Director's Note 1/1/15

January 1, 2015

Lynden has reopened, fully decked out in a glorious layer of snow--enough for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. I can see a few footprints out on the grounds, and imagine they belong to Eddee Daniel, who is one of our current artists in residence (you can see some of his photographs on our Facebook page). Pegi Christiansen is also out and about, and her reports on her "distance" project--in which she drives people to Lynden who have never visited before and talks to them about distance--are appearing regularly on our blog. Those of you who have retreated indoors during this very cold weather can follow their adventures from afar.

We hope many of you will venture out for the first Women's Speaker Series event of 2015. Margaret Hawkins, author of Lydia's Party, will be at Lynden for a reading on the evening of January 28, and we promise to keep you warm with lively discussion and treats from MKE Localicious.

In January we offer workshops in ceramics, enameling (our first) and candle mold making for those seeking indoor diversion, and several opportunities to go outdoors for a closer look at winter. Our annual Light Up the Garden event is on January 18: come in the afternoon to make a lantern or drop in at 5 pm for the lantern-lit walk led by naturalist Naomi Cobb. Naomi continues to offer Project FeederWatch trainings and observation sessions (we have four trainings scheduled for January), so consider dropping in to count birds one day between now and early April.

Our current exhibition, Urban Wood Encounter, has been extended through February 21, and we've planned an afternoon of "tree to table" activities on January 24. Join urban wood advocate Dwayne Sperber for a tree walk and exhibition tour, and sign up early for your chance to make your own four-legged stool in a workshop with artist Joseph La Macchia.

Art drop-in resumes this week and runs straight through to the end of May, so there's always something happening on Wednesday afternoons (and all day if school closes for weather conditions that do not preclude driving). Our programs for the very young, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Garden, will be heading outdoors unless it is impossibly cold (otherwise there will be plenty to do inside). Older kids should have some outdoor time during this month's homeschool day (Jan. 22) and school's out workshop (Jan. 26) and we can't forget the dogs, who have their day on January 17.

Inevitably, snow makes us think about our biggest winter festivity, the Winter Carnival. To get you in the mood for this year's carnival on February 7, organized by Braden Baer, we've had Wes Tank put together a series of brief videos celebrating last year's event.

Finally, for those who have been following the Nohl Fellowship activities, January 10 is the final day for the exhibition of work by the 2013 fellows. Two artist events are planned for that afternoon at INOVA: a panel discussion on art and craft with Sheila Held and a performance by Eddie Villanueva.

Looking forward to starting off a new year with you.


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