Director's Note 1/1/13
The new snow of the new year still dazzles, but it looks like the warming trend will melt it and delay the start of ice skating at Lynden. We measured the ice at the end of last week, and it was getting quite close to a thickness that will not only support skaters but resist sagging... Still, we don’t need snow (just the more reliable darkness) for Light Up the Garden!, our annual lantern making workshop and walk on Sunday.
We’re making the most of Lynden’s winter peace to host three writers—Cynthia Morris, Ann Leary and Sharon Fiffer—for a series of readings and writing workshops. The readings have proven to be a great place to catch up with old friends and meet new bibliophiles over wine and snacks (and to add to your collection of autographed books); the writing workshops accommodate everyone from the aspirant harboring a wish to write to those with a manuscript that needs a jump start. Morris, author of Chasing Sylvia Beach, offers a Paris-inflected reading on January 15 and a writing workshop the following morning that will enable you to embrace your writing impulse. Ann Leary drops in with her new, new book, The Good House, on January 30. And Sharon Fiffer, author of the Jane Wheel mysteries and the blog What I Learned at the EZWay Inn, will be in residence for a weekend in March for a workshop entitled Discovering the Hidden Story. We’ll start that off with a junking junket around Milwaukee to get everyone in the mood to write for two days. We offer a variety of discounts and packages should you want to participate in several of these events.
If pencils aren’t your thing, you can keep your hands busy at our next grow Workshop (don’t forget to drop off your plastic bags to help grow grow) or by registering for our April Silk Scarf Painting Workshop because the January workshop is already full. Sign up early so you don’t miss it!
On January 17 we roll out our first Winter Homeschool Day, and our eight-week Winter Class Session begins on January 22. Classes for children age 4-12 include Explorers’ Studio, Toyshop, Sculpture: Materials and Processes, and Garden Animals. We’re also taking registration for our School’s Out Workshops in February and March, and for our four-week Winter Class Session. This mini-session begins February 16 and includes an art class in French for smaller children; Saturdays in the Trees, a joyful outdoor experience with naturalist Naomi Cobb; and a Story Tiles class for teens and adults with Heather Eiden.
January is your last chance to see our exhibition of paintings by Leo Michelson, and a good time to catch Roy Staab’s installation, Chiral Formation. Or just come for a walk, with or without a dog (the January Dog Day is January 20).
Behind the scenes, Sara Daleiden of the MKE-LAX residency program is wrapping up a residency in the barn; she’s been here to think about residency models and cultural exchange. Artist Emilie Clark will return in early February to work on her June exhibition, Sweet Corruptions. And somewhere in the heart of Riverwest, American Fantasy Classics are laying their plans for the Winter Carnival on February 9.
