April Events at the Lynden Sculpture Garden

April at-a-glance:
* Garden Series: Grow Your Own Bouquets with Courtney Joy Stevens, Saturday, April 6
* Women’s Speaker Series: Stacey Lee, Saturday, April 6
* Creating Writing with the UWM Writing Project, Sunday, April 7
* Teacher Professional Development: The Teacher as Writer, Saturday, April 13
* Hohokam Pottery with Katheryn Corbin, Saturday, April 13
* Self Care Sundays: Hand Rolled Aromatherapy Beads, Sunday, April 14
* Spring Sawdust Firing Part 1 with Katheryn Corbin, Saturday, April 27
* International Sculpture Day, Saturday, April 27
* Birding with Chuck Stebelton & Emir Cakaroz, Sunday, April 28
* Evelyn Patricia Terry: America’s Favor/Guests Who Came to Dinner (and Stayed!) Opening Reception, Sunday, April 28

* Recurring events: Tuesdays in the Garden, Weekly Art Drop-In, Ages 11 and Up, Weekly Art Drop-In, Ages 6-11, Dog Days

The wood ducks are back. Walking toward Big Lake this afternoon I could see pairs on the open water—the only remaining ice is piled up at the southeast end of the pond—but as I approached they took to the sky, calling loudly (the Cornell Ornithology Lab describes the female call as “oo-eek, oo-eek” and the sound the males make as “a zeeting whistle”). The geese were unperturbed, continuing their work in the water and on the shore.

I was out making a survey of living things. The daffodils (a long way from their native Iberian peninsula, I know) are pushing up shoots along the stockade fence, some showing a glimpse of yellow through gaps in the spathe. The bulbs are farther along down in the ravine, and a strikingly vital green, as if about to burst. There are clumps of snowdrops down there too, and a small field of them in the protected area between the patio and the greenhouse. A few irises are poking their five fingered crests through the earth, like flat green hands. Competition at the bird feeders is fierce, now that the turkeys have emerged looking surprisingly sleek and well-fed. We counted more than 28 circling the feeders along the side of the house one morning last week, keeping the squirrels at bay.

So no more talk of ice skating for now, and time (perhaps) to retire the snowblower and grease the lawnmower. April is a period of watching and waiting: the ducks will spend the month inspecting our wooden boxes and the natural cavities on the grounds before settling down to lay and incubate their eggs. The maple sap, which took so long to rise and then came gushing out, will subside as those trees prepare to put on leaves. Down in the west prairie, the Labyrinth Society volunteers have done such a thorough job of removing buckthorn and laying out the design that they now have to wait for more plants to emerge before they can take the next step.

We will welcome signs of spring in a variety of ways in April. Courtney Joy Stevens will help you plan your flower garden at the beginning of the month and Chuck Stebelton, joined by filmmaker Emir Cakaroz, will lead a bird walk at the end. Katheryn Corbin offers a Hohokam ceramics workshop and then invites all potters to bring a piece or two to her two-part sawdust firing on the grounds (on International Sculpture Day, no less). The Self-Care Studio makes its final visit of the season, this time to hand-roll aromatherapy beads. April is also a good month for writers (and readers) of all ages: Stacey H. Lee visits the Women’s Speaker Series for a special parent/grandparent/friend-and-child (or not) event, and the UWM Writing Project offers a workshop for writers aged 10-15, as well as a writing retreat for teachers.

You have two more weeks to see Clement Meadmore: The Models (and to wander outside to see our two monumental Meadmores)—it was a pleasure to see so many sculptors at the talk last weekend. On April 28 we open an exhibition of work by Evelyn Patricia Terry—our first Call & Response event of the season–America’s Favor/Guests Who Came to Dinner (and Stayed!). The reception that afternoon will be free and open to the public, and with any luck it will be a beautiful afternoon for a stroll.

Three of our summer camps have already filled, and another three are on phone registration, which means that only a few spaces remain. Don’t forget that we offer need-based tuition waivers.

April events, arranged chronologically:

April 3, 10, 17, 24
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.

April 4, 11, 18, 25
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.

Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 1-3:30 pm
LYNDEN’S GARDEN SERIES: GROW YOUR OWN BOUQUETS WITH COURTNEY JOY STEVENS
Courtney Joy Stevens of Courtney Joy Floral will teach you how to plan and grow a cut flower garden. From seeds, tubers, and bulbs to cutting armfuls of fresh blooms, she will give you the information you need to grow your own bouquets this summer. She’ll share tips on where to source the materials you need, useful tools, and the easiest cut flowers to grow in Southeastern Wisconsin. Bring your questions and then head home to start your very own cut flower garden.

Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 2-4 pm
WOMEN’S SPEAKER SERIES: A Parent-and-Child Author Event with Stacey H. Lee
Stacey H. Lee is the author of Under a Painted Sky, Outrun the Moon, The Secret of a Heart Note, and the forthcoming The Downstairs Girl (August 2019). A fourth generation Chinese-American whose people came to California during the heydays of the cowboys, Lee believes she still has a bit of cowboy dust in her soul. A native of southern California, she graduated from UCLA and then got her law degree at UC Davis King Hall. After practicing law in the Silicon Valley for several years, she finally took up the pen because she wanted the perks of being able to nap during the day, and it was easier than moving to Spain. She plays classical piano, raises children, and writes YA fiction. This event is co-presented by Milwaukee Reads and Boswell Book Company, with snacks from MKE Localicious.

Sunday, April 7, 2019 – 9:30 am-12:30 pm
CREATING WRITING AT THE LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN WITH THE UWM WRITING PROJECT
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Writing Project (UWMWP) offers a morning workshop for aspiring writers aged 10-15. Young writers will work with an NWP teacher leader for a unique creative writing experience. With the stunning backdrop of the sculpture garden as a source of inspiration, the group will engage in a variety of observational exercises and exploratory writing activities. Participants will leave with a collection of prompts that correspond to the sculptures. Come meet and share writing and feedback with other like-minded young writers.

Saturday, April 13, 2019– 9 am-12 pm
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES
THE TEACHER AS WRITER WITH THE UWM WRITING PROJECT: WRITING WITH ART FOR REFLECTION AND RENEWAL
Lynden offers affordable creative workshops for K-12 educators. Are you a teacher? Are you also a writer? Do you crave opportunities to develop your writing and get in touch with your creative side during the school year? Join us for a restorative retreat to build self-awareness and connect with other creative minds. Writing can be a powerful reflexive process that asks us to open our hearts and minds to new ideas. Engaging with art supports this practice with close observation, active inquiry, and thoughtful reflection. In this retreat, UWM Writing Project Teacher Leader Kelly Saunders (Nicolet High School) has created an opportunity to connect with interdisciplinary educators who use collaborative conversation about art as restorative practice. Through participation in a series of reflective visual literacy and writing activities, you will examine your own unique experiences and then join others in understanding their perspectives to together construct deeper meaning. Enjoy the stunningly beautiful grounds of Lynden Sculpture Garden as you participate in guided and open-ended writing experiences, as well as discussion about how cultivating a habit of writing can translate to our work in the classroom.

Saturday, April 13, 2019 – 10 am-4 pm
HOHOKAM POTTERY: A CERAMICS WORKSHOP WITH KATHERYN CORBIN
Hohokam pottery developed in the river valleys of the Sonoran desert about 1800 years ago. Using a buff colored clay and coil building techniques—as well as a wooden paddle and stone–Hohokam potters made plates, bowls, dishes, pitchers, ladles, and drinking vessels for daily use. Pieces were decorated with a fine, liquid red clay or slip, then piled in a shallow pit and covered with grasses and animal dung. Shards of broken pottery protected the pieces from the flames once the fuel was ignited. The smudges formed by the smoke on the surface of the pottery were known as “fire clouds.” In this workshop we will explore these traditional techniques, materials, and processes to create vessels that can then be smoke-fired at our Spring Sawdust Firing (see below). Beginners welcome.

