March Events at the Lynden Sculpture Garden
In March, the Lynden Sculpture Garden is open from 10 am to 5 pm every day except Thursdays (closed).
It looks like a good day for ice-skating, here at the start of March. You might need to borrow one of our shovels (in adult or child sizes) to plough away the latest snowfall, but the ice is certainly thick enough. The continuation of the ice-skating season is one of the benefits of this moment, when we are pulled between the lengthening days and the persistence of winter. That, and the opportunity to look out over the snow well into the evening, with the sun higher in the sky.
The icicles suspended from the eaves outside my window have provided steady entertainment this past month. They start small, mere suggestions of drips arrested in time, and grow into complex structures extending to the yews below. Some are lithe and twisted–as if formed in a breeze–while others melt into weighty networks, a Marquette interchange of ice lanes. People drop in to monitor their progress, to watch them wax and wane. A week or so ago, when they were at the height of their development, a few hours of sunshine caused them to lose their grip on the gutter and fall in a single, loud whoosh.
March is full of indoor and outdoor activities, from a ceramics workshop (where just looking at our newly-installed kiln should generate warmth) to the many prairie workdays scheduled by the Labyrinth Society of Lynden Sculpture Garden as Jenna Knapp prepares the ground for the labyrinth. (All volunteers receive a founding membership in the Labyrinth Society of Lynden Sculpture Garden.) Author Ariel Lawhon visits this week to talk about her new book, I Was Anastasia. Naomi Cobb clearly had spring on her mind when planning for March: Tuesdays in the Garden investigates signs of spring, and there will be a full worm moon walk at the equinox—we’ll see if the worms are stirring by then. Educators are invited to join our teachers-in-residence for a workshop on earth, fire, and human stories; and everyone is encouraged to turn out for the Self-Care Studio’s drop-in workshop to upcycle a neglected book into a treasured personal art object (come early and help out with the buckthorn removal for the labyrinth). There’s a homeschool day and an extended art drop-in during spring break, too. You can still volunteer for Project Feederwatch and, just like last month, you are welcome to bring snowshoes or skis and explore the outdoors while there is snow on the ground.
We have extended our current exhibition, Clement Meadmore: The Models through mid-April. Ellen Goldberg and Hugo Rivera of Meadmore Studios, and Jonathan Lippincott, author of Large Scale, will be at Lynden on March 23 to talk about the artist and his work.
Summer camps are beginning to fill, which suggests that we still believe that summer will come.
March Events, arranged chronologically:
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 – 10 am-4 pm
MAKE A PLANTER FOR SPRING FLOWERS: A CERAMICS WORKSHOP WITH KATHERYN CORBIN
Make a ceramic planter for spring flowers using coil building techniques, red clay slip, and surface decoration. Draw your inspiration from Lynden’s acres or mementos brought from home. Planters will be fired at Lynden and ready for pick-up in about ten days, or you can join our Spring Sawdust Firing for a subtle, shining finish. Beginners welcome.
March 6, 13, 20, 27 – Wednesdays, 3-5:30 pm
WEEKLY ART DROP-IN FOR KIDS AGED 11 and Up
Drop into our studio for informal art exploration. Come for 30 minutes or stay for 2 1/2 hours; visit weekly or stop by when you need an after-school activity; bring a friend or sibling or try it on your own. Each week we’ll introduce different materials, processes and themes, and get you started on a project. We’ll focus on three-dimensional artmaking–though we will also do plenty of painting, drawing and collaging–and make use of Lynden’s special resources: the collection of monumental sculpture and 40 acres of park, lake and woodland.
March 7, 14, 21, 28 – Thursdays, 2:30-5 pm
WEEKLY ART DROP-IN FOR KIDS AGED 6-11
Drop into our studio for informal art exploration. Come for 30 minutes or stay for 2 1/2 hours; visit weekly or stop by when you need an after-school activity; bring a friend or sibling or try it on your own. Each week we’ll introduce different materials, processes and themes, and get you started on a project. We’ll focus on three-dimensional artmaking–though we will also do plenty of painting, drawing and collaging–and make use of Lynden’s special resources: the collection of monumental sculpture and 40 acres of park, lake and woodland. (The drop-in on March 28 is an extended spring break session; see below.)
Thursday, March 7, 2019 – 7-9 pm
WOMEN’S SPEAKER SERIES: Ariel Lawhon, Author of I Was Anastasia
Ariel Lawhon, a rising star in historical suspense, unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson’s fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the beloved daughter, revered icon, and Russian grand duchess or is she an imposter, liar, and the thief of another woman’s legacy? In 1920, as rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre at Ekaterinburg, old enemies and new threats are awakened. With a narrative that is equal parts The Talented Mr. Ripley and Memento, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory: the nature of identity itself. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov creates a saga that spans fifty years and touches three continents. This event is co-presented by Milwaukee Reads and Boswell Book Company.
