Summer Offerings!
Hello Kindling Community,
I love this photo of a kid in one of my drawing classes focusing so completely on his reference image of a horse. I don’t know about you, but focusing my attention is a slippery struggle lately. A really important thing about time spent in the Kindling studio is how it helps us reign our attention back to the present. As Adrienne Marie Brown says, “what you pay attention to, grows.”
I’m happy to announce a few additional opportunities to enjoy the studio before our late summer move out! Please read on to see summer offerings for art play sessions and more.
Don’t miss:
Last Family Open Studio in the current building! May 20.
Printing series for kids ages 6-10 (Medium Exploration series). 2 spots left, starting May 2!
Clay Play for adults with Lori returns!
2 exciting new offerings! Sewing Stuffies with pro quilter and Eastmorland neighbor Kaitlyn, and Fairy Houses with Grandma Nadine (my mom). 😍
Summer Tinkering Tots and kids Art Play sessions too.
And a reminder to please mark your calendars for our super fun empty building party “Celebrating a Building Migration”. It will be open-house style drop-in from 11am-4pm on July 27th!
Sending so much appreciation,
💫
What’s coming up?
Saturday Morning Community Art
This month let’s make cute little spring things. I’ll have stuff to make extra adorable baby chicks and bunnies out of egg cartons. I’ll have a bouquet of flowers as a watercolor reference. Oh yes, and kids can paint on the wall. You read that correctly!
I’ll make a pot of coffee! Wear clothes to get messy.
Saturday, April 17
9am - noon (drop-in as works for you)
Free💕
Donations from this event will go to the capital campaign for the Eastmorland Community Center, who provides our studio space. Feel free to donate here or I will have a cash bucket available too!
Medium Exploration - Printing
Ages 6-10
We will explore kid-friendly printmaking techniques including block-printing, etchings, monoprints, and gelli plates.
Wednesdays, 4-5pm
May 7 - 28
$50 per 4 week session
(only 2 spots left!)
Clay Play for Adults returns!
Lori Henthorne, everyone’s favorite high school art teacher, is back! Join her for two afternoon sessions to explore monoprinting on clay, get a chance to play around on her pottery wheel, and be supported to pursue your own free choice project. Make stuff, make new friends, and fall in love with clay! Lori will fire your projects in her home kiln, so you will leave with some forever treasures or sweet gifts. No experience necessary.
Mondays June 30 and July 14
12-4pm
$90
Sew Stuffies with Kaitlin!
Ages 7-12
Let’s make cute felt stuffies! Each kid will be able to explore hand sewing and create their own unique stuffy. Two full afternoons of arty fun. Healthy snack included.
Monday and Tuesday July 21-22
1-4pm
$90
Kaitlin lives right here in Eastmorland! She is a wildly talented quilter and teaching artist who often shares her love for quilting with kids and adults through classes at the Textile Arts Center of Madison. Learn more about her joyful approach to textile arts and check out some of her creations through the following links! www.quarterlifeleap.com @quarterlifeleap
Tinkering Tots: Spring and Summer
Art Play Sessions
Ages 1-5 + grown-up
Let’s encourage the wild imaginations of our littlest creators. We will use non-toxic mixed media materials like paint, clay, textiles, and more for sensory exploration of colors, textures, shapes, and patterns.
Tuesdays 9:30-11am
Spring Session: May 6 - June 10, $60
Summer Session: June 24 - July 8, $30
One-time drop-in rate $15
Facilitated by Carrie
(photo credit: Sam Haas)
Summer Art Play
Ages 6-8
These fun art play sessions will use mixed media to explore a theme, prioritizing child-led exploration of materials and ideas.
June 25: Building in 3 dimensions.
July 2: Light, shadow, and rainbows!
July 9: Tiny worlds.
1-4pm
$40 each, snack included
Facilitated by Carrie
Family Open Studio: Art Play Sessions
All ages welcome.
Come make an arty mess (without the clean-up!). Meet up with neighbors and friends, explore new art materials, and bond with your kiddo in this happy space. Makers will have access to a stocked studio, prompts, and inspirations to get you started.
3rd Tuesdays
3-7pm (drop-in as it works for you throughout this timeframe)
May 20 (last one in this studio space!)
$15/family
Facilitated by Carrie
Fairy Houses with Grandma Nadine
Ages 6-10
Grandma Nadine (my mom) is infamous for her creative spirit. If you’ve spent any time at the Kindling sensory table, you’ve seen her little fairy world creations. Each kiddo will go home with a tiny world created with natural materials and lots of whimsy. Don’t miss these!
June 26 or July 10
1-4pm
$50, snack included
Co-facilitated with Carrie
A note about the future of Kindling and The Eastmorland Community Center.
Many of you have heard the super exciting news, and it’s really happening! Our home, The Eastmorland Community Center (ECC), is pursuing a site redevelopment starting August 2025. The church-centric structure will be taken down, to be replaced with 24 units of workforce housing and a new mixed-use community center! Kindling will essentially be without a physical home for about a year, and I plan to move into the new center in Fall 2026.
To learn a little more about ECC, check out this blog post I wrote back in December. I’ll write again with more about my plans for that year of no physical home and ways to support this awesome project. For now, I want you to mark your calendars for this open house and celebration happening just before demolition!
