The Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI 53217, welcomes winter on Saturday, January 27, 2024, with a day of outdoor art-making, studio activities, tree walks, scavenger hunts, and whatever other winter activities–ice skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing–the weather permits. The event, which runs from 10 am-4 pm, is free. Dress for the weather and consider carpooling—parking is limited.
Lynden’s 12th Annual Winter Carnival is sponsored by our friends at Davey Tree Expert. They are happy to be joining in the fun again this year and are offering some joy for your minds and your bellies. Swing by their table to enjoy a Tree ID activity; tree climbing gear; a chance to “Ask the Arborist” (a.k.a certified Tree Expert) your tree questions; and toasty cups of hot cider.
Pedro’s South American Food Truck will be onsite from 11 am to 3 pm, selling an array of Latin American snacks, lunch items, and hot drinks.
Orchestrated by Some Fools (Olivia Keidl, Sam Lopez, Carter Voras, Aliya Moore), our highly participatory, artist-driven carnival offers something for everybody, from a winter walk around the grounds to myriad opportunities to try your hand at different projects. More than 25 local artists will be on hand to help us reimagine winter. There will be plenty of all-ages workshops to sample (young children may need parental assistance to participate). Take home an articulated snow paper doll, a miniature winter tree sculpture, a kite, or an ornamental memory jar. Make a winter-themed sticker, an edible (for birds) bird ornament, a rice sack heat bag, or a small felted tapestry. Passing between indoor and outdoor spaces, you can stop in the lobby to watch Xarion Latimore’s short film, Nature Boy. Or gather around the bonfire to watch Lauren Newby repurpose ash trunks into small seats and stools. We always end the day by dipping candles.
Many of the artist projects center hope, especially communal gestures of hope: Margaret Griffin invites you to playfully paint, draw, and write on large sheets of fabric exploring themes of hope for 2024. As these sheets are completed, they will be attached to a tent structure to form a large, colorful, dimensional banner that showcases the hope held in our community. The Everyday Feminist asks you to join them on the grounds to spell out “thank you” in red millet seeds. These seeds will then feed the wildlife in the sculpture garden and highlight the connections between all things. Participants will receive a small bag of seeds to take home to nourish wildlife in the spaces they inhabit. Carolann Grzybowski introduces a ring toss with a twist in Message in a Bottle. Each time you land a ring around a bottle, you get to write a fortune for someone else and add it to a giant bottle board. As time goes on, these community fortunes will accumulate, providing guidance for us all.
Paul Druecke invites visitors to help construct A Deeply Flawed Analogy—a Rube Goldbergesque chain reaction made from leftover and discarded material. The project creates a large-scale Goldberg Machine complete with homespun catapult that launches bags of refuse toward targeted receptacles. He’ll be testing and reconfiguring the project throughout the day. With Ask and the Way Will Be Shown, an installation involving a tree and “as much red yarn as humanly possible,” Ophelia Hix asks us to bind our paths together in the winding movement of life. You can participate by adding natural objects found while wandering the grounds.
For those wanting to learn more about Lynden in winter, Lynden’s Esther Portnoy will be leading a tree walk. Lynden educator Claudia Orjuela has organized a reindeer scavenger hunt that will take you around the grounds and she will also host an edible bird ornament workshop for those who want to make treats for the birds in their neighborhood. The Out There experimental performance series—curating strange sounds in unique spaces—will offer a sound walk, writing workshop, and outdoor performance.
Full list of activities and participating artists below.
More information and artist biographies at: https://www.
10 am – 4 pm Ask and the Way Will Be Shown with Ophelia Hix
To wrap around oneself and bind our paths together in the winding movement of life journey. This project looks to honor the land Lynden sits on and asks visitors to take their time in their exploration of the carnival. Amplifying the scape of nature, Ophelia will create an interactive sculptural installation in collaboration with one of Lynden’s trees. Using as much red yard as humanly possible, she will weave a walkway through and around the tree, creating a portal to the carnival and the grounds and amplifying the space in between destinations. You are invited visitors to add natural objects found while wandering the grounds to the installation. Play, be pensive, and dance through the walkway that presents itself as a maze but exists as a path.
10 am – 4 pm A Deeply Flawed Analogy: America Pastime Meets Rube Goldberg with Paul Druecke
Artist Paul Druecke invites visitors to the Winter Carnival to help construct A Deeply Flawed Analogy—a Rube Goldbergesque chain reaction made from leftover and discarded material. The project creates a large-scale Goldberg Machine complete with homespun catapult that launches bags of refuse toward targeted receptacles. We’ll be testing and reconfiguring the project throughout the day.
10 am – 4pm Held Hope with Margaret Griffin
Held Hope invites participants to playfully paint, draw, and write on large sheets of fabric, exploring themes of hope they are holding for 2024. What are you looking forward to in this new year? Are you celebrating friendships, family, work, school, personal projects? These collaboratively produced sheets will be attached to the framework of Lynden’s outdoor tent frame, forming a large, dimensional banner that showcases the hope being held in our community.
