Events for March 2015

Examining interiors through historically rich tradition of the still life. In riotis color or in cool grey - with shapes distinct or impressionistic. Recent aquisitions are featured along with works by Mark Tobey, Walter Isaacs, Maxine Martell and Spencer Moseley.

On display, we will have Crazy quilts, Redwork, Bluework, and cross-stitch embroidered quilts. Crazy quilts were popular from 1880-1920s; the earlier quilts are often made of silk fabrics and are embellished with a wide variety of embroidery stitches. Redwork embroidery becomes popular for linens and quilts by the end of the 19th century. Embroidery continues in the 1930s with a large variety of patterns made available through newspapers, magazines, and by mail order. After World War II, cross stitch kit quilts rise in popularity. These quilts were printed with the cross stitch pattern and, often, the quilting design was often printed too.
 

Frederica (“Freddy”) Duffy Moran is an artist and author known for her unbridled use of bold color and original designs--she considers red to be a neutral. And, of course, there is always black & white, and purple, and shocking pink! Freddy’s love for quiltmaking began later in life, at age sixty, after she had excelled at other art forms. Her quilts have appeared in national and international publications, including magazines, art books, calendars, text books and quilt books.
 

It seems that the best ideas or solutions to problems always present themselves at highly inconvenient moments:  this is especially true of that tiny little space of time when I am drifting off to sleep. I started keeping a notebook near the bed so I could jot down whatever stray ideas flitted through my mind. What emerged were some recurring themes that turned into short series of art quilts that are presented in this exhibit:  Shattered Circle, Labyrinths and Celtic Spirals, Gaia/Goddess Figures, and Trees.
 

This special exhibit features mourning items from the Museum's collection. Included will be fashion, buttons and hair art.

Featured exhibit showcasing items from the museums permanent collection; dentistry, surgery, vintage medications and even veterinary medicine.
Exhibit will also include artifacts from Northern State Hospital.

As part of the Christianson's Nursery Winter Festival, on Saturday, February 28, Hellebore expert Katie Miller of Skagit Gardens will present the different types, culture and breeding of Hellebores. She will also discuss their history as garden plants and the best varieties to use in the garden and containers.

This year we are changing the  March La Conner’s Unofficial Daffodil Festival … to the La Conner Daffodil Festival.  Why not make it official? It’s just so beautiful in March with the Daffodils blooming and there are so many fun events and exhibits in La Conner during the month of March. If you can’t make it to Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April, skip the crowds and join us in March this year for the La Conner Daffodil Festival!

Please join us to see the work of local fiber artist, Sally Schoenberg who makes bobbin lace. Bobbin lace was first made in Italy in the 16th century. This lace is made using multiple threads, which are woven, crossed, and plaited to form a lace textile. Each individual thread is wound on a bobbin to aid in controlling the thread when creating the pattern. Sally Schoenberg has been teaching lacemaking in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and at International Organization of Lace conventions since 1991. Her greatest enjoyment, second only to making lace, is seeing a student go from frustration and bewilderment to "Aha! Now it makes sense!"
 

Shan Stratton - lead nutritionist for the Yankees!

We will work with fused collage, free motion machine stitching, and hand beading. With any luck at all, we will layout and stitch the collage before lunch, and spend the afternoon doing the beadwork to enhance what has gone before. Working in a small and intimate scale allows for more attention to the details and textures of the finished piece. And whether you finish the piece in class or not, you will be well on your way to a small reminder to just go for it.
 

Using raised beds in the garden is a great way to organize and maintain your garden in areas with poor soils and drainage. Master Gardener Dave Buchan will discuss the benefits of raised beds, design considerations and construction and maintenance techniques for beds that will last many years.

Presentation by Kurt Dunbar; Little Known History is an interesting take on people who changed history that you have never heard of...
Wine and Appetizers following presentation.

Get your closet ready for spring and join us for Skagit Fashion Week, a series of fashion fundraisers featuring regional designers. Runway shows, parties, demos, and MoNA Style, a one-day marketplace with more than 30 artist booths, offer ample opportunity to see the latest fashion trends and get your shopping on. Skagit Fashion Week is hosted by Friendship House and the Museum of Northwest Art with proceeds supporting community programs. Details: http://www.monamuseum.org/skagit-fashion-week

The En Vogue runway show will feature up to 20 designs made mostly from re-purposed materials. Designs will be available for bid at the live auction with proceeds supporting several important causes. David Bricka will lead the judges in choosing a winning designer to receive a prize of $250.00. Attendees will vote for their favorite designer to receive the People's Choice Award.

MoNA Style will feature more than 40 participating NW artists to demonstrate, display and sell their artwork.
Attendees will vote for their favorite artist to receive the People's Choice award, also get the chance to win raffle baskets.

This course serves as a basic introduction to the vast world of embroidery. Techniques and stitches will be imaginatively worked using the elements of design. Using your own hand-painted fabric and threads, you will create a variety of small, embroidered samples. You will learn about the following: Dyeing fabric and threads A wide variety of techniques and stitches: including couched threads, chain, button- hole, feather, fly stitch, knotted stitches, straight stitches as well as edging stitches Color study Needles and threads Stitching on paper Effective Presentation A workbook of classroom notes with color photos will be provided to all students of the Gail Harker Creative Studies Center. You will create a small book of stitches complete with binding. The variety of stitch samples will provide a source of inspiration from which to work for years to come.

Expert photographers, John and Kathy Willson of Swede Hill Dahlia & Sunflower Farm will teach you how to organize and extend your creative vision for flower and gardens as you travel through the use of just one “easy to master” app.

Judicious and skilled pruning will help keep your trees and shrubs healthy and in good form. Ani Gurnee of Aulos Design will show you tried and true pruning techniques to get the best results.

