Through a 4-Pane Window

Julia Keats

In my watercolor painting, I made it look like you are looking out a window into the different beauties of Acadia National Park. This painting is my visual interpretation of some of the descriptions Williams uses in her essay. In the top left corner is the “table set with lily pads”, in the top right corner is the “buoys abandoned”, in the bottom left corner is the “lobster tails spent”, and the bottom right corner is the “arch made of cobbles” (Williams, 2017, pp. 93, 88, 107). In her essay, Williams does a wonderful job describing what she sees during her visit at Acadia National Park and it made me feel like I was there with her as I could imagine the scenes in my mind. Using these descriptive words and painting the picture for the visitor of something they may not understand fully about a park is an essential technique in interpretation and environmental education. Visitors are encouraged to create connections with the subject because “descriptive details allow sensory recreations of experiences, objects, or imaginings” (Myers, 1994-2024). Creating these connections helps visitors make sense of what they are seeing (or can’t see) and enables them to give real meaning to these subjects and relate them to their own unique experiences. Using descriptive words in environmental interpretation engages the minds of visitors, promotes a feeling of belonging in a place, and helps visitors understand and appreciate the subjects on a deeper level.

References

Myers, T. (1994-2024). Using Descriptive Detail. The WAC Clearinghouse. https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/detail/
Williams, T. T. (2017). Acadia National Park. In The hour of land: A personal topography of America’s national parks(pp. 83-108). Picador.