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Tag: Veterans

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

May 1 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 6)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

April 24 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 5)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

April 10 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 3)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

April 17 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 4)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

April 3 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 2)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie

March 27 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

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

Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie (Visit 1)

Returning in 2026, Black Moon Trio once again invites Veterans and their family members to create and perform their own original musical compositions in Water(color) for the Soul: Sounds of the Prairie. Grounded in the ecology and literary traditions of the prairie, this program explores how our own root systems run deep to withstand tumultuous storms and provide support in shaping individual and collective identity.

Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 15 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. 

Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by poet and creativity expert, Kathryn Haydon and world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy. Together, they help provide expert insight on poetry, literature, and artistic methods and techniques inspired by prairie ecosystems designed to frame participant’s compositions. 

This is a six-week program–each week builds on previous work.

This program has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Related Events

Pencil

March 16 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

Combat Poetry: Poetry Workshop for Military Service Members & Veterans

This poetry workshop is an informal environment combined with a bit of formal instruction. We will write. We will learn. Most of all, we will have fun.

We will be led by poet Douglas Self, a United State Marine Corps, Army Reserve, and Iraq War veteran armed with a BA in English and Creative Writing. He’s also the author of Blast Radius, a collection of poetry that examines his experiences with combat and PTSD. This workshop is open for Veterans and military service members of all levels. Don’t worry if you are new to poetry. Come find your poetic voice! This is event is open to combat and non-combat veterans and service members.

Register for the Zoom

Related Events

April 13 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

At Ease Book Club: Chasing the Daylight, by Joanna Rakowski

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the At Ease program is launching our 2026 At Ease book club with a story from a women Veteran. We will examine Joanna Rakowski’s unique story and explore our own personal identities and how the military community has shaped them. 

What is it like to be part of the world’s most powerful armed forces at the dawn of the 21st century? Does a military tale have to be about the men going to war? You’ll find out in Chasing the Daylight: One Woman’s Journey to Becoming a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. Joanna is a fragile, romantic, former ballerina. After a painful rift with her beloved friend and mentor, she joins the U.S. Army. Her dream is to become an Intelligence Officer. She faces a formidable task, but she embarks on a four-year journey to accomplish her goal. The story whirls us into the center of the rigorous army training and transports us into the reality that only less than one percent of the U.S. population would ever experience.

Questions? Please contact Veterans Program Specialist, Jessica Klinge at jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

Register here

Related Events

April 6 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

At Ease Book Club: Chasing the Daylight, by Joanna Rakowski

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the At Ease program is launching our 2026 At Ease book club with a story from a women Veteran. We will examine Joanna Rakowski’s unique story and explore our own personal identities and how the military community has shaped them. 

What is it like to be part of the world’s most powerful armed forces at the dawn of the 21st century? Does a military tale have to be about the men going to war? You’ll find out in Chasing the Daylight: One Woman’s Journey to Becoming a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. Joanna is a fragile, romantic, former ballerina. After a painful rift with her beloved friend and mentor, she joins the U.S. Army. Her dream is to become an Intelligence Officer. She faces a formidable task, but she embarks on a four-year journey to accomplish her goal. The story whirls us into the center of the rigorous army training and transports us into the reality that only less than one percent of the U.S. population would ever experience.

Questions? Please contact Veterans Program Specialist, Jessica Klinge at jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

Register here

Related Events

March 30 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Initiatives

At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans
Free

At Ease Book Club: Chasing the Daylight, by Joanna Rakowski

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the At Ease program is launching our 2026 At Ease book club with a story from a women Veteran. We will examine Joanna Rakowski’s unique story and explore our own personal identities and how the military community has shaped them. 

What is it like to be part of the world’s most powerful armed forces at the dawn of the 21st century? Does a military tale have to be about the men going to war? You’ll find out in Chasing the Daylight: One Woman’s Journey to Becoming a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. Joanna is a fragile, romantic, former ballerina. After a painful rift with her beloved friend and mentor, she joins the U.S. Army. Her dream is to become an Intelligence Officer. She faces a formidable task, but she embarks on a four-year journey to accomplish her goal. The story whirls us into the center of the rigorous army training and transports us into the reality that only less than one percent of the U.S. population would ever experience.

Questions? Please contact Veterans Program Specialist, Jessica Klinge at jklinge@brushwoodcenter.org.

Register here

Related Events

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