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Month: October 2025

Meet Julia Kemerer

Julia Kemerer is a mixed media artist and an avid maker of all things. She paints and sculpts with paper, found objects, fabric, wood, and clay, and has a passion for creative reuse, or what she refers to as “using what you have to make what you need.” Julia’s creations will often make appearances at Brushwood Center, where she is the Director of Arts and Administration. Through her work at Brushwood, she curates shows and art markets, runs the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange, and teaches classes in addition to working behind the scenes on several area public arts projects. Julia attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and holds a degree in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lives in northern Lake County, Illinois with her husband and daughter in a 100 year old lake house full of pets, art,and plants.

See Julia’s art on display at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods October 25- November 30, 2025.

The Nightwatch, by Julia Kemerer
Media: Mixed media sculpture

Julia’s Artist Statement

Four bird sculptures from Julia Kemerer's Portals series.

Art is alchemy. It is the transmuting of everyday materials using a lifetime of accumulated experiences, skills and knowledge into a magical new substance that only exists as a result of that particular recipe. The art I make now is the result of a fleeting moment in 2023 when a large round mirror frame in my living room suddenly resembled the opening to a birdhouse. I imagined for a moment what it would be like for an enormous bird to pop through that opening into my space, and I could not shake the feeling of awe and wonder it created. I found myself compelled to make it a reality, and it has led me to a series of work I call “Portals.” These sculptures of oversized birds were born out of my love of nature and the wonder it brings into my life when a wild creature appears in my path. Made from a combination of traditional and non-traditional materials, including light fixture parts, plaster gauze and plastic spoons, they are also an expression of my love of experimenting and doing things differently. They exist in an “in-between” space, inhabiting a world between sculpture and painting, 3D work and wall art, nature and human made, and fantasy and reality. They have taken on a bit of a life of their own.

Image: Make Way for the King, by Julia Kemerer
Media: Mixed media sculpture

Artist of the Month Events

Julia Kemerer with her sculpture, Make Way for the King

October 25
10:00 am – 3:00 pm | Free
Open Art Workshop with Julia Kemerer

Open Art Workshop is open to anyone who wants to make something in any area of visual arts and crafts, from the experienced artist looking for a community of others to work with, to the complete novice who just wants to try something out in a low pressure environment, or the family looking for a fun kids’ activity to fill their afternoon – this workshop is for you!

Image: Julia Kemerer with her sculpture, Make Way for the King.
Media: Mixed media sculpture

November 19
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | $20

Create & Sip – Make a Wreath

Create & Sip is a monthly workshop hosted at Brushwood Center where participants can explore fun projects using supplies and tools from the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange, BASE. It’s an opportunity to get creative, try something new, and enjoy the company of fellow art enthusiasts in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

Register for Create and SIp

Robin Wall Kimmerer Launches community Action

Plant, Baby, Plant!

On Sunday, October 12, a crowd gathered at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods to launch the first community activation of Plant, Baby, Plant. The new nationwide grassroots campaign is led by author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, who was recently awarded the Smith Nature Symposium Environmental Leadership Award by Brushwood Center. 

The outdoor celebration invited participants of all ages to join in art-making, music, and collective care for the land. Plant, Baby, Plant is a grassroots movement of people taking meaningful, regenerative action to care for the Earth—in the garden and in the streets. Together, they aim to:

  • Heal Land: plant trees, raise gardens, restore prairies, protect wetlands.
  • Build Community: support and widen the circle of people who work with the land.
  • Grow Power: transform love of land into social change through creative resistance.

The event featured opening remarks from Kimmerer, collaborative outdoor art led by Osage artist Lydia Cheshewalla, and live music by Elexa Dawson. The event marked the inaugural in-person gathering of Plant, Baby, Plant, the first in a series of community activations that will bloom wherever Robin visits, turning inspiration into action.

“Together, we can spark a grassroots movement to heal land, build community, and transform love of land into social change. Not only will we plant trees and food and wildflower meadows, but we will plant our feet and say ‘no more destruction’. We will plant a flag, to claim that this is what good citizens do on behalf of Mother Earth,” said Kimmerer.

