Located among pristine woodlands in the Ryerson historic home in Riverwoods, Il., Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods promotes the importance of nature for nurturing personal and community wellbeing, cultivating creativity, and inspiring learning.
Chicago Voyagers: The Future Voyagers Exhibit Opening Reception
Join Brushwood Center and Chicago Voyagers in a celebration of the opening of The Future Voyagers Exhibition! Be the first to view the brand new exhibition and have a chance to hear directly from artists that created the works.
1:00 pm Exhibition opens for viewing 2:00 pm Panel discussion with: Bernie Rupe (Chicago Voyagers), Edo (exhibiting artist), Kevin West (exhibiting artist), moderated by Dani Abboud (Brushwood Center)
America has always had a fascination with exploration and the outdoors. We’ve memorialized it in paintings, history books & statues where proud explorers pose heroically—their foot propped on the prow of a canoe or rocky precipice, surveying the American west. But there’s one thing all of these artworks have in common:
They’re of Caucasian men.
In partnership with Chicago Voyagers, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower local, underrepresented youth through outdoor adventure therapy programs, seven Chicago-based artists will present a two-part exhibition that visualizes the future of American exploration: one where adventure knows no gender or color.
The show includes new work that features the portrait of a youth who currently participates in the Chicago Voyagers program. A youth is using outdoor exploration as a means to become a leader and impact the world in a positive way.
The exhibition at Brushwood opening May 18, 2025 is the first part of this two-part endeavor. There we will get a first look at some of the completed works alongside studies for the larger portraits that will be unveiled at the final exhibition in Chicago at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, opening on August 8, 2025. A portion of the proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to Chicago Voyagers.
Artist of the Month is a new program at Brushwood Center featuring artists who align with Brushwood Center’s mission and explores themes of health, equity and justice, nature and the environment. Each month we feature an artist who will:
Display their work at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Teach a Create and Sip Workshop in their area of expertise
Demonstrate their work at an Open Art Workshop
Meet Diana Noh
Diana Noh is an interdisciplinary artist working with photography, fiber, and installation. Her practice celebrates reconstructions of distressed photographs of architectural spaces and landscapes, exploring themes of trauma embedded in her family relationships and cultural in-betweenness.
Diana has exhibited pieces in Asia, North America, and Europe, at venues including Space HNH in Seoul, South Korea; Griffin Museum in Winchester, MA; Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL; The Arts Council in Fayetteville, NC; Eastern Market in Detroit, MI; Editart in Geneva, Switzerland; The Art Center Highland Park in Highland Park, IL; Hudson Valley MOCA in Peekskill, NY; Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Her work is collected in the collections of Jennifer and Dan Gilbert, Kyungil University, and numerous Private Collections.
Diana currently resides in Chicago, IL. She holds a B.F.A. from Kyungil University (South Korea) and earned an M.F.A. at Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI).
Diana’s Artist Statement
“I reconstruct distressed photographs of abandoned spaces and landscapes to explore the trauma of growing up between cultures. I identify with buildings that are hidden but accessible; they stand in for my body and neglected feelings. Born American and raised in a Korean household, the emotional burden of being raised between two different cultures has left me angry, resentful, guilty and confused. I seek to understand my internal fracture through a process of destroying and rebuilding large-scale photographs. I physically break down my imagery, incorporating tearing, burning, stitching, sewing, restoring and breaking parts to visualize my recovery process. These images become a stand-in for my body. I grapple with the tension of materials, construct a space primarily using canvas paper that lays its schema somewhere between two and three dimensions. I employ a variety of stitching methods to introduce chance into the work. Hand-stitching allows me to make intricate but slow stitches; machine-sewing allows me to utilize time but encroaches my authority. I build new layers of skin above my scars. They become my own space to rest, the only space which allows me to intentionally sink into selfishness.
Image: 흥(興), 2024 by Diana Noh Media: Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle canvas
Artist of the Month Events
April 26 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Open Art Workshop with Diana Noh
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: Rapport by Diana Noh Media: Archival pigment print on Moab paper
May 14 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Create & Sip – Natural Dyes with Invasive Species
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.
Katelyn Patton, who will teach us to make Natural Dyes with Invasive Species. For a sneak peek of this project, visit Brushwood’s Open Art Workshop on Saturday, March 29 where Katelyn will be demonstrating from 10-4 pm. You can also see Katelyn’s work displayed in the Brushwood Center Gallery from March 29 – April 24.
Image: 자화상, 2024 by Diana Noh. Media: Archival pigment print
America has always had a fascination with exploration and the outdoors. We’ve memorialized it in paintings, history books & statues where proud explorers pose heroically—their foot propped on the prow of a canoe or rocky precipice, surveying the American west. But there’s one thing all of these artworks have in common:
They’re of Caucasian men.
In partnership with Chicago Voyagers, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower local, underrepresented youth through outdoor adventure therapy programs, seven Chicago-based artists will present a two-part exhibition that visualizes the future of American exploration: one where adventure knows no gender or color.
The show includes new work that features the portrait of a youth who currently participates in the Chicago Voyagers program. A youth is using outdoor exploration as a means to become a leader and impact the world in a positive way.
The exhibition at Brushwood opening May 18, 2025 is the first part of this two-part endeavor. There we will get a first look at some of the completed works alongside studies for the larger portraits that will be unveiled at the final exhibition in Chicago at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, opening on August 8, 2025. A portion of the proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to Chicago Voyagers.
Take one last look at the 10th Anniversary Enriching Life – Retrospective Exhibition. The exhibition showcases botanical works by artist Heeyoung Kim and current and invited students of the Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy she founded a decade ago at Brushwood Center. These exceptional artworks connect viewers to our wondrous planet by revealing the plant world’s most intricate details and its intimate relationships in a complex ecological web.
