A Workshop with Leslie Perrino

Fee: $85/ $75 members (all materials included)

Registration: Registration now closed. Sign up for our email newsletter for information on future sessions.

Lynden is offering a series of holiday giftmaking workshops between November 22 and December 14. They range from simple activities suitable for families with smaller children to more advanced workshops for adults. To enhance the celebratory spirit, we will have light refreshments available for participants. Whether you are making a gift for yourself or another, these workshops should provide a cheerful atmosphere for art making as we head into winter. To see a complete list of holiday giftmaking workshops, visit our Workshops page.

This daylong workshop that will explore easy and artful ways to apply dye to pre-hemmed silk scarves. From simple techniques such as tie-dyeing, resist and salt, to interesting ways to make marks, we’ll let ourselves be inspired by the wonderful art and nature surrounding us at Lynden.

Each student will create three wearable and uniquely painted scarves using this centuries-old painting form. We will also make some hand painted silk ribbon to use if you would like to make a gift of one of your scarves. No experience required, and all materials supplied. Remember: using dyes can be messy. We'll supply you with an apron, but please wear clothes that you don't mind getting stained.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting.

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.

Registration closed.

Fee: $25/$20 members (all materials included)
Registration: Space is limited, advanced registration required. If you'd prefer to register by phone, give us a call at 414-446-8794.

Celebrate autumn by learning a traditional twining weave to make a wicker basket. Lynden's Jeremy Stepien will show you how to use willow from the sculpture garden, basket weaving reed, and raffia to add color and texture to the basic weave. No experience required.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting.

A workshop with writer-in-residence Cole Swensen.

Saturday, October 11, 1-5 pm and Sunday, October 12, 10 am-12 noon.

Presented in collaboration with Woodland Pattern Book Center

Photo: Laird Hunt

Fee: $65 general public / $60 for members of Lynden or Woodland Pattern (one discount only)

Register online now.

Lynden Sculpture Garden and the Woodland Pattern Book Center offer a two-day workshop at Lynden with poet and writer-in-residence Cole Swensen. In addition to the workshop, Swensen will offer a closing reading at Lynden on October 12 at 2 pm.

This workshop will work both with and against the sculpture garden; on the one hand, it will attempt to engage the anchored quality of sculpture, and, on the other hand, will harness the energy of continual change that is inherent to any garden. We will engage these two opposing principles through a focus on targeted process. Beginning with three varied ekphrastic exercises, we’ll treat those initial results as raw material to be reframed, reworked, and reconstituted through a dense series of revisionary procedures, some collaborative, some constraint-based, some intensively individual, but all rooted in the conviction that radical transformation can be occasioned by repeated encounters with a work or works of art.

About Cole Swensen

Cole Swensen is a poet whose fifteen books of poetry often respond to or incorporate elements or works of visual art; recent books address 17th century French baroque gardens and the window paintings of Pierre Bonnard, while an upcoming book is based on landscapes seen from train windows accompanied by photographs of the same. Her books have won the SF State Poetry Center Book Award, the Iowa Poetry Prize, and the National Poetry Series and have been finalists twice for the LA Times Book Award and once for the National Book Award. She teaches at Brown University and divides her time between Providence, Rhode Island and Paris, France.

Related Events

Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 2 pm
Closing Reading: Cole Swensen
Fee: $8 general / $7 students & seniors / $6 members; free for workshop participants
This event takes place at Lynden Sculpture Garden and is open to the public. For more information, click here.

A Workshop with Leslie Perrino

Fee: $85/ $75 members (all materials included)

Registration: Space is limited; advance registration required. If you prefer not to pay online, give us a call at 414-446-8794 to register by phone.

This daylong workshop that will explore easy and artful ways to apply dye to pre-hemmed silk scarves. From simple techniques such as tie-dyeing, resist and salt, to interesting ways to make marks, we’ll let ourselves be inspired by the wonderful art and nature surrounding us at Lynden.

Each student will create three wearable and uniquely painted scarves using this centuries-old painting form. No experience required, and all materials supplied. Remember: using dyes can be messy. We'll supply you with an apron, but please wear clothes that you don't mind getting stained.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting.