Sunday, April 14, 2019 – 2-4 pm
SELF CARE SUNDAYS WITH JENNA KNAPP & THE SELF CARE STUDIO: HAND ROLLED AROMATHERAPY BEADS
Join artist, author, and activist Jenna Knapp for this series of drop-in workshops focusing on self-care techniques. Drop-in to roll and design your very own aromatherapy beads with air dry clay. By adding a variety of designs and patterns to our beads we will make perfect textures that have the ability to trap essential oils if you wish to reapply in the future. Make your own aromatherapy diffuser beads and take necklace or bracelet materials home with you so you can assemble your jewelry once the clay beads dry overnight. Use and reuse over and over again with your own essential oils. Learn more about the healing properties of different oils and find which ones work best for certain scenarios and seasons.

Saturday, April 20, 2019 – 10 am-5 pm
DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN
Bring your canine friends for a stroll. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human.

Saturday, April 27, 2019 – 10 am-5 pm
INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE DAY
We celebrate International Sculpture Day with drop-in activities and a cake in the shape of a sculpture. Schedule to follow.

Saturday, April 27, 2019 – 10-11:30 am
SPRING SAWDUST FIRING WITH KATHERYN CORBIN – Part 1
Join ceramic artist Katheryn Corbin for our spring sawdust firing. On the first Saturday (April 27), learn to set-up and pack the “kiln”—a metal trash can filled with sawdust—with your bisque-fired pieces. The smoke from the smoldering fire blackens the pots, leaving them with a subtle, shining finish. Return a week later (May 4), once things have cooled, to open and unload the can and collect your pottery. Fire the planters and vessels made in previous workshops at Lynden, or bring in your own bisque-fired work. When registering, you will need to specify the dimensions and number of pieces you are bringing (maximum two).

Sunday, April 28, 2019 – 8:30-10 am
BIRDING WITH POET CHUCK STEBELTON AND FRIENDS
Poet/birder and artist-in-residence Chuck Stebelton continues his series of bird walks at Lynden this spring, and he’s bringing friends! Please wear appropriate footwear and bring your binoculars if you have them; no previous birding experience required. Stebelton’s guest today is artist Sheila Held.

Sunday, April 28, 2019, 3-5 pm
OPENING RECEPTION: EVELYN PATRICIA TERRY
AMERICA’S FAVOR/GUESTS WHO CAME TO DINNER (AND STAYED!)
“America”—from its origins to daily news reports of racial and ethnic differences–is a recurrent theme in Evelyn Patricia Terry’s work. Over the course of her more than fifty-year career, she has made several bodies of work that address the “conundrum of co-existence that repeatedly occupies the news, my thoughts, and many conversations.” In America’s Favor/Guests Who Came to Dinner (and Stayed!), the most recent in a series of exhibitions on the theme, Terry brings together different bodies of work: an iconic table installation, artist books, and mixed media works that layer drawings and other forms of mark-making on sewn rag paper pieces. Terry has mined her five-decade history as an artist to create the exhibition by repurposing the torn and cut sections of etchings, screen-prints, monotypes, and randomly printed rag paper scraps that she has accumulated as a printmaker, and by referencing items in her personal collection, from ethnic dolls to the work of other artists.

Tuesday, April 30, 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 April is gardening.

COMING UP IN MAY

In addition to the weekly art drop-ins on Wednesdays and Thursdays (which wind down for the season mid-month), Tuesdays in the Garden (the subject on May 28 is flower friends), and dog day on May 18, we are offering workshops, walks, and author events. Kites over Lynden, our annual day for art and flying, returns on May 4 (the same day Katheryn Corbin offers part II of her sawdust firing) and we celebrate World Bonsai Day on May 11. Corbin returns with a two-part majolica workshop on May 15 and May 22. The Women’s Speaker Series welcomes Jennifer Robson, author of The Gown, on May 6, and we have a teacher professional development workshop on May 11 that looks at scale and point of view. May is a good month for walks: Kyle Denton of Tippecanoe Herbs and Apothecary leads a spring herb walk on May 11, and poet Chuck Stebelton is back for another bird walk on May 26. Leslie Perrino will be offering a Mother’s Day silk scarf painting workshop on May 12. And Lynden hosts its first iron pour on May 25—iron pouring is both a participant and spectator sport. And on the very last day of the month we will begin a three-day mini-workshop with poet Emily Kendal Frey in collaboration with Woodland Pattern.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.