Director's Note 1/1/17

I have been on the lookout for the vivid sunsets that I associate with this time of year, when the sun sinks below the southwestern tree line while I'm still at my desk. Through the shortening days of December, and the quiet time between the holidays--when we are "officially" closed but still at Lynden daily--the sunsets remained subdued when they weren't obliterated by clouds. But yesterday afternoon I caught that greenish tinge that fills the air closest to the earth in the winter, and when I went to lock the gate the stars and moon were particularly bright in the cold night.

Several of you took advantage of our semi-open state last week to visit Lynden. There were many questions about the ice, and as the cold weather firmly established itself yesterday, Tuesday's puddles--what an extensive, grey melt it was on that day--have frozen, leaving a mixed terrain of smooth and bumpy areas. We will take a closer look on Friday and see if skating will be possible this weekend.

Ice skating or not, we are packing two of our favorite winter events into January this year: Light Up the Garden--which concludes with a lantern-lit night walk and bonfire--and Winter Carnival. Organizer Reece Ousey has invited artist (and former Lynden employee) Miguel Ramirez to create the latest addition to his series of miniature golf holes. We are also launching, with our first dog day of the year, a new partnership with Central Bark Mequon; as our dog day sponsor they promise to introduce some new canine wrinkles.

The winter brochures are back from the printer. The weekly art drop-ins are due to resume next week, and will be supplemented by an extended art drop-in on January 16. It's all about feeding the birds at Tuesdays in the Garden on January 17, building and ornamentation is the focus of the homeschool day on the 19th, and theme for the School's Out Workshop on the 30th is "take it apart/put it back together." Leslie Perrino returns for an enameling workshop on January 22, and Bruce Knackert examines the care of works on paper as part of the conservation framing series on January 29.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed to our annual campaign, renewed a membership, or purchased memberships as gifts. With your support, we have built a lively laboratory for artists, students, and teachers at Lynden, and created a place of respite in turbulent times. With your continued support, we hope to flourish in 2017.