Fee: $29/$24 members - includes an autographed copy of Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories, refreshments from MKE Localicious, and admission to the sculpture garden. Register by phone at 414-446-8794.

Margy Stratton, founder and executive producer of Milwaukee Reads produces this series of events featuring writers of particular interest to women.

Lynden Sculpture Garden's Women's Speaker Series and Boswell Books welcome Kelly Barnhill, author of Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories, to the Lynden Sculpture Garden, Thursday, March 1, 7 pm.

About Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Kelly Barnhill comes a stunning first collection of acclaimed short fictions, teeming with uncanny characters whose stories unfold in worlds at once strikingly human and eerily original.

When Mrs. Sorensen’s husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an unsuitable mate in “Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch.” In “Open the Door and the Light Pours Through,” a young man wrestles with grief and his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved. “Dreadful Young Ladies” demonstrates the strength and power—known and unknown—of the imagination. “The Insect and the Astronomer” upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award–winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret, magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead.

By an author hailed as “a fantasist on the order of Neil Gaiman” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the stories in Dreadful Young Ladies feature bold, reality-bending fantasy underscored by rich universal themes of love, death, jealousy, and hope.

Jim Stingl of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviews Dreadful Young Ladies here.

About the Author

Kelly Barnhill writes books. It is a strange job, but, to be fair, she is a strange woman, so perhaps it makes sense. She is a former teacher, former bartender, former waitress, former activist, former park ranger, former secretary, former janitor and former church-guitar-player. The sum of these experiences have prepared her for exactly nothing – save for the telling of stories, which she has been doing quite happily for some time now.

She received the Newbery Medal in 2017, as well as fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the McKnight Foundation. She is the winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Parents Choice Gold Award, the Texas Library Association Bluebonnet, and a Charlotte Huck Honor. She also was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the Andre Norton Award and the PEN/USA literary prize. She has been on the New York Times bestseller list for a bunch of weeks now, as well as the Indie Besteller list. She is the author of the novels THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, THE WITCH’S BOY, IRON HEARTED VIOLET and THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK, as well as the novella, The Unlicensed Magician. She has also written a bunch of grownup-ish short stories of various descriptions (Literary, Speculative, Odd and Otherwise) that have appeared in a variety of venues, as well as essays, poetry, and a small collection of very strange nonfiction books for elementary students. She is a teaching artist with COMPAS, a statewide community arts program.

She has three completely fabulous children, an astonishingly talented husband (his name is Ted Barnhill and he designs beautiful and sustainable houses – including the one where her family lives – and he generally rules). She also teaches, freelances, volunteers, runs, canoes, camps, gardens (though badly), and hikes into the wilderness for days and days. She also bakes pie. It’s a pretty good life, actually.

She has the great fortune to be represented by Steven Malk of Writers House, who, it must be said, is a heck of a fellow.
https://kellybarnhill.wordpress.com/

A Workshop with Claire Hitchock Tilton

Fee: $110/ $99 members (all materials included and you receive a complete weaving kit, including a loom, to take home)
Registration: Registration is closed. Sign up for our e-list for info on future sessions.

In this workshop we learn the basics of tapestry weaving on a handloom. Students will learn how to prepare the looms for weaving and techniques for planning and weaving their own tapestries. We will look at different examples of woven pattern-making as entry point to create our own personal designs. A variety of weaving yarns will be provided, as well as a loom and the basic tools needed for weaving. Because weaving is a lengthy process, your tapestry may not be completed during the workshop, but we will provide all of the materials and skills you need to finish it at home with confidence. No experience required. Please bring a lunch.

About Claire Hitchcock Tilton

Claire Hitchcock Tilton is an artist, designer, and grower from Milwaukee. She works in many fine art and craft media from weaving and woodworking to painting and gardening. Hitchcock Tilton’s work explores the different ways rural and urban landscapes affect her relationship to the land. She studied fibers, ceramics, and woodworking at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and received a BFA in Integrated Studio Arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design where she has also taught fibers classes. Hitchcock Tilton’s time is split between managing the grounds of the Lynden Sculpture Garden and working in her Milwaukee homestead and studio.

A Workshop with David Cobb and David Weissman

Fee: $48/$42 members (includes all materials and snacks)
Registration: Registration is closed. For information on future sessions, sign up for our email newsletter.

Join David Cobb and David Weissman, co-founders of the Milwaukee Craft Guild, in the Lynden shop as take you through the steps of constructing your very own cutting board. The two Davids will guide you through wood selection, gluing, sanding, and finishing to create a unique family heirloom. No prior woodworking experience is needed. The workshop concludes with bread, cheese, and wine to authenticate the boards
 

About the Milwaukee Craft Guild

The Milwaukee Craft Guild is a non-profit organization that helps adults learn crafts through a program of free mentoring. https://www.milwaukeecraftguild.org/

A Workshop with Cary Suneja

Fee: $68/ $60 members (all materials included)
Registration: Advance registration required. Register by phone at 414-446-8794.

Our dreams of summer are so often connected with our gardens, what we are going to plant, and where. Perhaps you joined Claire Hitchcock Tilton for her garden planning workshop last month, or perhaps you have been poring over seed catalogues on your own. Now is the time to make your own blank journal for planning and observing your 2018 garden. Bookbinder Cary Suneja will lead you through all of the steps, from folding and sewing pages, to making a case, to putting the two together to make a beautiful blank book (that opens flat—a boon to gardeners making notes in the field).  Bring along old seed packages or pictures from your favorite seed catalog to embellish your journal.  All materials (except the pictures) and supplies are included.

About Cary Suneja

Cary Suneja is a bookbinder and marble artist who learned her craft at the Book Restoration Co. in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she trained with James Twomey. She opened the Tea Cup Bindery in Menomonee Falls in 2006.

