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Art Culture Nature Workshops, Hoi An (2026)

11/11/2021

Have you ever looked at a dragonfly closer ?
Yes, it's a challenge! Those flying predators are always on the move. Their large eyes offer a perfect vision that helps them to avoid any potential threat. You'd better aim for early hours or end of the day when the dragonflies will find a spot to rest. Night can be a very good time to discover some of them quietly sleeping among the vegetation (like the one on this photo). As their activity depends on temperature, cloudy colder days will keep them unable to fly (which mean as well a death sentence if it lasts too long).

In Vietnam, a traditional myth related to dragonflies says that if one of them bites the belly button of a kid, this one will know how to swim... With most of their life spent underwater as a larvae, dragonflies know for sure a lot about aquatic world but no magic involved here. And, if you wonder, big dragon fly species could eventually try to bite if they're handle but they're unable to go through human skin. So those impressive hunters are only a threat to invertebrates.

Photo © https://www.instagram.com/le_songe_du_bulbul/

06/11/2021

How many pollinators can you name ?
Much attention is focused on Honey bees. People often don't even know that Bees family actually counts over 20 000 species currently know in the world. Many of them play essential roles in ecosystems. If you start to look at other groups as well, you quicly discover that interactions between plants and animals are much more diverse and complex that you could imagine !

Keeping a diversity of local plants in your garden and offering hides for insects is a nice contribution to preserve local pollinators ! Let's do it !

Photo © https://www.instagram.com/le_songe_du_bulbul/

02/11/2021

𝙲𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚢 & 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 !
We have been really lucky with our Aʀᴛ & Nᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ Aᴜᴛᴜᴍɴ Wᴏʀᴋsʜᴏᴘ ! First with a blessed weather, in the middle of a very rainy weeks, we had 3 sunny and bright days, perfect for our activities. Then with a super dynamic and enthusiast group of participants from Hoi An.
Bridget & Jean combined their approaches to create fun discoveries of an underrated biodiversity just on our doorsteps. Kids were then able to unleash their creativity to give birth to a giant insect !
Thanks to MÙA for accomodating us.
We are very looking forward to the next event ! Stay tuned and don't miss our Private Workshops and Classes (for kids and adults)!
MÙ
MÙA

29/10/2021

Create drama in your watercolours with strong, direct light sources, deep shadows and graded backgounds. If you would like to know more about how to achieve effects like this and many others, drop us a line.

02/10/2021

Coming soon - 3 day Autumn Workshop from 20-22nd October at MUA - Tra Que. Discover the weird and wonderful world of nature and be involved in a supersizing art project!

If you would like more details about the programme, please message us and we will send you workshop plan with timings and prices.

30/09/2021

The mesmerizing activity of men inside the large fishing nets is also well known by local birds !
The Black-napped tern (𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢) can quickly spot the activity around a net and get closer to catch small fishes. An easy buffet that doesn't impact human's activity (birds are usually catching the escaping fishes). During breeding season, some birds can be seen catching fishes on Hoi An coast and flying back to Cham Islands...
Have you ever observed any tern around where you live?
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If you want to know more about local birds and biodiversity, drop us a message to join our "Introduction to Ornithology Workshop" or any of our nature/art workshops for kids and adults.

25/09/2021

Unexpected visitor !
Usually observed in rocky areas, cliff and vertical landscapes, this Blue rock thrush (𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴) is, as you can guess through its name, linked to mineral.
During migration, this species will look for stops offering similar charateristics to its preffered habitats. Human constructions, especially big temples, churches, or even high buildings are the best spots to look for this beautiful thrush before and after breeding season.
Keep your eyes opened !
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Photo ©https://www.instagram.com/le_songe_du_bulbul/

23/09/2021

The dragon with the rice bowl eyes.
If you enter the central courtyard of the Quang Trieu (Cantonese) assembly hall in Hoi An, you will find yourself standing in front of a magnificent, mosaiced dragon fountain. This writhing, creature and its accompanying koi and turtle is a masterpiece of art and sculpture which easily rivals anything that was produced by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona ! If this fountain was in Europe, it would also be a famous tourist attraction!

This quiet courtyard provides a cool, afternoon refuge from the streets of Hoi An and is a good place to sit and sketch for an hour.

If you would like to spend an afternoon sketching some of the hidden delights of Hoi An old town with Bridget March, please send us a message.

Artwork: B. March
Photo: mstyslav-chernov.com

21/09/2021

Commonly encountered on the jungle edges, this Stiped-throated bulbul (𝘗𝘺𝘤𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪) is a generalist. It can also venture in more disturbed area, river banks forests, small tree patches between fields or even luscious garden. A bit of patience will definitely help to observe the details of this beautiful bird sometimes neglected by observers.
Widespread species are actually perfect ambassadors for the rich wildlife of the country.
𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙊𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧.
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Photo ©https://www.instagram.com/le_songe_du_bulbul/

17/09/2021

The amazing pomegranate.
One the western entrance of the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An, are relief sculptures of pomegranates. These fruits have symbolized fertility in many cultures but what is truly surprising is that they also have contraceptive properties! Researchers in the 1970s and 80s proved that pomegranates were effective contraceptives in rats and guinea pigs.
Pomegranates are also believed to prevent cancer, Alzheimer's disease and heart disease. They make a refreshing snack, can be added to salads and cocktails and are gorgeous when scattered on hummus!
As with the Buddha's hand fruit on the eastern entrance, these fruits have been coated in pink paint and were, once, coloured with green leaves and red blossom. Take a closer look at the chinks in the paintwork next time you are passing and you will get some idea of what lies beneath.
Photo B.March

16/09/2021

Often referred to as "living jewels", the insects from the Coleoptera Order, are indeed offering a real feast for the eyes with incredible colors. Changing with angle and light, colors and patterns are actually related ot the current health of the animal.
Manipulating light, microscopic structures create what we see.
This stunning Tiger beetle is a common predator as it massive mandibles and large eyes show. Its elytra don't have any pigmentation, the colors we observe are created by a complex multilayer reflector system. For instance, a "structural black" color is when magenta and green iridescence are added. Those impressive adaptations help the insect to go unseen and they actually can be quite difficult to spot on sunny paths where they like to hunt for their preys.
Like for many other discoveries in nature, it might you to look at things a different way, at least by changing your position. Get closer to the ground, move slowly...This is how you can find some unvaluable treasures around...
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𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 ? 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 "𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬", 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧.
𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
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Photo © https://www.instagram.com/le_songe_du_bulbul/

13/09/2021

What to do with a Buddha's Hand fruit.
This fruit appears in the markets at the time of the Lunar New Year and is given a gifts and offerings because it, traditionally, represents longevity and happiness.
The Japanese Bridge in Hoi An has relief sculptures of this fruit on the eastern entrance and, although it is now shrouded in a coat of pink paint, if you look closely you can see fragments of other colours and shards of blue and white pottery peeking through where the paint has been worn or chipped.
It is probable that this bridge was as brightly coloured as other temples, pagodas and shrines in the town. The fruit would have been painted in yellow with green leaves and pink / white blossom and the pierced panel above would have been decorated with ceramic mosaic.
The fruit can be candied and has a heavenly scent (rather like lavender) that can be used to perfume your laundry. It could also be sliced to add to your favourite cocktail.

Photos: B. March

Art Culture Nature Workshops

11/11/2021

06/11/2021

02/11/2021

29/10/2021

02/10/2021

30/09/2021

25/09/2021

23/09/2021

21/09/2021

17/09/2021

16/09/2021

13/09/2021

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