Using the ancient dip pen and black sumi ink, come discover the joy and beauty of calligraphy and the calming meditation of calligraphy. Join poet calligrapher Lindsey Wayland to connect deeply with the letterforms you already use and read daily. The quality of calligraphy will bring each student closer to their center and presence.

The word calligraphy comes from two Greek words: kallos, which means “beauty,” and graphein, which means “to write” thus, “beautiful writing.” However, because calligraphy is less about beautiful handwriting and more about drawing the letterforms beautifully, anyone with enough patience can learn calligraphy.

Each student will learn the basic alphabet in classic Copperplate cursive as the foundation to experiment and add their own creative flair. Students will leave class with a more confident ability to write beautifully, to understand the letters used in nearly every application of life, and very beautiful materials. Students must have a basic understanding of writing and cursive. No other prerequisites necessary. All are welcome.

Please let us know in advance if you are left-handed. Once you’ve taken this class, you are qualified for Pointed Pen Calligraphy for Intermediates (check website for current schedule).

Supplies Fee: $30, cash or check made payable to the instructor on the first day of class.

ALISSA’S WORKSHOP HAS SOLD OUT, and a wait list is underway. To be added to the wait list, please email info@ptarts.org and include a phone number in your email message. Thank you!

Program fee includes the following supplies: field kit, instructional booklet, 3 page color guide to best dye species, silk scarf and dye testing kit.

Day One: Field Study and Testing for Color

Take a slow walk through a nearby woodland to observe lichens and fungi in their natural habitat, while getting a deeper, hands-on understanding of their ecological niche.  We’ll discuss the difference between collecting specimens for identification, dyeing and dye testing.  After our walk, we will return to the classroom to test mushrooms and lichens for color. This process will determine whether a species has dye value and if so, the best route to optimal color. We will observe and discuss fungal features, perform chemical spot tests on lichens, and take field notes of finds. This will prepare you to forage for dye species on your own.

Day Two: Regional Dye Palette

Using a selection of local dye mushrooms and lichens, we will dye a rainbow of samples. We’ll go over the special techniques required for optimal results with each fungal pigment group. Students will be guided through the steps for making a simple, yet elegant arashi shibori inspired silk design. Participants receive recipes, a procedural handout, a customized guide to the best local dye fungi and will create a beautiful hand dyed scarf. I will cover all aspects of getting started with mushroom and lichen dyes and prepare you to carry on your own exploration.

Day Three: Maximizing Dye Potential/Mushroom Dyes on Multiple Fibers

We will build on our experience of maximizing dye potential by utilizing our strong exhaust baths for marbled skeins and pastels. We’ll also be working with a few new concentrated baths of common dye species from the area. This is an opportunity to explore how all fibers take the dye a little differently. Students are encouraged to bring a minimum of 6 oz of their own selection of protein based yarn or fibers divided into 1oz skeins or bundles. No pre-treatment necessary. We’ll add mordant directly to the pot. Bring extra fiber, 6 oz/ person is the aim, but there will likely be lots of extra color. This is a fun day to play!

ABOUT ALISSA

Alissa Allen is a self-taught mycologist and the founder of Mycopigments. She specializes in teaching about regional mushroom and lichen dye palettes to fiber artists and mushroom enthusiasts all over the world. Alissa got her start in the Pacific Northwest and has been sharing her passion for mushrooms for over 15 years. She has written articles for her website as well as Fungi Magazine and Fibershed. In 2015 she created the Mushroom and Lichen Dyers United discussion group and The Mushroom Dyers Trading Post. These groups have grown into a community of over 6000 members. In 2020 Alissa will host the International Fungus and Fiber Symposium in the US at a location yet to be disclosed. Alissa uses brilliant colors found in fungal dyes to entice people to take a closer look at mushrooms and lichens and the role they play in the greater ecosystem. To read more about her work, visit http://mycopigments.com/

Don your finest blue & green gear and head over to Taps at the Guardhouse to enjoy $15 pitcher & chicken wing specials ALL DAY LONG. This week, the Minnesota Vikings will travel to Centurylink Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks, Monday, December 2 with a kickoff at 5:15PM to battle for the week 13 win. Come cheer on your team on game day at Taps! We’re talking to YOU 12’s!

Port Townsend area yoga teachers are teaming up with local nonprofits for FEEL GOOD. DO GOOD.

Yoga benefits YOU, and these monthly by donation yoga classes benefit great causes in our COMMUNITY! Breathe. Stretch. Feel good. Do good. Donate what you can.