Fridays, March 8, 15, 22, 29 – 10 am-12 pm
Sunday, March 31, 2019 – 12:30-2 pm
LABYRINTH SOCIETY OF LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN: PRAIRIE WORKDAYS
Artist-in-residence Jenna Knapp is seeking volunteers to help with buckthorn removal to aid in prairie restoration and to prepare for the construction of a labyrinth in Lynden’s back acres. Land Manager Kyle Welna will explain how to identify and remove buckthorn; hand tools (pruners) will be provided to cut invasive woody plants. Join us for one day or two; dress for the weather and bring work gloves. Volunteers will receive free admission to Lynden for the day, a guest pass for future use, and a founding membership in the Labyrinth Society of Lynden Sculpture Garden.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 -10:30am -11:30 am
TUESDAYS IN THE GARDEN: AN OUTING FOR PARENTS & VERY SMALL CHILDREN
The 40 acres that house the Lynden collection of monumental outdoor sculpture are also home to many birds, insects, frogs, mammals and plants. Naturalist Naomi Cobb offers a nature program that explores a different theme each month, taking into account the changing seasons, and provides an opportunity for those with very small children to engage in outdoor play and manipulation of art materials. The theme for March is signs of spring.
Saturday, March 16, 2019 – 10 am-5 pm
DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN
Bring your canine friends for a stroll, whatever the weather conditions. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human.
Thursday, March 21, 2019 – 9 am-2 pm
HOMESCHOOL DAY: ENTANGLEMENT
Entanglement could be defined as the interconnectedness among materials, people, animals, plants, and objects. We’ll become entangled with Lynden’s large, architectural sculptures as we experience them through movement, writing, and drawing, reacting to these works as objects and to the environments in which they’re placed. In the studio, we’ll transform these experiments into a series of layered works. We’ll print images over writings and we will silk-screen mono-prints that map our movements.
Friday, March 22, 2019 at 7 pm
FULL WORM MOON WALK WITH NAOMI COBB
Welcome the spring equinox and the Worm Moon–which is to say, a full moon in March, when the worms are beginning to stir, somewhere–by joining naturalist Naomi Cobb for a night walk at Lynden. No flashlights needed, treats to follow.
Saturday, March 23, 2019 – 10 am-12 pm
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
ENTANGLEMENT: EARTH, FIRE, AND HUMAN STORIES
In this workshop led by Lynden’s teachers-in-residence, Sue Pezanoski Browne and Katie Hobday, we will take a reflective look at the universal connection between humans and the elements of earth (clay) and fire. Participants will view examples of how people throughout history have used clay for functional and artistic purposes. We will investigate how the making and using of clay objects literally and symbolically entangles us with the earth. Participants will become further entangled as we write personal stories, memories and/or hopes that will then be placed in the interiors of clay vessels. These vessels may also have a connection to sound, as participants may choose to create wind chimes or a rattle. (This workshop is for educators.)
Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 2 pm
CLEMENT MEADMORE: MODELS AND LARGE-SCALE WORKS
A TALK WITH JONATHAN LIPPINCOTT, ELLEN GOLDBERG, AND HUGO RIVERA
Join Ellen Goldberg and Hugo Rivera, of Meadmore Studios LLC, and Jonathan Lippincott, author of Large Scale, for a gallery talk in conjunction with our current exhibition, Clement Meadmore: The Models. Lippincott will place Meadmore’s work in the context of his contemporaries and will talk about the artist’s deep involvement in the process of making the large-scale works. He will be joined by Goldberg and Rivera for an informal conversation about the artist, his love of jazz, and his legacy. A reception follows.
Thursday, March 28, 2019 – 12:30-5 pm
SCHOOL’S OUT ART DROP-IN FOR KIDS AGED 6 and up
We are offering a special, extended drop-in session for those off school. Drop into our studio for informal art exploration. Come for 30 minutes or stay for 5 hours; bring a friend or sibling or try it on your own.
Sunday, March 31, 2019 – 2-4 pm
SELF CARE SUNDAYS WITH JENNA KNAPP & THE SELF CARE STUDIO: DIY ALTERED BOOK
Join artist, author, and activist Jenna Knapp for this series of drop-in workshops focusing on self-care techniques. Do you have an old book that you haven’t read in years and you’ve thought about donating or throwing away? Here’s your chance to up-cycle it into an art object. Transform the pages into works of art by using selective words as inspiration to form your own pieces of writing. Or use the book as a canvas, painting over the text, collaging, drawing, cutting designs into the pages, or even turning it into your own journal. Drop-in with your own old book, one found at a thrift store, or choose from a variety provided by The Self Care Studio and spend some time working on a couple of spreads in your new transformed art object. Take it home with you and continue working on it page by page to fill the entire thing over a longer period of time. Let it be a time capsule for a specific period in your life and capture your present life through images, collages, writing, and word art.
Coming Up in April
In addition to the weekly art drop-ins on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Tuesdays in the Garden (the subject on April 30 is gardening, and dog day on April 20, we are offering workshops, walks, and author events. The Women’s Speaker Series is offering a unique parent-child event with author Stacey H. Lee (April 6), and aspiring young writers can return on April 7 for Creating Writing at the Lynden Sculpture Garden with the UWM Writing Project. The Writing Project is also hosting a writing retreat for teachers on April 13. For those with spring on their minds, Courtney Joy Stevens returns to help you plan a flower garden in Grow Your Own Bouquets on April 6, and Chuck Stebelton leads a bird walk on April 28. April is a good ceramics month: Katheryn Corbin offers Hohokam Pottery on April 13, and invites you back (whether or not you attended any of her recent workshops) to discover the mysteries of sawdust firing in a two-part series that begins on April 27. The Self-Care Studio returns for another self-care drop-in on April 14, this one devoted to hand-rolling aromatherapy beads. April also brings International Sculpture Day (April 27): we have some surprises in store!
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.