Inspired by the 18th- and 19th-century tradition of collecting natural specimens, artifacts, and unusual discoveries, this collaborative series brings together Historic Yellow Springs and Historic Sugartown for four workshops exploring botanical preservation, ceramics, paper marbling, cyanotype printing, and traditional bookbinding.

Each workshop can be enjoyed independently, or attend two or more to build a collection of materials for your own Cabinet of Curiosities journal.

• Saturday, October 24 | Historic Yellow Springs | 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Collecting & Preserving Specimens — Sarah Rafferty
  • Explore ways to collect, dry, and press botanical specimens. Create a small ceramic element by pressing a natural specimen into clay to make a unique button or fastener.
• Saturday, October 31 | Historic Sugartown | 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Traditional Paper Marbling — Ramon Townsend
  • Learn the historic art of paper marbling and create one-of-a-kind decorative papers for future covers, endpapers, or journal pages.
• Saturday, November 8 | Historic Yellow Springs | 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Cyanotype Specimens
  • Transform plants and natural objects into striking blue-and-white cyanotype prints for display, journaling, or future creative projects.
• Saturday, November 21 | Historic Sugartown | 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.Traditional Bookbinding — Ramon Townsend
  • Bring your collected materials together in Historic Sugartown’s working bindery. Learn traditional bookbinding techniques to create a handcrafted journal incorporating your marbled papers, cyanotypes, specimens, and other discoveries. Those attending two or more previous workshops can create a more finished, personalized Cabinet of Curiosities journal

Each workshop can be enjoyed independently, or attend two or more to build a collection of materials for your own Cabinet of Curiosities journal. No previous experience is required. To participate in the bookbinding workshop, you must attend at least one of the three preceding workshops so you have materials to incorporate into your journal.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify. 
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts! 

Over four, two-hour classes you will build on the information learned in the Zentangle Basics class. Tangle Time expands your knowledge of “tangles” while exploring techniques that allow you to push your creativity to new heights. In each class you will expand your tangling techniques and add to your knowledge of tangles (patterns) Take your Zentangle journey ahead of basics to a level where you can create your own patterns in a fun and enjoyable way. Supplies: There will be a one-time supply fee of $12 payable to the instructor at time of first class if you do not have the basic Zentangle kit.

*It is recommended but not necessary that you take a basic Zentangle class first.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!

During this workshop, participants will work to deconstruct their current way of making and rethink their creative process. They will be introduced to a new approach centered around "play." I define play within the fine arts as letting go of the preciousness of what you think you want to make and allowing your intuition to guide the process instead. It is about being curious, asking better questions, embracing mistakes, and discovering what happens when you release expectations and give yourself permission to create freely.

Participants will bring their own freshly leather-hard vessels and a willingness to experiment as they explore this unique approach to making. Through demonstrations and hands-on exploration, they will alter, reconstruct, and respond intuitively to their forms, discovering new possibilities along the way.

This philosophy is the foundation of ceramic artist Hadley Wiktor's current body of work. By continually asking new questions and allowing herself the freedom to make mistakes, or even make "bad" work, she has developed a distinctive visual language that celebrates curiosity, experimentation, and the act of letting go.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!