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.

Fee: Free to members or with admission to the sculpture garden.
Registration: Pre-registration is required, please email us at info@lyndensculpturegarden.org.

Jean Creighton, director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at UWM, was selected by NASA to be an Airborne Astronomy Ambassador on the largest moving astronomical observatory in the world, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). She will talk about her adventures in the stratosphere and about the joys working for NASA. If it's clear, we will finish up by going out on the grounds to look for stars and constellations. Please dress appropriately.

About Jean Creighton

Jean Creighton is the director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has always lived in big cities where the city lights tend to obscure the stars of the night. This may be why she appreciates a planetarium theater. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Creighton grew up in Athens, Greece where her mother claims she showed a great interest in how stars form from the age of five. For Creighton, physics was the gateway to astronomy, so she studied (in the Physics Department) at the University of Athens, graduating in 1991. While writing her honors thesis was on the planet Neptune, she discovered that she wanted more astronomy in her life; she went on to get a master's degree from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Waterloo. After that, she was fortunate enough to be involved in an infrared satellite called WIRE as a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Since September 1999, she has been teaching astronomy at various levels at UWM, becoming director of the planetarium in 2007. "It's great fun to share my excitement with my audience as well as with my own two boys," says Creighton.

Fee: $25/$20 members. Register online now. If you prefer to pay by phone, give us a call at 414-446-8794.

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”
-Rachel Carson

Illustrated nature journals are a way to capture and communicate our observations, impressions, and emotions inspired by experiences in the natural world. The weaving of words with images captured through drawings and photographs can convey a sense of place…and ignite the sense of wonder that is alive in all of us. In this session, we will make artful handmade journals out of recycled materials, engage in writing and drawing exercises to help us hone our observation and communication skills, and explore tools and techniques to help us engage with nature in a meaningful way.

About Janet Moore

For as long as I can remember, I have used art and writing to explore, understand, and communicate my interpretation of the natural world around me. As a working artist and avid nature journalist, I have drawn from nature to create art in many forms, including botanical watercolors that are part of many public and private collections and exhibitions. With a dual B.S. in Art and Environmental Studies from UW-Madison, and in my current work on a Master’s in Environmental Education program at UW-Stevens Point, I’m currently exploring the intersection of art and science in education and in our daily lives. By exploring examples gathered from my personal experiences as an artist, writer, and naturalist, you will be inspired to create art and writing that connects the sensibilities of the arts with the sense of science.

An Evening to Enjoy the Planets

Free to members or with admission to the sculpture garden.

The Lynden Sculpture Garden remains open until 7:30 pm on Wednesdays during the summer months. It's a beautiful time to see the garden, to enjoy a picnic on the grounds, and to take a stroll. We would like more people to enjoy these evenings at Lynden, so on July 23 we're adding some inducements- an astronomy talk, planet gazing, even an appropriately-themed dessert (Transit of Venus cookies anyone?)--to lure you out on a Wednesday night. We've even arranged for Saturn to put on a great show around 9 pm--its rings will be facing Earth at a high angle of tilt--with Mars to follow at 9:30 pm.

Bring your picnics or enjoy delicious soups, salads and more from the Simmer Truck, your dancing feet, your telescopes, your ears and your eyeballs (and don't worry if you don't have a telescope, Rob will provide a 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain or 13" Newtonian telescope).

Here's the schedule:

6-8 pm: Picnic
Grab dinner from the Simmer Truck or pack a picnic and pick a spot on the grass, or a place at one of our picnic tables.
Stroll the grounds, relax by the Big Lake, get to know a sculpture.

8-9 pm: Orientation to the Night Sky: What You'll Be Seeing with Robert Powell

9-10:30 pm: Planet Gazing

About Robert Powell

Robert Powell is an amateur astronomer and member of the Northern Cross Science Foundation, an astronomy outreach organization in Milwaukee's North Shore. In 2003, he was one of six people in Wisconsin to be appointed to NASA's Saturn Observation Campaign. The international outreach program of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was designed to engage youth in the excitement of astronomy.

