Director's Note 12/1/11
The leaves are mostly gone and it’s getting dark very early, so it must be time to think about winter. But we will remain in the more expansive part of autumn for one more weekend: we are open as usual this Friday, Saturday and Sunday for those interested in a postprandial stroll. It is the final weekend for Dressing the Monument, though a few pieces may remain onsite or will re-emerge in the spring. Artists Tobias Madison and Kaspar Müller generously donated their sculpture, Bora Bora Structure for Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee, to Lynden, and we look forward to many years of swinging on it. (This is one of the few sculptures we encourage visitors to climb on, sit in and otherwise use.) Heather Eiden is offering another yoga workshop on Sunday, to round out your Thanksgiving weekend. She will be exploring the sacral chakra, the seat of creativity.
Although we don’t move nearly as many sculptures indoors as we have in the past, Samuel Buri’s cows have taken up residence by the pool, joining George Rickey’s Peristyle—Three Lines.
On December 4 we invite you into the studio to make terrarium pendants in a giftmaking workshop. Package your pendant with a Lynden membership for a gift that lasts all year long. (And while we’re talking about gifts, we are happy to produce gift certificates for memberships, studio classes and camps. Just drop me an email and we’ll take care of it.)
We are, of course, beginning to think about ice skating. Once it gets cold enough, we need to consider the complexities of maintaining a skateable surface for more than a day or two. I’m considering a Friends of Lynden Ice Skating group—any takers? I’ll be sending out word on ice skating via this e-list, so if you’re a skater, stay tuned.
We’re also planning the Second Annual Winter Carnival, scheduled for Saturday, February 11. We think the near-conjunction with Valentine’s Day will prove particularly auspicious. And we’re time-traveling straight into summer with our Summer Camp schedule, which we hope to post as early as next month. Watch for several new camps, including a collaboration with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Finally, for the artists out there: we have added an opportunities page to the Nohl website. The first opportunity coming up is the opening of the Suitcase Export Fund on December 1. If you have an exhibition or screening outside the four-county area, be sure to get your application in early. On January 28 we co-host a Creative Capital Grant Information Session here at Lynden—don’t forget to RSVP. Finally, we’d like to congratulate the seven winners of the 2011 Nohl Fellowships: Nicolas Lampert, Brad Lichtenstein and Sonja Thomsen (in the established category); and American Fantasy Classics (Brittany Ellenz, Liza Pflughoft, Alec Regan and Oliver Sweet), Richard Galling, Hans Gindlesberger and Sarah Luther (emerging artists).
I see ice on the lake, not enough to skate on, but enough to float on the surface, and yesterday I watched a fox as it trotted across the western edge of the lawn, heading straight for Liberman’s Axeltree. We have reverted to our winter hours. Yes, it’s cold, but you can come inside: we have installed a new exhibition and re-hung much of the art on the first floor. As the holidays approach we hope you consider making a gift of a Lynden membership, studio class or summer camp. Or, now that we’re closed to the public on Saturdays, you could host an event at the garden one afternoon.