Who doesn’t need a little rest & relaxation in the middle of the week?? Join us every Wednesday the for the rest of the year for Wine Down Wednesday! Enjoy $3 selected wines by the glass, and 25% off selected wines by the bottle – ALL. DAY. LONG.

Yup, you heard that right, we hope to see you there!

A 5 day retreat with Michael Molin-Skelton & Susan Harper.

In this 5-day retreat, we explore the relational capacity of the heart. We engage a multi-faceted movement range, deepen in ritual and dare to love, weep, laugh, and meet the splendor and ‘terrible beauty’ experiences that come with the river of life.

Moving through the portals of Soul Motion®, we will dance with the grace of our belonging and the struggles of our exclusion.

Through organismic movements and primordial sounding, in the inquiry style of Continuum, we will explore the intelligent dynamics of the elements in our bodies; deepening our inherent connection to our wild breathing planetary body.

On Friday, December 6, Taps at the Guardhouse features a solo performance by songwriter Norman Baker at 6pm as part of the Friday Night Live series. Baker writes original songs rooted in country, folk and classic song forms.

In 2019, Norman Baker played dozens of shows in California and the Southwest, and he performed his way across Texas last spring. The biography on Baker’s website begins with a mantra: “Traveling, creating, and sharing original live music are a few essential ingredients for the enrichment of humanity.”

Norman Baker has appeared on over 30 albums, and performs more than 200 shows each year. He also leads his own band, Norman Baker & The Backroads, and he consistently performs with the region’s best country musicians at dance halls and concert venues around the Northwest.

www.normanbaker.com

Tackle the unmitigated challenges of Portraiture in this weekend workshop for beginners! Bring in photos of the person(s) you’d like to paint, and Julie will provide the rest! Learn how to plan your composition, study proportions, mix skin tones, use brushes to create effective marks, prime and finish surfaces for painting. If you like to dive head first into the pool of art making, this is great class for you!

Materials Fee: $25, check or cash made payable to the instructor on the first day of class.

NOTE: Olympic Art & Office and Quimper Mercantile offer 10% discount for PTSA students.

A letter is the most generous gift you can give. Within the gift of a letter is a moment to pause and exist within the space and connection between letter-writer and recipient.

The holiday season is a wonderful time to slow down and connect. In class, we will develop systems for writing letters, create our own personalized stationery sets, and spend time together designing holiday stationery for those dear to us. Each student will leave with very beautiful supplies, but more importantly, students will leave with a refreshed or new deeply-felt sense of connection.

No prerequisites, all levels are welcome.

At its core, this class is about connection.

The student is welcome to bring old maps, holiday sheet music, and any old or new paper supplies they would like to turn into envelopes or use for stationery.

Supplies fee: $30, cash or check, payable to Lindsey Wayland at the start of the workshop.

Don your finest blue & green gear and head over to Taps at the Guardhouse to enjoy $15 pitcher & chicken wing specials ALL DAY LONG. This week, the Seattle Seahawks will travel to the Los Angeles Coliseum to take on division rival the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, December 8 with a kickoff at 5:20PM to battle for the week 14 win. Come cheer on your team on game day at Taps! We’re talking to YOU 12’s!

Presented by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center

Sunday, December 8
3 p.m.
The Fort Worden Chapel

Admission: $5
(students & teachers FREE)
FREE admission for Octopus and Orca Donor Circle Members
Become a PTMSC  member today!

Carla Stehr
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, retired

Carla Stehr’s artist statement: I use cloth, paint and stitch to express my fascination with aquatic life and natural patterns. My work is inspired by a life-long obsession for exploring tide pools and a career as a Marine Biologist where I had the opportunity to photograph amazingly beautiful aquatic creatures with a scanning electron microscope.

I am especially drawn to organisms that may be hard to see, like the tiny Moonglow Anemone partially buried in sand, or single-celled plants such as diatoms that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. Many of my pieces are influenced by microscopic images I photographed as a scientist.

The textural properties of fabric and stitch lend an organic quality that I am compelled to use in my art. I may use overlapping layers of silk organza to suggest transparent structures such as anemone tentacles. Or, to suggest the multi-layered cell walls of diatoms, I may use multiple layers of fabric, creating openings in the top layers to reveal textured patterns below. My intention is to illustrate features of plants, animals or natural patterns that might be unnoticed without looking really close.

More info about the lecturer: https://carlastehr.com/
Contact: cstehrbailey@msn.com

This is the third installment of The Future of Oceans lecture series.
This event is offered with generous support by the Darrow Family.

Assisted Listening Devices available