SOU’WESTER EVENTS!

See what’s happening during your next stay or plan a visit around our free live music, workshops, wellness offerings and more!

Feb
25
Sat
The Magic of Moku Hanga/Japanese Woodblock with Charles Spitzack @ Sou'wester Lodge
Feb 25 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Ever wondered about the beautiful Japanese prints you find all over the world?  This course is designed to show you the basics of Moku Hanga (Japanese woodblock). Though a more complicated printing technique, this class will take you through a quick crash course covering all the major points, and allow you to pull a few prints yourself. Charles Spitzack (American, Pacific Northwest) was born in 1987 in Minnesota and raised in the Twin Cities. He received a BFA with a focus in Print Arts and Drawing from Cornish College of the Arts and has participated in residencies at Rockland Woods and Mokuhanga Project space. As a Pacific Northwest-based artist, he teaches woodblock printmaking at  Pratt Fine Arts Center and also works as a carpenter, a process that reflects his interest in the physicality of woodblock prints and his ability to find inspiration anywhere. His work has been shown extensively in the Pacific Northwest and internationally. Spitzack is known for his bold, energetic, Mokuhanga-inspired woodblock prints of the human figure, animals, landscapes, urban scenes, and more. His work commonly addresses the plight of the working class, hopelessness in the face of destruction, and humanistic experiences.  Register
Mar
4
Sat
Concrete Jewelry Making with Arielle Brackett @ Sou'wester Lodge
Mar 4 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Concrete Jewelry Making with Arielle Brackett @ Sou'wester Lodge

Learn about how to use a mixture of concrete to make lightweight and durable jewelry. Students will learn how to make a one part mold and pour the concrete as a casting technique. Afterwards students will sand their concrete and seal them. Students will leave with one finished piece of jewelry!

Arielle Brackett is a metalsmith and educator based in Portland, Oregon. She received her BFA in metals at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2017. She has shown nationally and internationally, including Canada, Romania and Russia. Brackett was awarded best in metals at the Colorado Gallery of the Arts and the Art Center of Estes Park and Juror’s Choice Award in Jewelry from CraftForms 2021. She received two scholarships to paint in Le Barroux, France and Grand Junction, Colorado. In May 2016, Brackett was granted a full ride scholarship to attend a two-week glass workshop at the Penland School of Craft. Brackett is published in Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), Jams 2018 and How Art Heals, by Andra Stanton. In 2019, she had a piece in a runway show, Shift in Portland, Oregon. Brackett showed work in SNAG’s Exhibition in Motion in 2019 and 2021.

Register

Mar
25
Sat
Activist Printmaking with Karim Shuquem @ Sou'wester Lodge
Mar 25 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Workshop includes relief printmaking demo (linocut), time for sketching and discussion during interactive presentation that situates us on the timeline of activist printmaking from Martin Luther 16th Century to Mexico 20th century to the present. Building upon a 30 year history as stage performer and rock singer, Karim Shuquem creates installations, sculptures, and prints that have relationship with staging, temporality, and process. Shuquem has recently completed the Otis College MFA program and works as an art teacher. Register
Apr
1
Sat
Block Printing on Fabric with Ashley Quick (FULL) @ Sou'wester Lodge
Apr 1 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Block Printing on Fabric with Ashley Quick (FULL) @ Sou'wester Lodge

Participants will learn the basics of block printing on fabric including designing, carving, and printing. You will troubleshoot common problems in relief printmaking, learn about brands and tools, and leave with finished prints on fabric. Please bring your own fabric item which can include yardage, tshirts, scarves, or anything else that is relatively smooth. Avoid fabrics such as burlap.

Ashley Quick is a visual artist based in the mountain west. Her graphic and often illustrative work represents personal experience and place-based reflections on nature in mediums such as printmaking, illustration, and more recently mural. She shows regularly in Wyoming and Colorado, and has been featured in shows across the country. 

May
13
Sat
Nerikomi Clay Workshop with Ally Bruser (FULL) @ Ilwaco Artworks
May 13 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Nerikomi Clay Workshop with Ally Bruser (FULL) @ Ilwaco Artworks

This class is currently full.

Learn the basics of handbuilding with clay and experiment using “nerikomi” techniques – the process of pressing or folding multiple colors of clay to achieve unique surface designs. This class is beginner friendly and includes all the tools you need, clay, glaze, and firing of one or two finished pieces.

Ally Bruser is a former elementary school art teacher, artist, and mother living in southwest Washington, on the unceded territory of the Chinook Nation. Most of her ceramics are handbuilt using nerikomi techniques — the process of pressing and folding multiple colors of clay together then rolling them into slabs. When not making pottery, Ally is working towards making the arts and arts learning experiences more accessible as the Program Manager for Sou’wester Arts. Visit albepottery.squarespace.com or follow @albepottery on instagram to learn more about Ally and her pottery process.

