Harvesting Stories – Nature Journaling with Gelli Plate Printmaking

With Teaching Artists Nia Watson and Rain Black

Join us in the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Garden & Park to harvest not only vegetables and herbs, but also the stories of the plants that grow there. Guided by artists and gardeners Nia Watson and Rain Black, participants will explore nature journaling and learn the playful, hands-on process of Gelli plate printmaking. Using textures and shapes from the garden itself, you’ll create vibrant prints that capture the spirit of the plants and their stories. Each participant will keep some prints for their own journals and contribute others to a shared community collection that will be used in a follow-up workshop on Saturday, November 22. No prior art experience needed—just curiosity and a willingness to see and listen to the garden in new ways.

This program was made possible in part by Southside Tomorrow, a 6-year revitalization program of Community Action Development Bethlehem and the City of Bethlehem, with support from Univest Bank & Trust Co., Embassy Bank for the Lehigh Valley, People’s Security Bank and Trust, PPL Electric Utilities, and Provident Bank.

Registration is encouraged, but not required. Open to ages 4 and up with an adult companion.

Nia Watson, Song Poet & Educator
Nia has evolved into her art form over the last six years. Taking journal entries and transforming them into song poems inspired by life experiences. Influenced by nature, specifically birds, their flying patterns and songs. She creates other visuals as well when inspired. Nia is also a yoga instructor offering diverse classes to the valley for the past decade. She has taught early childhood since 2009.  Currently, Nia is in the midst of learning to be a birth worker to support birthing beings themselves and those who are growing within them from conceiving to postpartum. Her classes and community offerings weave all the parts of herself together. Offering movement with a touch of playfulness and songs to soothe everyone present. Nia has performed here in the Valley, Philadelphia Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro. She hopes to keep learning and growing and sharing the lessons she learns along the way.

Rain Black, M.P.H., CPH (He/They) is an unenrolled Cherokee and Choctaw descendant two spirit artist who specializes in watercolor, beadwork, and nature-based artwork. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Public Health, and Art from Cedar Crest College. He holds a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of South Florida and is Certified in Public Health. They are a community educator with 8 years of experience focusing on topics around domestic and intimate partner abuse, queer and transgender justice, foraged art making, life skills, indigenous approaches to environmental restoration, and public health. They are a founding organizer of Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley and serve on the board of Basement Poetry and Widoktadwen Center for Native Knowledge.
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