castle…

Getting Colorful This upcycle episode is based on last week’s eerie outing at the abandoned Seneca Quarry Stone Mill. I took inspiration from the site as I dreamed up this week’s artwork. I wanted to find a way to celebrate nature reclaiming the quarry site with the trashy treasures I found. This Ecopsyched! upcycle was…

Seneca Quarry’s Abandoned Stone-Cutting Mill Happy New Year! It’s a brand new year, and I hope it finds you safe and well. I’m grateful for the continued opportunity to share Ecopsyched! adventures in nature and art, and I hope they offer you moments of inspiration. Find yourself outdoors and getting creative this year. I’m kicking…

It’s an Ecopsyched! Holiday Upcycle Join me for this holiday upcycle episode, and discover what becomes of the trashy treasures collected from the river during our last outing. This artsy attempt toes the line between pig and reindeer! With each upcycle project comes some level of intention. I typically imagine the possibilities for my trashy…

The Rooted Holiday Tree One of my favorite holiday memories is trudging through the snow as a child with my family to cut our Christmas tree. I loved being in the woods, the smell of pine sap, and the warmth of holiday feelings. As an adult, I appreciate my Christmas trees rooted and growing tall,…

Chesapeake Bay Upcycle Accomplished! Have you ever seen a pretty piece of trash and thought it would look nice on your mantel? No? Trash rarely reveals its potential without some intention on behalf of the spectator. More often these days, I catch myself staring at metal scraps and driftwood. Perhaps it’s because of my new…

Little Revelations Below the Cliffs I’m psyched to invite you along on my first video adventure. Join me for a zen-ful experience below the cliffs of the Chesapeake Bay. And get a peek at the trashy-treasure that will become the first ever Ecopsyched! upcycle project (tune in next week). I didn’t realize it would be,…

Nature and Arts Adventures Have you ever wanted to sideline the stress and make time for your passion project? Have you ever daydreamed about that project becoming your full-time career? I’ve had this very waking dream more days than I can count. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been working in an exciting career for more…