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Tag: Art

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 Magdalena Kranc-Velazquez

Magdalena Kranc-Velazquez is a mixed media artist, working in collage. Her work includes intricate collages that feature layering and delicate, yet dramatic, hand painting and drawing. She also creates altered books, creating one-of-a-kind keepsake memory books for her clients, using their photos, jewelry, documents, buttons, and fabrics.

Magdalena’s Artist Statement

A vintage mirror frame, holding a collage featuring butterflies and a woman's face.

“I discovered passion for art while recovering from cancer. During this time I drew closer to God and he showed me places of myself I wasn’t aware of. In my art I want to grasp a longing for unknown world. A safe place. Home for healing, acceptance, joy and love. When I create, I’m in the flow where I’m enjoying the process and trust my artistic choices. Creating art makes me feel relaxed and in the moment where time doesn’t exist.”

Image: Curiosity, by Magdalena Kranc-Velasquez
Media: Paper collage, acrylic paint, vintage mirror frame

Artist of the Month Events

Mixed media paper collage inside vintage mirror frame.

May 31 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Open Art Workshop with Magdalena Kranc-Velasquez

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: Way home by Magdalena Kranc-Velasquez
Media: Mixed media paper collage, vintage mirror frame

Register for the open art workshop
A collection of junk journals, handmade books made of various materials.

June 18 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Create & Sip – Junk Journals

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: A collection of junk journals by Magdalena Kranc-Velasquez. Media: Paper, fabric, thread, mixed media

Register for Create and SIp

Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. Painting "Walking Up the Dune" by Josie Levin. Three figures follow a path up the Dune towards the water, surrounded by dune plants.

Image: Walking Up the Dune by Josie Levin

July 13 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Opening Reception – Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes

This summer, Brushwood Center presents a new exhibition, Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. It is presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum to explore perspectives on art and nature in association with their summer exhibition featuring acclaimed botanical artist Rory McEwen, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature.

Rooted in the Shadow of Coal embraces the tradition of botanical art while expanding to include a wider range of artists and media, all focused on the resilient plants of the Waukegan Dunes. Each artwork in the show includes a reference to at least one, and sometimes several, of these botanical wonders. What has proximity to pollution done to the site? What does it mean to have this surviving and thriving natural environment next to coal ash ponds? In this exhibition, botanical art becomes a lens to consider health, equity, and nature.

Join us at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods for an opening reception and discussion.

REgister for the July 13 Opening Reception

Related Events

Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. Painting "Walking Up the Dune" by Josie Levin. Three figures follow a path up the Dune towards the water, surrounded by dune plants.

Image: Walking Up the Dune by Josie Levin

July 13 @ 1:00 pm – August 31 @ 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes

This summer, Brushwood Center presents a new exhibition, Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. It is presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum to explore perspectives on art and nature in association with their summer exhibition featuring acclaimed botanical artist Rory McEwen, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature.

Rooted in the Shadow of Coal embraces the tradition of botanical art while expanding to include a wider range of artists and media, all focused on the resilient plants of the Waukegan Dunes. Each artwork in the show includes a reference to at least one, and sometimes several, of these botanical wonders. What has proximity to pollution done to the site? What does it mean to have this surviving and thriving natural environment next to coal ash ponds? In this exhibition, botanical art becomes a lens to consider health, equity, and nature.

REgister for the July 13 Opening Reception

Related Events

September 26 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Nature Book Club: The Serviceberry

The Brushwood Nature Book Club is a place to talk about and explore nature literature in a friendly environment. Each meeting includes discussion, creative writing, and art activities to engage with the themes of the chosen book, led by Brushwood’s Poet-in-Residence Kathryn Haydon, and writer-artist Megan Donahue. 

Our summer series of meetings is focused on the work of the 2025 Smith Nature Symposium Honoree, Robin Wall Kimmerer. In July and August, we’ll read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, and in September, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. 

Receive 15% off of the purchase price of the books at Lake Forest Book Store when you mention Brushwood Nature Book Club or Kathryn Haydon! Copies of the books can be purchased online at the links below:

The Serviceberry

Braiding Sweetgrass

REGISTER

Related Events

August 23 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Nature Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass (Part 2)

The Brushwood Nature Book Club is a place to talk about and explore nature literature in a friendly environment. Each meeting includes discussion, creative writing, and art activities to engage with the themes of the chosen book, led by Brushwood’s Poet-in-Residence Kathryn Haydon, and writer-artist Megan Donahue. 

Our summer series of meetings is focused on the work of the 2025 Smith Nature Symposium Honoree, Robin Wall Kimmerer. In July and August, we’ll read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, and in September, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. 

Receive 15% off of the purchase price of the books at Lake Forest Book Store when you mention Brushwood Nature Book Club or Kathryn Haydon! Copies of the books can be purchased online at the links below:

The Serviceberry

Braiding Sweetgrass

REGISTER

Related Events

July 26 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Nature Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass (Part 1)

The Brushwood Nature Book Club is a place to talk about and explore nature literature in a friendly environment. Each meeting includes discussion, creative writing, and art activities to engage with the themes of the chosen book, led by Brushwood’s Poet-in-Residence Kathryn Haydon, and writer-artist Megan Donahue. 

Our summer series of meetings is focused on the work of the 2025 Smith Nature Symposium Honoree, Robin Wall Kimmerer. In July and August, we’ll read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, and in September, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. 

Receive 15% off of the purchase price of the books at Lake Forest Book Store when you mention Brushwood Nature Book Club or Kathryn Haydon! Copies of the books can be purchased online at the links below:

The Serviceberry

Braiding Sweetgrass

REGISTER

Related Events

The Future Voyagers Exhibit

May 18 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Chicago Voyagers

View Organizer Website

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

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)

Light refreshments will be served.

REgister for the May 18 Opening Reception

About the Exhibition

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 white 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 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.

Related Events

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

Register for the open art workshop

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.

Image: 자화상, 2024 by Diana Noh. Media: Archival pigment print

Register for Create and SIp

The Future Voyagers Exhibit

May 18 @ 1:00 pm – July 6 @ 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Chicago Voyagers

View Organizer Website

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Chicago Voyagers: The Future Voyagers Exhibit

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 white 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 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.

Featured Artists:

Kevin West

Dwight White

Morgan Nicolette

Rae Denise

Arrington

Sam Kirk

Edo

REgister for the May 18 Opening Reception

Related Events

May 4 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free

Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy

View Organizer Website

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States + Google Map
224.633.2424

Enriching Life: Closing Reception

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.

Register for the reception

Related Events

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