The SWAN workshops offer adult learners a soothing time to rest, regulate, and restore our overloaded nervous systems. Participants will walk away grounded and refreshed with creative & practical knowledge of Mindfulness self-care methods merged with art and nature. All workshops engage our souls and senses in a delightful journey toward wholeness through art, poetry, journaling and movement. 

Please join us! No previous experience required…come as you are… ready for an experience in enchantment!

SWAN redefines person-in-relation to place, laying the foundation for restoring the health of people and the planet through the language of art and the power of imagination.

Art & Nature Heal, Imagine That!

SWANshops: Altered Books

The Earth that we live on is full of stories in the same way that, for a fish, the ocean is full of ocean. Some people say when we are born we’re born into stories. I say we’re also born from stories – Ben Okri Nigerian storyteller and poet.

The Altered Books art experience will focus on telling our stories through our inner and outer landscapes. Creating Altered Books is a varied and delightful mixed media method of art making that repurposes old books into delightful storytelling repositories.

Each section of the altered book will tell a story from our life, our geo-biography – the landscapes that have held us and brought meaning into our lives. The idea of “landscapes of life” highlights the inter-connectedness of our internal world, external experiences, and our relationship with the environment.  It suggests that our personal experiences and choices shape not only our individual path but also our understanding of the world around us.

Participants will work on one section of their book over 6  swan shop meetings. Each time we meet we will focus on a new invitation. Come to one or as many as you like!

During the first meeting, participants will prepare their “book” for altering, glueing pages, painting parts, etc. And…they will begin to document the role of the land in their lives through simple writing exercises.

All following sessions will elaborate on these geo-biographical stories translated into images for their altered book.

Saturday, March 7| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Saturday, April 11| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Saturday, May 16| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Saturday, June 20| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Saturday, July 18| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Saturday, August 15| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | $30 for non-members $25 for museum members

Register Here for Altered Books SWANshop