$70

 

May
20
Sat
Workshop: Cyanotype Quilts @ Ilwaco Artworks
May 20 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Workshop: Cyanotype Quilts @ Ilwaco Artworks

We Hold the Light: Cyanotype Quilts with Cordy Joan

In this workshop we will use two practices that ask us to interact with natural light to create miniature “secret” quilts. First, participants will be guided in making cyanotypes out of gathered natural materials from the land. (That is, cyanotyping as a method of sun-printing that requires us to relate to the light). These will serve as their mini-quilt tops. Second, participants will be guided through a series of writing prompts to find words that they will cut into quilt batting to create the middle of the quilt. This interacts with light in that when your finished quilt is held up to a light source, your batting-cut words will be revealed like secret messages. Quilt backs will be provided and we will complete our pieces using a simple hand-tie method.

Cordy (they/them) is a white artist and educator living on Ohlone land (Oakland, CA). They wish to find where poems and quilts hold hands and they are interested in what we will leave behind. They think that making communal objects together can be an act of relearning how to be together. For more info visit corduroyjoan.com or @coanofsilence on instagram

$65

Register

May
25
Thu
Singing in the land Workshop & Experience @ The Sou'wester Lodge
May 25 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Singing in the land:  earth magic, song, and the body 

Thursday, May 25 5-7 pm
 
Join bodyworker, musician, and animist priest ell rieke (they/them) in residency at the Sou’wester for a magical, musical exploration of connection with the earth, our ancestors, and the world of spirit.  Part workshop, part participatory sonic experience, we will spend the first part of our time in conversation, talking through questions like:  what is magic and why does it matter?  Where do songs come from?  Is the earth talking to us?  How can sound and rhythm help us navigate this complicated, painful, beautiful world?  
 
In the second half of our gathering, ell will guide participants in using voice and body to connect with spirit and the earth.  They will teach some songs of the season, from both folk and modern traditions, and then guide a gentle ritual of reverence and celebration for the coming of summer.  You will be invited to sing or hum and move your body, and are also welcome to just sit and experience.  All bodies, voices, and backgrounds are welcome, including kids! 
 
Please bring something to sit on, and cozy layers in case the evening is cool.  You may want to bring a journal and pen, if you like taking notes, and are also invited to bring a special object (that will return home with you) and/or flowers for the group altar. 
May
27
Sat
Workshop: Intuitive Multimedia Embroidery @ Ilwaco Artworks
May 27 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Workshop: Intuitive Multimedia Embroidery @ Ilwaco Artworks

Intuitive Multimedia Embroidery with Chloe Jacobson

Learn 5 basic embroidery stitches while experimenting with expressive abstract multimedia techniques. We will play with stitching on top of watercolor washes on canvas fabric or fabric of choice.

I grew up in the dry, oaky lands of Southern Oregon and headed north to the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest to pursue a major in Visual Arts and Psychology from The Evergreen State College. I chose to pursue the healing power of the art process professionally through getting graduate degree in Transpersonal Art Therapy at Naropa University, and now practice as full time art therapist with the LGBTQIA population in Portland, Oregon. I am a multimedia artist specializing in embroidery, painting, and collage to express sensations, feeling spaces, and to tell stories of empowerment and liberation. I walk the edge of fine art and craft to explore the natural world through my lens as a queer art therapist. I blend media to reframe and re-contextualize, while offering simple messages. I especially seek narratives of natural perseverance, adaptation, justice, and resilience in the face of adversity or human constructs. My background in art therapy informs my process as being a platform for healing self-reflection, through making the latent, blatant. For more information visit chloekjacobson.wixsite.com/pdxemb

$60

Register

Jun
10
Sat
Workshop: Clay Teacup Making (FULL) @ Ilwaco Artworks
Jun 10 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Workshop: Clay Teacup Making (FULL) @ Ilwaco Artworks

Clay Teacup Making Workshop with Midori Hirose

Explore clay and create a one-of-a-kind tea cup with Midori Hirose. All levels and fun clay making tools are welcome!

Midori Hirose is a Japanese American interdisciplinary artist. In Hirose’s work, physical objects and materials are interchangeable with community bonds, recognizing space as a necessary part of the generative process through collaborations, historical narrative, perception (physiological and psychological), and storytelling. 

Hirose’s work has been shown nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, and Disjecta Contemporary Art Center (now called Oregon Contemporary) for the Portland Biennial. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at The Lumber Room in Portland, OR; East/West Project, Berlin, Germany; Newberg Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland; and Fylkingen, Stockholm, Sweden. For more information visit midorihirose.info/ and instagram.com/midorihirose/

This workshop is full. 

Jul
15
Sat
Sculpting with Nature with Ana Anu @ Ilwaco Artworks
Jul 15 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sculpting with Nature with Ana Anu @ Ilwaco Artworks

Working with the beautiful dune grasses of Discovery Trail, we’ll discuss biodiversity, invasive species, and land protections. We’ll responsibly harvest dune grasses, then work together to shape the grasses into poetic sculptures.

Ana/Anu is a poet, multi-media artist, author and educator. Her work focuses on ecofeminism, collaborative art, and herbalism. Her two poetry books, “Noon” and “Mona Mona Mona”, explore intimacies of the PNW. Anu received an MFA in Poetics from Naropa University and is a postgraduate candidate at Tisch, NYU, focusing on Art and Public Policy.

$60

Register