Director's Note 1/1/12

It’s sunny, it’s warm (for January, anyway) and it’s 2012! Word from the Audubon bird count in December was that there were five bluebirds at Lynden and a cackling goose was spotted. Perhaps not what we, or the birds, were expecting, weather-wise (sorry ice skaters), but definitely a nice time to come to the garden for a walk. You can always retreat indoors to see our exhibition of small sculpture or the new arrangement of work from the collection on the first floor.

We have much planned for the coming months, beginning with our popular Light Up the Garden event on January 15. Drop in between 3 and 5 pm to make a lantern and then join us for a walk around the garden after sunset. We’ll stay open until 6 pm, and there will be cookies and hot cider. If you have children, grandchildren or friends aged 3-12 (or if you are that age and reading this newsletter), consider our Winter Studio Classes. We are offering classes on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings beginning January 17. Heather Eiden resumes her yoga workshops on January 29, focusing on the third chakra, the solar plexus. This workshop will be a little longer, the better to allow you to explore your dreams for the new year.

For the artists out there, don’t forget to register for the Creative Capital Grant Information Session on January 28. (Don’t forget that we continue to post opportunities for artists on the Nohl Fellowship Program opportunities page; there are some new ones up there now.)

At the very end of January we open the Wisconsin Visual Artists Juried Exhibition. The reception will be held on Sunday, February 5 from 3-5 pm. Fo Wilson, artist and assistant professor at Columbia College in Chicago, is jurying the exhibition for the Southeast Chapter of WVA. Our Winter Carnival returns on Saturday, February 11, from 10 am-4 pm. Count on a day of outdoor art-making devised by Sara Caron (last year’s You Snow Grand Prize winner) and Ashley Janke; studio activities; tours; tree walks; and whatever winter activities the weather permits. You can revisit last year’s carnival here, here and here. And of course Heather Eiden will be back at the end of February with her fourth chakra workshop, this one focusing on the heart (in the aftermath of Valentine’s Day!).