Activate Brushwood Center's impact! Learn more about the ACTIVATE Campaign

May 10, 2025 @ 10:00 am May 11, 2025 @ 5:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

Mother Earth Market 2025

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.

Preview this year’s artists here!

Registration is not required, and this event is free. Your RSVP helps the Arts and Public Events team plan.

Events at Mother Earth Market

Save your spot at the art and nature events at the Market!

May 10 Events

March 2, 2025 @ 1:00 pm 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

Enriching Life: Opening Reception

Join us for the opening of 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.

March 2, 2025 @ 1:00 pm May 4, 2025 @ 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

10th Anniversary Enriching Life Retrospective Exhibition

The 10th Anniversary Enriching Life – Retrospective 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.

Featuring the work of: Carole Cleaver, Joann Dinneen, Marcia Glenn, Edith Harte, Nancy Johnson, Sandra Kessel, Heeyoung Kim, Andrea Kirjassoff, Claudia Lane, Meredith Lincoln, Jean Meilinger, Monica Munaretto, Pamela Najarian, Ramiro Prudencio, Sandra Robinson , Barbara Rose, Rita M Rosen, Linda Schmitt, Jane Sturgeon, Kathy Walsh, Sandra Wilcoxon, Susie Williams, and Judy Woznyj. 

Opening Reception: March 2, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Closing Reception: May 4, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Water(color) for the Soul: Music of Lake MIchigan

February 19, 2025 @ 1:00 pm February 25, 2025 @ 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs and At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

Water(color) for the Soul: Music of Lake Michigan

Pop-Up Exhibition

Come enjoy the original culminating works of this residency at The Brushwood Gallery in a Pop-up Exhibition! These pieces of music, that at first glance appear to be pieces of abstract art, will be displayed at Brushwood Center accompanied by QR codes that will link to performances of the works by Black Moon and allow the general public to listen to the pieces as they were intended to be heard by the Veteran composers who wrote them.

April 17, 2025 @ 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Art Social Hour for Women Veterans and Families

Connect with fellow women Veterans and family members around art and art-making! Socialize, learn, and grow your process as an artist as you connect with resources and community that support Veteran women artists. This is an informal social group, not a formal skills class.

If you have any technical needs, please email, Veterans Program Specialist, jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

March 20, 2025 @ 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Art Social Hour for Women Veterans and Families

Connect with fellow women Veterans and family members around art and art-making! Socialize, learn, and grow your process as an artist as you connect with resources and community that support Veteran women artists. This is an informal social group, not a formal skills class.

If you have any technical needs, please email, Veterans Program Specialist, jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

February 6, 2025 @ 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Art Social Hour for Women Veterans and Families

Connect with fellow women Veterans and family members around art and art-making! Socialize, learn, and grow your process as an artist as you connect with resources and community that support Veteran women artists. This is an informal social group, not a formal skills class.

If you have any technical needs, please email, Veterans Program Specialist, jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

January 16, 2025 @ 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Art Social Hour for Women Veterans and Families

Connect with fellow women Veterans and family members around art and art-making! Socialize, learn, and grow your process as an artist as you connect with resources and community that support Veteran women artists. This is an informal social group, not a formal skills class.

If you have any technical needs, please email, Veterans Program Specialist, jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

Singularity is a Forest,  Photography and Poems of Álvaro Alejandro López.

January 25, 2025 @ 1:00 pm 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

Singularity is a Forest Reception

Join us on Saturday, January 25th to explore Singularity is a Forest at a reception and program at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.

Singularity is a Forest is an exhibition of photography and poetry by Mexico City artist Álvaro Alejandro López.

He describes his series: “In our different languages the trees are mainly a generic symbol. However, if we contemplate them closely, we will find in them the diverse and the singular.This series is an aesthetic approach to the features and scars that give life to the individuality of each tree.”

The reception will feature a forest bathing experience with Jess Rodriguez of Reciprocal Forest Bathing at 1:00 pm. This will take place outdoors, please dress for the weather. At 2:00 pm, Kim Shearer of Morton Arboretum will lead a walk-through of the exhibition, sharing her expertise on the science of trees.

Presenters

Kim Shearer

Kim Shearer

Kim is the Curator of Collections and Manager of New Plant Development at the Morton Arboretum. Kim advances the Arboretum’s mission to make the world a greener, healthier, and more beautiful place by introducing plant selections with broad adaptability, disease resistance, and pest resistance. She is an expert on trees and shrubs.

Headshot of Jess Rodriguez

Jess Rodriguez

Jess Rodriguez is a certified forest bathing guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Bathing. Jessica was introduced to forest bathing in 2019 while interning in Costa Rica with a certified guide. Together, they worked on a proposal to have forest bathing recognized as an official nature wellness practice by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). 

In 2021, Jessica underwent a six month long training and four day intensive, during which they developed a true sense of what it means to be a guide and work in partnership with the more-than-human-world. Jess is also the Coalition Building Manager at Brushwood Center.

Singularity is a Forest,  Photography and Poems of Álvaro Alejandro López.

January 5, 2025 @ 1:00 pm February 23, 2025 @ 3:00 pm

Initiatives

Public Arts Programs
Free
21850 Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015 United States
+ Google Map
224.633.2424

Singularity is a Forest

Singularity is a Forest is an exhibition of photography and poetry by Mexico City artist Álvaro Alejandro López.

He describes his series: “In our different languages the trees are mainly a generic symbol. However, if we contemplate them closely, we will find in them the diverse and the singular.This series is an aesthetic approach to the features and scars that give life to the individuality of each tree.”

The exhibition is open to the public during regular operating hours at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. Join us on Saturday, January 25th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm for a reception and program about the exhibition and its themes.