Fee: There is a $25 materials fee for this two-day workshop. Fee waivers are available; please contact us by phone at 414-446-8794 for a waiver.
Registration: Registration for this session is closed. To sign up for the next session, Tuesdays, April 10 & 17, click here.

Legacy Lights workshops combine artmaking, writing, and essential questions for elders who are pondering their legacy: What is my legacy? What’s the gift/message I wish to leave? What is my special, unique light? Working with David Moss, founder of The Illumignossi Project, you will make your own richly-decorated lamp while exploring your legacy. It’s about discovering meanings in our full, complex, messy lives and connecting with others through artmaking and sharing stories, traditions, memories, hopes and dreams.

Legacy work isn’t about death and dying, it’s about life and living. Leaving a legacy lamp gives loved ones something tangible to hold on to, something that can provide healing and comfort year after year, and generation after generation. Workshop participants, regardless of their artistic background, come away with a beautiful lamp—a legacy light--to enjoy…and eventually gift. As important, they come away with a deeper appreciation for their life journey. No prior artmaking skills required; participants must attend both sessions.

This workshop is made possible in part with support from Bader Philanthropies, Inc.

About The Illumignossi Project

Make Lamps.  Spread Light.  Share Wisdom.

Illuminating life’s journey is the core of The Illumignossi Project’s philosophy. When we can see life as a journey that’s rich with opportunities for growth and learning, horizons widen and meaning deepens. Like any journey, there are unexpected twists and turns; easy passages and passages that are dark and narrow; tedious portions and moments that are remarkable and sacred.
Now think of light and all that it symbolizes: Warmth, clarity, illumination, understanding, love, healing, hope and inspiration.

Our goal? A little more light for life’s journey. From cradle to grave, we have initiatives that can ease life’s dark, challenging passages or hallow life’s hallmark events. Our unique lamp making process and the beautiful lamps our participants create from natural, handmade papers and materials are surrounded with layers of meaning to help provide light for life’s journey. During the lamp making process connections are made, wisdom is shared, healing is fostered and inspiration is nourished. Whether our workshops are a welcome respite, a positive inflection point along life’s path, or an illuminating flashpoint – a little light, warmth and shared wisdom is always welcome. Gifted to another or kept by its maker, each lamp is its own beautiful, unique symbol that helps provide some welcome light and comfort for life’s journey.

A Workshop with Jane Moore

Fee: $60/ $50 members (all materials included)
Registration: This workshop is now full. Sign up for our e-list for info on future sessions.

Wet felting is an ancient and magical hands-on fiber art process. In this workshop we will use our imaginations and colorful wool fibers and yarns to lay out unique designs for our table runners. Next, prepare for an arm workout and some splashing as we use soap and water to roll and transform our fibers into felt cloth.

No experience required. We have aprons, but please wear clothes suitable for artmaking and bring an old bath-sized towel.

About Jane Moore

Jane Moore is a lifelong fiber artist. She has been an avid felt artist for thirteen years and has studied with internationally renowned felt artists. Her work has been featured in many galleries in the Milwaukee area.

Free to members or with admission to the sculpture garden. Younger children should be accompanied by an adult.

Get a jump on planting season by creating an indoor mini sprouting garden inside a found object. Bring an object to recycle into a planter, or choose one of ours. Your planter should be able to hold up to two cups of soil; we’ll add a drainage hole if it doesn’t have one. Some plantings can be transferred to your yard after the last frost. Seeds and soil provided.

Free to members or with admission to the sculpture garden. Younger children should be accompanied by an adult.

As the snow and ice melts, we will embark on an all-ages painting project that explores wet media and the uncontrollable, ever-changing nature of water. Using ice, snow, and water colored with pigment, we’ll take the spontaneous imagery created as water changes from one state to another as the starting point for our paintings.

Free to members or with admission to the sculpture garden. Younger children should be accompanied by an adult.

Tony Smith, whose Wandering Rocks (1967-69) is in Lynden’s outdoor sculpture collection, is also represented in our current exhibition, Small Works by Sculptors in the Bradley Family Foundation Collection, by a series of five posters illustrating the polyhedra nets for each of the pieces that make up that sculpture: Crocus, Slide, Dud, Shaft, and Smohawk. Suffering from tuberculosis as a child, the artist spent hours by himself making buildings and miniature cities from small medicine boxes. He returned to that pastime as an adult when recovering from a car accident; it is from this work with geometric solids that some of Smith’s Minimalist vocabulary emerged. Visit the posters in the exhibit and Smith’s work in the garden, then join us to make your own model of Wandering Rocks by cutting, folding, and gluing the images shown in the posters.

A Workshop with Leslie Perrino

Fee: $90/ $80 members (all materials included)
Registration: Advance registration required. Register by phone at 414-446-8794. Leslie Perrino is offering another session of this workshop on August 5.

Fusing is an ancient technique used to permanently connect precious metals, in this case, fine (pure) silver wire. Cleaner, faster, and less toxic than soldering, fusing involves the use of a hand torch. Leslie Perrino will show you how to fuse fine silver wire into loops that can then be made into earrings complete with earwires. Once you master the techniques, you will have time to make more earrings. No experience required, this workshop is suitable for complete beginners or those looking to expand their jewelry-making skills. All materials and tools supplied. You are welcome to bring beads to add to your earrings.

About Leslie Perrino

Leslie Perrino is an artist and "art evangelist" who loves to share the power of art and creativity with people, particularly in her beloved areas of metals and enameling. Her artwork is a quirky mix of traditional and found objects, most recently combining computer/electrical components with enamels. She is a charismatic and effective teacher who encourages skill building and exploration of the medium.