Ah! I remembered that I have black walnut ink I made last fall, so I painted a few more of my doodle backgrounds. I really like the one that I partially painted with water and then added ink to. I tilted it to let the pigment flow and let it dry. 🎨 #blackwalnutink

Slowly tidying up my studio and finding some fun things! Most of you are aware of my *slight* leaf obsession…this is a drawing of one of the largest sycamore leaves I found and pressed a couple of years ago. This is actual size and approx 14”x14”! 🎨🐡🌱 #sycamoreleaves #botanicalart #leafdrawing

What a gorgeous, sunny day! Cold (maybe 18), but so pretty. ☀️ #wintersun #coldbutsunny

Started on the painted shapes this weekend, too! Picked green since I am longing for spring 😂 I really liked how the paint created these tree-like shapes, but they also make me think of continents. 🎨 #watercolor #ink #intuitivedrawing

A colorful set from last night’s creative play. I wanted to use markers for color, something I don’t do often. I very fun! I completed each one individually, but found they almost work together as panels. Neat! 🎨 #markers #ink #drawing #intuitivedrawing

The photos don’t quite capture how beautiful the shimmer is in this Glacial Rivers paint by @beampaints — it has mica in it and is just magical! 🎨#beampaints #glacialriverspaint #shimmerywatercolor

Remember the watercolor doodle challenge from last Feb.? I thought it would be fun to try again. I am not working with any specific prompts, but *am* starting with some circle and hexagon background shapes that I have added watercolor to. Some winter art fun. What are you experimenting with now? 🎨

Caught a beautiful view of the almost full moon last night though some cloud cover along with Jupiter to its lower right. Just gorgeous! 🌕☁️

Ooof! NOAA issued a: << G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm watch >> Peep the latest #SpaceWater #Aurora data 🔭🧪

Took advantage of the clear night and spotted Jupiter. I was able to use the big camera to get a half-decent shot with some moons! The second photo is Saturn and Uranus. Both are a bit blurry, but not too bad! #jupiterandmoons #saturnanduranus #planets

Opening up commissions for custom, hand-drawn house portraits and pet portraits! These make wonderful gifts. I just completed several over the holidays and received really lovely notes from the recipients. #houseportraits #petportraits www.ccreechstudio.com

Enjoying the snow, but also also enjoying the thought of summer wildflowers. I started a series nearly 2 years ago and am looking forward to continuing it! #wildflowers #inkandcoloredpencil #bluelobelia #cardinalflower #prairieconeflower 🌱🎨🐡

The miscellaneous projects continue! Remember all those leaves I couldn’t stop picking up last fall? Most went under paper towels and books. I was surprised to see how many retained their color, so into self-laminating pouches they went! #leafpreservation #fallleaves #driedleaves 🎨🍁🌱

After finishing the last house portrait earlier this week, I spent sometime playing last night with a circle cutter and card stock. No ideas in mind, just an interest in shape and color. What do you find yourself playing with, artistically? #curiosity #artplay #rainbow #coloredcircles

It has been minute since I introduced myself. Hello! I am Carol, the artist and maker behind CCreech Studio. Curiosity leads the way here! More specifically, curiosity about the natural world and a deep pull to create. I do lots of drawing, but also love the tactile challenge and satisfaction of

Started playing with journaling on my calendar! Added some color, made a few notes for January. I also decided to make circular cutouts for each full moon this year and note the weather conditions, sketch what I saw (or didn’t see), etc. 🐡🎨🌕 #calendar2026 #naturejournal

Glad I took some photos of the Wolf supermoon last night! We may have clouds tonight. It was so beautiful and large in the sky. Check it out if you can tonight! 🌕

Happy New Year’s Eve! Looking forward to a creative, nature-filled 2026! Still need a calendar? My downloadable, Circular Celestial Calendar is a great way to track sky-phenomenon and also add your own notes throughout the year. 🌕🌎 www.ccreechstudio.com/product/2026...

And a hearty welcome to all the new followers of late! I hope you enjoy my artistic meanderings and share your own!

2025 Year in Review! I don’t usually get around to this, but thought it would be fun to recap my artistic explorations for the year. And explorations and experiments seemed to come forth, including a revival of an old favorite in pen and ink art. 🐡🎨🌱

Beautiful, cold, clear and sunny day for a winter solstice walk! #matthaeibotanicalgardens @matthaeinichols #wintersolsticewalk

I so enjoy our annual neighborhood tradition. Last night, luminaria were placed throughout the streets. It was a beautiful night—cold and clear. Made for a very peaceful and beautiful walk as we approach solstice tonight. #luminaria #wintersolstice2025 #solstice 🌞🌑

Finishing up some house portraits this season and reminding myself of ones done over the years. May need to put some commissions back in the rotation! #penandinkhouseportraits 🏡

Put it in a binder, or hang it on the wall! Color it, add notes or drawings—whatever you like! *You* can decide how you want to use it. Get immediate access to the downloadable file. Makes a great gift for yourself or your favorite nature enthusiast! 🐡🎨🌕 www.ccreechstudio.com/product/2026...