Photos by Michael Kardas Photography

Brushwood’s Impact in 2025

Flourishing Together: Ashley’s Brushwood Story

Ashley Cullen-Williams first came to Brushwood when she worked as TRiO Educational Talent Search manager in Waukegan. She was looking for a safe place for staff and students to relax and connect after the pandemic. Little did she know that she was stepping into a new chapter, one that culminated in her becoming Brushwood Center’s Senior Program Director.

The following film shares Ashley’s story, and highlights Brushwood’s impact through her unique perspective. This video, created by our videographer in residence, Kateryna Sazonova, debuted at the 2025 Smith Nature Symposium Awards Dinner, and we wanted to share it with our entire community. Watch Ashley’s Brushwood journey from participant, to partner, to director!

The latest news from Brushwood’s ensemble-in-residence

Black Moon Trio

Convergence. Water(color) for the Soul. Brushwood Center’s Ensemble-in-Residence, Black Moon Trio is a vital partner in some of our most popular programming.

Black Moon Trio is a horn, violin, and piano ensemble redefining the chamber music experience through adventurous programming, community-centered education, and a commitment to equity in the arts. By engaging with diverse audiences, youth, and artists of every type, Black Moon Trio works to prove that classical music is for everyone.

Parker Nelson is the French horn player for Black Moon Trio, and the Director of Public Programs and Music at Brushwood Center. “Convergence offered a really unique opportunity for me flex the artistic side of what Brushwood’s mission is: to do work at the intersection of wellness, the arts and nature,” he says. He thinks this integration of the arts into health equity work is ” Kind of our special sauce, this unique combination of things that we’re able to provide here at Brushwood Center. Because of the staff that we have and because of the connections that we have, we’re able to tell these really unique stories and kind of get to this type of storytelling that only Brushwood Center can provide.”

Black Moon Trio plays at Brushwood Center

October is a busy month for the Trio. They are preparing to launch their latest album, Flourish, a collaboration featuring author Robin Wall Kimmerer, inspired by her writings. Influenced by Kimmerer’s work as a scientist and Indigenous knowledge keeper, Flourish embraces nature not as something to be conquered or consumed, but as a living, breathing partner, whose wisdom is available to those who take the time to listen. Kimmerer’s insights, expressed through her reflective and poetic voice, guide listeners to see the land as a giver: one that offers more than sustenance, but also lessons of gratitude, respect, and care. The album will be released on October 17, 2025.

Black Moon Trio will perform Convergence: Health Equity in a Changing Climate at the Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago on October 8th at Elastic Arts.

The Trio has also launched a For Your Consideration campaign for this year’s GRAMMY Awards®, for their album, Principal. Here at Brushwood, we’re cheering them on!

For Your Grammy Award Consideration Black Moon Trio Principal

Meet alexandra ok

alexandra ok is a Midwest-based painter showcasing the beauty of queer community. Ok received their BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023, where they honed their figurative painting abilities and passion for color work.

See alexandra’s art on display at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods September 27- October 25, 2025.

act gay in public like your life depends on it, because it does by alexandra ok
act gay in public like your life depends on it, because it does, by alexandra ok.
Media: acrylic and mixed media on canvas

alexandra’s Artist Statement

angels on the beach by alexandra ok

Sometimes sad, sometimes raunchy, ofttimes downright confusing but always colorful; ok’s work revolves around their identity and the memories that formed their sense of self. Using the language of figure painting, portraiture, and color theory, ok reflects on what it means to be a contemporary queer.

Image: angels on the beach, by alexandra ok
Media: acrylic and mixed media on fabric

Artist of the Month Events

alexandra ok smiling in front of a rack of paintings

September 27
10:00 am – 3:00 pm | Free
Open Art Workshop with alexandra ok

Open Art Workshop is open to anyone who wants to make something in any area of visual arts and crafts, from the experienced artist looking for a community of others to work with, to the complete novice who just wants to try something out in a low pressure environment, or the family looking for a fun kids’ activity to fill their afternoon – this workshop is for you!

Portraits by alexandra ok

October 15
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | $20

Create & Sip – Portrait of a New Friend

Create & Sip is a monthly workshop hosted at Brushwood Center where participants can explore fun projects using supplies and tools from the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange, BASE. It’s an opportunity to get creative, try something new, and enjoy the company of fellow art enthusiasts in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

Image: Portraits by alexandra ok

Register for Create and SIp

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