A two-weekend boat build with All Hands BoatWorks

Six-Hour Canoe

Peace Canoe

Two weekends: Saturday & Sunday, June 21-22 and June 28-29, 9 am-4 pm

Fee: Six-Hour Canoe: $550/$499 members. Peace Canoe: $899/$835 members
This is the fee for a team of two, and you keep the boat you make. Fees include all lumber, glues, fastenings, and a clear coat sealer. Tools will also be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own. Participants will provide their own paints/varnish (to be finished at home) and oars.

Registration: Registration for this workshop is now closed. For further information about All Hands Boatworks workshops, contact Bill Nimke at bill@allhandsboatworks.org.

Have you ever dreamed of building your own boat, but didn’t know where to start? Have you ever wished that you could build something with your partner, child or grandchild that would make a lasting memory? All Hands Boatworks is excited to be back at Lynden for another family boatbuilding workshop. This time, we're offering participating teams a choice of boats to build: the 18-foot Peace Canoe or the 15-foot Six-Hour Canoe.

Both canoes are well-suited to first-time builders. Both have elegant lines, but each one has its distinct features. The Peace Canoe is a durable workhorse; according to its designer: “with a payload of 600 pounds, it will easily absorb a family of five and a hearty picnic lunch.” The Six-Hour Canoe is a light-paddling craft, easily carried atop a vehicle, and well-suited for solo outings on lazy waters.

Enroll in this introduction to boatbuilding workshop and learn new craft skills as you and your teammate build a handsome plywood canoe. The workshop will be led by expert instructors from All Hands BoatWorks, and we’ll use common tools and materials and discover a new uncommon language as we cut and assemble the frames, gussets, gunwales, and chines. In just two weekends, you will build your very own boat and memories that will last for years to come. No previous experience necessary.

About All Hands BoatWorks

All Hands BoatWorks is a Milwaukee nonprofit organization that uses wooden boatbuilding as a means to support positive youth development, education, and workforce preparation.

A Workshop with Jamie Lea Bertsch

Fee: $72/$65 members (all materials included)

Registration: Registration for this workshop is now closed.

Learn the technique of marbling to decorate textile surfaces with swirling patterns, reminiscent of that found in natural marble stone. Create completely unique prints, and let the organic process guide your artistic decision-making. This workshop will provide you with all you need to create your own marbled tea towel set and silk scarf. A great opportunity for those who would like opportunities to extend the techniques they have learned in Carey Watters's paper marbling workshops or our silk scarf painting workshops.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting. We have aprons, but please wear clothes suitable for artmaking.

About Jamie Lea Bertsch

Jamie Lea Bertsch is a maker. Whether itʼs creating pattern, knitting, arranging flowers, or experimenting with natural dyes—making by hand is her favorite thing to do. She swoons over combinations of color, texture and pattern. Bertsch received her MFA in Fibers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a BFA in Graphic Design and Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She has traveled abroad, teaching art in Mae Sai, Thailand. Her design work has been featured in Domino Magazine and Wisconsin Bride, and she has shown her work at Lillstreet Gallery in Chicago and the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, New York.

A Workshop with Carey Watters

Fee: $65/$58 members (all materials included)

Registration: Registration is now closed. For information on future workshops, sign up for our e-list.

Carey Watters continues her series of workshops at Lynden that introduce participants to a variety of techniques related to paper, from surface design to bookmaking. Participants will be able to begin with simpler processes, while those with some experience will explore more complex techniques and structures.

The workshops focus on paper marbling and book structures made from marbled paper. Marbling is a mysterious art form that is fun and accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Students will learn techniques for marbling paper and finish the day by making a book with some of their own marbled paper.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting. We have aprons, but please wear clothes suitable for artmaking.

About Carey Watters

Carey Watters is a bookbinding, letterpress printer and graphic design professor living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has been teaching workshops in bookbinding, letterpress, and paper marbling for over 10 years. This past summer she was in the beautiful village of Noepoli, in the Basilicata region of Italy, teaching paper marbling to people in the village. Watters enjoys the opportunity to share her love of all things paper.