We just got back from a 3-day trip to the Palouse. As a photographer, Daniel has visited the Palouse every other year for the past decade or more. As a total bonehead, I’ve never been there before this week even though I’ve lived in Washington state for 26 years now. Why, my friends, did none of you TELL me about this magical place? Bad Huskies! Bad! I’ve seen pictures before but pictures don’t do this place justice. Mile after mile after mile of earth that looks hand-made by and for both artists AND farmers?! Sigh. Heaven. This place looks like what my poet-heart feels like (on good days). Eva had a fabulous time, too—from the Palouse waterfall state park to the top of Steptoe Butte to eating outside in Pullman morning and night plus picnics in the car at lunchtime. So fun!
Now we’re back on Whidbey and pulling together our summer retreats/workshops/studio days. This is what’s happening here at Silly Dog Studios in June, July, and August. Please come visit us here in this other place made specially for artists and farmers. 🙂 Join us!
Cyanotypes & Journal/Sketchbook Cover Making
Cyanotype Blue on Fabric Workshop (June 23) and Custom Perfect Bound Journal Workshop (June 24). June 23 and 24. Our fun, smart, crafty, and talented photographer friend, Gina White, is going to be teaching two 1-day workshops here in June. On Saturday, Gina will teach us to use a very old photographic process to create beautiful blue fabric art pieces. On Sunday, she’s going to teach us how to turn them into personalized hardcover journal/sketchbook covers. So fun. Email Gina directly to register for one or both days (gina@ginawhitephoto.com). Gina assures me that no photography skills are necessary (yay!). Register for both workshops and save 10%.
Refilling Our Own Wells: A Whidbey Writing Retreat
Refilling Our Own Wells: A Whidbey Writing Retreat. July 13, 14, and/or 15. This is for people looking to recharge and wanting to do that by joining us for 1, 2, or 3 days here on the edge of Langley. We’re going to have a picnic and see a play on Friday afternoon/evening. We’re going to woo wonder through writing, sharing, and breaking bread together on Saturday. And we’re going to re-wild our souls via poetry on Sunday. You don’t need to be a writer or a poet or an artist to join us for this retreat. You do need to be open to seeing how writers, poets, and other artists refill our own wells–together and all in. You can register for this retreat here on the Silly Dog Studios website. Hosts: Lori Kane and Mary Ellen Lough. Important: this retreat doesn’t include a place to stay overnight, unless you want to bring a tent and camp under the stars in our yard.
One-Day Printing Workshops
One-day Printing Workshops. July 28 and again on August 25. In these one-day Saturday workshops, we’ll be focusing on making prints of digital photographs. The first part of the workshop will cover some of the key concepts and techniques to making a great fine art print and the rest of the day will be spent editing and printing your images. Host: Daniel Gregory.
Introduction to Essential Oils (the first talk in our Essential Oils series)
August 4. Our dear friend and essential oils expert, Lori Oviatt, will be giving a series of free talks here and the first one is in August! This free 90-minute talk will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 4. I’ll be sitting in the front row for these talks. Yay! Lori will be selling DoTerra essential oils to anyone interested. If this is something that might interest you, email me at lori@collectiveself.com so I know how many chairs to set up.
Open Studio Night!
Silly Dog Studios Open Studio Night! August 11. We’re inviting our Island Bohemians community and our neighbors by to check out our new space, join us for snacks and drinks, talk shop (aka, sustaining creativity and being sustained by creativity across disciplines), hang with Eva dog and the three kind cats, and/or play badminton and croquet. RSVP to lori@collectiveself.com if you’d like to join us. I’ll eventually create a Facebook event page where you can RSVP, but that hasn’t made it anywhere close to the top of the list yet. 😉
FYI, we have a newsletter!
To stay in the loop on all upcoming events, sign up to receive the Silly Dog Studios newsletter. It comes out quarterly. In theory.