Director's Note 10/1/17

October 1, 2017

The goose convention is in full swing at Lynden. Arriving early in the morning, one finds them gathered close to the house. As time passes, and activity increases—children on field trips, the lawn mower making its noisy rounds, the occasional eruption from an irrigation head to relieve the parched trees—they retreat to the lawns adjacent to Big Lake, sometimes settling down to form a black-and-grey carpet, sometimes grazing, sometimes facing all one way with their necks erect.

They seem as unperturbed by the falling leaves as by the chaos in the world—hurricanes, floods, last night’s horrific shooting—but it is clear that they are tuned to the migratory clock, to the larger rhythms of the natural world. And what do we know of their unease? Our weather gyrations of the past few weeks may contribute to our sense of foreboding about the climate, but they have extended the visiting time for those who like to roam the garden in T-shirts.

In October we present some of our quirkiest workshops: sessions that capture the art practices and obsessions of the artists offering them. Among these I would include Maggie Sasso’s Hand Embroidered Badges workshop (October 7). Who doesn’t need to design and make their own badge? Whether you want to start a club of one, commemorate an important event, or think about how to use visual language to reduce your life to a small, hand-sewn emblem, this is the workshop for you. Colin Matthes’s Total Essential Knowledge workshop (October 21), covers similar territory in a different way. Starting with the premise that “no one is an expert in everything and everyone is an expert in something,” Matthes asks you to visualize and share your unique knowledge by drawing it. Although accomplished draftspersons are welcome, Matthes considers drawing a democratic, cross-disciplinary communication tool, and has taught this workshop to everyone from 2nd graders to doctors, poets, and retirees from a variety of vocations.

We also are offering some old favorites and more familiar workshops this month, including Dig & Divide (October 7, just a few spots left), which helps us keep our perennials in order; garlic basket weaving (October 14) and felted bags (October 28), particularly helpful for those who want to get a jump on their holiday giftmaking; and a fall herb walk (October 15) with Kyle Denton.

Be sure to keep an eye on the “coming” section at the bottom of these emails: it gives a brief summary of events coming in the next month. It is in the nature of this newsletter that it goes out like clockwork—if the clock is an ancient grandfather model that slows down or occasionally speeds up—and the best way to avoid missing events at the beginning of each month is to consult this section, our web calendar, or your brochure.

Last call: Katy Cowan’s Inside/Outside exhibition closes this month, as does the Bonsai Exhibit. Fortunately, this is not the last you’ll hear of either. We have acquired one of Cowan’s outdoor sculptures for our permanent collection (more on that anon) and, after a winter rest, the bonsai trees will be back out as soon as weather permits in the spring. Finally, Nohl Fellowship applications are due on Thursday, October 5. And once you celebrate finishing that application, you should consider applying for the Obama Foundation Fellowship (deadline October 6). Don’t forget to hop over to Lynden on October 18 for the Creative Capital Award Information Session.


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