Printed out the Celestial Circular Calendar today on 65lb white cardstock and it turned out beautifully! Attached with three small binder rings, the pages can be separated without damage. I plan to add a limited amount of print calendars to my site. #2026calendar #circularcalendar

And this moon stuff is why I couldn’t help making my own calendar for 2026! A sneak peek below. If you enjoy journaling your nature observations, you just might love this. 🎨🐡🌕 www.ccreechstudio.com/product-cate...

Well, this beautiful Cold Moon called for some moon cookies tonight 😊 And it is throwing some great shadows through the trees, too! 🌕

FREE! I have added three, free coloring pages for download. The are original artworks that I created for the “All Along the Atlantic” and “Backyard Pollinator.” They can be found on the Art section of my shop. Link in bio. Enjoy! #coloringpages 🐡🌱🎨 www.ccreechstudio.com/product-cate...

I have been working on a little something… Check out my new, Circular Celestial Observation Calendar for 2026! A PDF downloadable designed specifically to allow *you* to add your own notes and drawings during the year. The sale price runs through Sunday! 🌕 🌎🐡🌱 www.ccreechstudio.com/product/2026...

While most of town is watching the big game, I took advantage of an early kickoff to make a run to the botanical garden before the snow started. Lots of pretty things to see! Some great recipes throughout the conservatory for their edible plants exhibit. 🌱#matthaeibotanicalgardens

I patted them dry yesterday and they are beautiful! The colors are well-preserved and they are flexible, unlike the dried/pressed ones. You can see a comparison in the pairs of leaves. Pretty cool! (Note: glycerin water can clog pipes, so dispose of it properly.) #leafpreservation #autumnleaves 🍂🍁

Leaf preservation experiment! I had read about using glycerin and water to preserve leaves, so I gave it a try this year. Using a 2:1 ratio of water to vegetable glycerin, I soaked a number of leaves for about 4 days (paper plate weights.) #leafpreservation #autumnleaves #glycerinwater 🍁🍂

Managed to catch some aurora tonight, even with that glorious full moon! #auroraborealis

A massive rewilding project in Ukraine is proving helpful for the wellbeing of veterans as well as helping large natural areas recover.

The full, Beaver super moon is looking spectacular tonight! #supermoon #beaversupermoon 🌕

So we often see doe and fawns, but today we had the whole family! This beautiful buck kept an eye on the doe and the baby buck as they fed. #deer 🦌

Capturing as much color as I can before it fades! The sun, sky and light have been gorgeous lately. And, of course, more beautiful leaves to pick up. #autumncolors #fallleaves🍁🍂

Squeezing in some good walks between rain this week. The colors are looking good! As usual, I can’t resist picking up some favorites. #autumnleaves #leafcolors 🍁

Not sure what prompted all the new followers, but welcome! Glad to have you here, following along with my latest artistic explorations and nature finds. Speaking of which, it has been dry around here, but there still is some good color coming on! I love these almost-fluorescent reds. 🍁 #autumnleaves

Results! I rinsed the fiber and the color was a beautiful, medium brown. After washing and drying, it lightened a bit. I also reduced some of the dye to make ink and noted some swatches in my sketchbook. To prevent mold growth, I added about a tablespoon of alcohol to the ink. #blackwalnutink

The process! I simmered the green hulls for about 4 hours and left the mixture overnight, squishing the hulls with my spoon to extract as much dye as possible. I strained the dye into a bucket using a fine mesh laundry bag. I alum-mordanted my fiber and soaked it in the dye for 2 days. #blackwalnut

That beautiful Harvest Moon is shining bright tonight! #harvestmoon #fullmoon 🌕

Black walnut dye, in-progress! I gathered about 60 and took my smashing rocks to them, (easier to crack), discarded the nuts (our squirrels will be happy) and am simmering the hulls in about 1.25 gallons of water for about 5 hours and soak overnight. Figuring out what I will dye later! 🌱🎨

The dahlias at County Farm Park are still going strong! A little dry, but looking good. 🌱#dahlias #fallblossoms #countyfarmparka2

Rest in peace, Dr. Goodall.

And that’s a wrap for SciArt September 2025! I love seeing all of the drawings together. Were they perfect? Nope. I am more fascinated by the process of each day, researching, deciding what to draw and keeping the momentum going. Congrats to all who could participate! 🎨🐡 #sciartseptember2025 #sciart

SciArt September, Day 30: Dream (shared future.) My dream of a shared future includes putting our beautiful planet first. Adaptations, balance, collaboration and diversity are all key components of this. 🐡🎨🌎 #earthfirst #dream #sciartseptember2025 #sciart

SciArt September, Day 29: Foresight (shared future.) Climate change is a major issue affecting our shared future. Attention to environmental management in addition to our built environment can be help to mitigate its effects. 🐡🎨 #foresight #climatechange #sciartseptember2025 #sciart

SciArt September, Day 28: Harvest. Manoomin is the Anishinaabe and Ojibwe name for wild rice. This sacred grain is traditionally harvested using a canoe and knocking stick to bend the rice stalks over the canoe and collect the grains. 🐡🎨🌱#sciartseptember #manoomin #harvest

SciArt September, Day 27: Bounded (people.) The state of Michigan, with its two peninsulas, is bounded by four of the five Great Lakes. It has the longest freshwater coastline in the U.S. at 3,288 miles. 🐡🎨 #sciartseptember2025 #bounded #michigan #freshwatercoastline #sciart