Artist of the Month is a new program at Brushwood Center featuring artists who align with Brushwood Center’s mission and explores themes of health, equity and justice, nature and the environment. Each month we feature an artist who will:
Display their work at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Teach a Create and Sip Workshop in their area of expertise
Demonstrate their work at an Open Art Workshop
Meet Katelyn Patton
Katelyn Patton is a visual artist working in Chicago who was born and raised in the Midwest. Her practice focuses on the urban ecology and biodiversity of plants in the city and beyond, the ways that material and color can be naturally derived from them, and how this hyper-localized knowledge can be used as a vessel for connecting multiple overlapping histories, stories, and meanings.
Katelyn has been the Maker-In-Residence at the Harold Washington Library, received a DCASE award in 2020, and has had solo shows at Extra Projects, the Lillstreet Arts Center and the NEIU Fine Arts Center Gallery. In 2024 she received her MFA in studio art from UIC. She also received an award from the UIC Sustainability Fund to establish the Art Garden, a space for cross-disciplinary explorations with plants and alternative materials.
Katelyn’s Artist Statement
“My practice focuses on the urban ecology and biodiversity of plants in Chicago (my home), the ways that color can be naturally derived from them, and how this hyper-localized knowledge can be used as a vessel for connecting overlapping histories, stories, and meanings.
To do this, I research different types of plants that can be foraged or cultivated in the city and use these plants to create pigments, dyes and paints through traditional techniques. By grounding this research in my immediate habitat, I am able to confront the complexities and contradictions of the effects of climate change, colonization, and globalization on an accessible community-level scale. My work functions at the border of ecological science communication and fine art.
I believe that artistic interpretation creates an emotional connection beyond datasets and that art changes the emphasis of the questions asked during scientific research and recontextualizes observations. I established the Art Garden within the Plant Research Laboratory at UIC with the aim of generating awareness of the benefits and accessibility of natural fibers, fungi and pigments; fostering an understanding of sustainable materials; and cultivating cross-disciplinary connections. I also maintain a practice of foraging weeds within the city, as they play a fundamental role in urban biodiversity. My graduate thesis focused on common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica, an invasive plant that is dominating the forests of the Midwest. I facilitate community dye workshops with buckthorn in order to complicate the simplistic negative narratives surrounding invasive species and encourage people to engage with their environment.”
Image: Common Songs (August) by Katelyn Patton Media: Hollyhock, Coreopsis, Scabiosa, Safflower, Bachelor’s Button and Hopi Black Dye Sunflowers imprinted on silk and linen. The flowers were steam or hammer printed in the shape of bird calls recorded at the site of their harvest.
Artist of the Month Events
March 29 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Open Art Workshop with Katelyn Patton
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!
This month, our April Artist of the Month Katelyn Patton will be our guest artist. Katelyn is a visual artist working in Chicago who was born and raised in the Midwest. Her practice focuses on the urban ecology and biodiversity of plants in the city and beyond, the ways that material and color can be naturally derived from them, and how this hyper localized knowledge can be used as a vessel for connecting multiple overlapping histories, stories, and meanings. Stop by to learn from Katelyn!
Image: Tagma by Katelyn Patton. Media: Coreopsis, Buckthorn and Scabiosa dyes on silk on panel
April 16 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Create & Sip – Natural Dyes with Invasive Species
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.
Katelyn Patton, who will teach us to make Natural Dyes with Invasive Species. For a sneak peek of this project, visit Brushwood’s Open Art Workshop on Saturday, March 29 where Katelyn will be demonstrating from 10-4 pm. You can also see Katelyn’s work displayed in the Brushwood Center Gallery from March 29 – April 24.
Image: Orbweaver by Katelyn Patton. Media: Buckthorn bark dye on silk wheat pasted onto wood panel.
Create lasting memories with your family by creating your own Prompted Painting Project together. We provide the acrylic paint and canvas; you provide your imagination! This fun project requires no art experience, Art Impact Project gives you the subject matter, then walks you through the painting process, step-by-step, and provides all you need to leave with your own unique painting. Adults and adolescents have time to bond together while we provide age-appropriate art projects for children.This is a collaborative program, presented by LCCAC Blue Kids Lake County, Art Impact Project, and Brushwood Center.
Come relax and create art in a beautiful setting with Art Impact Project’s Neurographic Art Project. Neurographic drawing is a term coined by Dr. Pavel Piscarev to describe this form of doodling. Neurographica has been scientifically validated and is a widely used form of art therapy. It creates a mindful and meditative, yet aware state, through the creation of new neural connections. This watercolor project is great for everyone, and no art experience is needed! Adults will have the opportunity to complete this project while we provide age-appropriate art projects for children and adolescents. This is a collaborative program, presented by LCCAC Blue Kids Lake County, Art Impact Project, and Brushwood Center.
Join Heeyoung Kim and Brushwood Botanical Artists for an artist demonstration at Enriching Life. Stop by Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods to view the exhibition, meet the artists in an intimate setting, and learn about their work processes and the materials they use.
Join Heeyoung Kim and Brushwood Botanical Artists for an artist demonstration at Enriching Life. Stop by Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods to view the exhibition, meet the artists in an intimate setting, and learn about their work processes and the materials they use.
Saturday, May 10, 10 am- 5 pm Sunday, May 11, 12 pm- 5 pm
Taking place every Mother’s Day weekend, the Mother Earth Market features and celebrates local artists, makers, vendors, and organizations who are inspired by “Mother Earth” and are working towards a more sustainable future. Check out the vendors, then join us for art, nature, and wellness activities at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.