"Dynamic Magic" Jeffrey Cohan brings his flute to McIntyre Hall for an evening of virtuosity, performing first the overture from Carl Maria von Weber?s opera ?Oberon? then Mozart?s adaptation for the flute of the C Major Oboe Concerto. Mr. Cohan caps off his performance with Feruccio Busoni?s Divertimento. The Symphony closes the concert with Symphony No. 4 by Felix Mendelssohn composed after he had an impressionable visit to Italy.

Concert featuring Jeffrey Cohan, Flute.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the Lincoln Theatre with Mink River, author Brian Doyle, Dublin poet Tony Curtis and Celtic musicians The Fire Inside!

10-3 Maple Hall:  Children’s Art Exhibit, Live Music, Crowning of the La Conner King & Queen of the Daffodils (5th Graders From La Conner Elementary School)
10-7 Maple Hall:  Silent Auction
"Love for Bella" Fundraising event...
5-8 Maple Hall:  Classical Guitarist, Andre Feriante, will perform
5-8 Maple Hall: Hors d’oeuvres and wine with donations going to local family

In this class, students will create wire-sculpted pendants using cabechons and other focal points without pre-drilled holes.  Students will leave with one to two finished pendants.  This class requires some manual dexterity and comfort working with wire, but not to any advanced degree; it is recommended as a follow-up to the class, Wire-Sculpted Pendant Basics.  Instructor will work one-on-one with students who have not completed the basics class.  For students who have already taken "Basics," this will enhance your wire-sculpting skills and expand your understanding of how wore-sculpted pendants are created. 

The fee for this three-hour workshop is $45.00, plus a $10 material fee due to the Instructor who will provide all necessary materials and tools; students are encouraged to bring any extra lighting or magnifying implements they feel they might require to do close work.

Note:  A special one-hour Basics overview will be offered PRIOR TO this course (9-10am).  The addiitonal fee for this is $15; instructor will provide all necessary materials and tools.

Learn how to grow floriferous dahlias from tubers, cuttings and seeds using inexpensive grow lights and propagation mats. John and Kathy Willson of Swede Hill Dahlia & Sunflower Farm will demonstrate fool proof methods for getting your dahlia tubers off to a great start for amazing summer blooms.

In order to get the best fruit production, different varieties of fruit trees require different approaches to pruning. Ani Gurnee of Aulos Design will show you the tried and true techniques used in order to maximize fruit production and eliminate problems down the road.

Smasne Cellars and Bunell Family Cellarswill be pouring from 3-6pm, at 6:30 the live music starts! Guitarist Jack Hamilton and vocalist Kaitlynn Cox aka Hamilton Cox

Support the fundraising efforts for Bella Hamerly and her fight against Leukemia!
Andre Feriante will be performing live.
Wine bar, silent dessert auction and silent art auction.
Part of the "Kiwaffodil" Celebration

Join us in La Conner, among the daffodil fields of Skagit Valley, for a dashing bicycle ride with a bit of style.
It’s a perfect place to be planted and a beautiful place to bloom. Tally-ho!

What is a Tweed ride?
A tweed ride is a return to a bygone era in England when families would dress in their best clothing, assemble a picnic lunch, get on the train with their bicycles and go out to the countryside riding their bicycles home.

What would be better than a group ride among fields of daffodils in which the cyclists dress in classic tweed or any smart looking outfit. Any effort made to recreate the spirit of yesteryear is also always appreciated. Any and all bicycles are acceptable on the Tweed Ride. Its a smashing way to throw a party for all our cycling friends to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Riders should expect a scenic route enjoyed at a slow pace, stops along the way with exceptionally evocative atmospheres, and plenty of time to socialize with other well-dressed, convivial cyclists.

Join this introductory workshop to learn about all the aspects of bobbin lace making. Bobbin lace was first made in Italy in the 16th century. The lace is made using multiple threads, which are woven, crossed, and plaited to form a pattern. This is a hands-on workshop and the students will work on a simple pattern that is completed in class. All supplies provided for use in class only:  bobbins wound with thread and patterns on pillows ready to make lace. The students will learn about the tools, what they are and where to get them; books and threads will also be covered. Instructor, Sally Schoenberg
 

This exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is a celebration of the accomplishments of seven Level 4 Experimental Stitch & Multi-media graduates, who have just completed two and a half years of study with Gail Harker. While on this course students use original design work and experimental stitch techniques to create innovative and imaginative new art pieces using a wide variety of techniques. Work on display will include wall hangings, 3-d items and a portfolio of samples. The seven graduates include Martha Kleihege of San Francisco, CA, Susan Lenarz of Mt. Vernon, WA, Karen Nelson of Hettinger, ND, Alba Romero of Seattle, WA, Jill Taylor of Vancouver, BC, Maria Winner of Portland, OR and Deborah Zibrik of Vancouver, BC.

Bob Zimmermann of Chimacum Woods will explore the distinctly different world of species rhododendrons. These plants don’t look like the rhodies most of us are used to. They offer a broad range of leaf shapes, colors and patterns.  Bob, has been raising species rhodies from seed for forty years and has just returned from his fifth rhody exploration in China. He will describe and show pictures of some of the most interesting species, including many available at the nursery.

Join John Christianson for his first tour of the year through the lovely English style gardens of La Conner Flats located next to the nursery. Meet John in front of the schoolhouse then stride over to La Conner Flats to see what plants are showing an inspiring early spring display. Waterproof shoes and raingear are recommended depending on the weather.  La Conner Flats is offering their High Tea after the walk. Call for reservations.

Author K.W. Harris will be signing his new thriller "Left No Choice"