10 am – 4 pm Tree Identification and Trivia Table with Davey Tree
Happy to be joining in the fun again this year, our friends from Davey Tree are offering some joy for your minds & your bellies. Swing by their table to enjoy a Tree ID activity with samples of different trees and examples of live vs dead twigs (can you guess which is which?); tree climbing gear, such as saddles, to learn what Davey teams use to climb your favorite trees; a chance to “Ask the Arborist” (a.k.a certified Tree Expert) your tree questions; and toasty cups of hot cider. The Davey Tree Expert Company is your local tree, shrub, and lawn care company. Their tree care experts, or arborists, are focused on providing reliable, quality services to improve our urban and residential landscapes.
10 am – 4 pm Lobby Screening – Xarion Latimore: Nature Boy
Xarion Latimore will screen “Nature Boy” in the lobby area, standing by to answer questions. “Nature Boy” is shot on 16mm film and explores the concepts of form and space.
10 am – 4 pm Reindeer Scavenger Hunt with Claudia Orjuela
Claudia Orujela directs a scavenger hunt for wooden reindeer located across the grounds. Stop by the front desk for bells to hang around the reindeer and a clipboard to draw your discoveries.
10 am – 11:45 am Snow People Paper Dolls with Kierston Ghaznavi
Work alongside artist Kierston Ghaznavi as she shares her unique paper doll-making techniques. You will make your own paper doll starting with a blank template and using markers, pens, colored paper, glitter, and a variety of other supplies –and your imagination. This activity is designed as a drop-in and is open to all ages (young children may need parental assistance).
10 am – 11:45 am Miniature Winter Tree Sculpture Workshop with Heather Eiden
Make a miniature winter tree with artist Heather Eiden by wrapping and braiding wires, then threading them with beads to create the effect of snow and ice.
10 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm Chair Making Demo with Lauren Newby
Gather by the bonfire to watch woodworker Lauren Newby split an ash log into long segments and process them into chair parts. Invariably some parts of the split tree will provide fuel for the fire, keeping everyone warm. Lauren processes rough pieces with hand tools on a shaving horse as she turns what looks like firewood into smooth, round legs. As the day progresses, small seats and stools will be made for guests to join in the conversation around the fire.
11 am – 12 pm Winter Tree Walk with Esther Portnoy
Esther Portnoy of Lynden’s land team will introduce you to Lynden’s trees in winter.
11 am – 1 pm Make a Kite with Sindie Ho
Drop in and start working on a kite. The winter has held a great big blue sky shy and away and Sindie would like to repopulate it with a vivid hue and play–in spite of a possibly wet slushy gray. Using found branches and sticks, Sindie will provide a space to form bright blue kites with bells and ribbons. An easy-to-follow instructional zine will be available, too.
12 pm – 1:45 pm Winter-Themed Block Print and Sticker Workshop with Hunter Louis
Using EZ cut linoleum blocks and acrylic block printing ink, we will print our own winter-themed stickers. Use a pre-carved block or try your hand at carving your own.
12 pm – 1:45 pm Ornamental Memory Jar Workshop with Natalie Alicia
Choose from an array of treasures to ornament your very own memory jar with mosaic artist Natalie Alicia.
12 pm – 2 pm The Everyday Feminist: Inhabit Gratitude
As a thank you to all supporters of Lynden Sculpture Garden, The Everyday Feminist invites you to help create a work of ephemeral text art spelling out “thank you” in red millet seeds. These seeds will feed the wildlife in the sculpture garden (thank you) and highlight the connections between all things (thank you). You will receive a small bag of seeds to nourish wildlife in the spaces you inhabit.
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm Message in a Bottle: An Interactive Writing Exercise with Carolann Grzybowski
Carolann Grzybowski invites people of all ages to a bottle ring toss with a twist. Each time you land a ring around a bottle, you get to write a fortune/insight for someone else and add it to a giant bottle board. As time goes on, these community fortunes/messages will accumulate, providing guidance for all of us.
1 pm – 3 pm Edible Bird Ornament Workshop with Claudia Orjuela
Show our feathered neighbors some love this season with the help of Claudia Orjuela, Lynden’s Bilingual Art and Nature Educator. Create your own unique edible (to birds) ornament using found objects, seeds, and other bird-friendly treats. This activity is designed as a drop-in and is open to all ages (young children may need parental assistance).
1 pm – 3 pm Out There Series: Sound Walk, Writing, Performance
Out There is an experimental performance series curating strange sounds in unique spaces.
John and Elise will begin with a soundwalk, exploring the sonic environment on the Lynden grounds. The group may periodically stop to focus on specific “soundmarks” and engage in brief meditative exercises along the way. Milwaukee-based poet and leatherworker Annie Grizzle will follow up with a brief writing workshop (group sharing, collaborative writing) to reflect on the soundwalk experience. Out There will finish with a performance by Milwaukee musician Joe Kirschling, who creates hypnotic and textural electronic dance music under the name Ontonomy.
2 pm – 3:45 pm Dip Candle Making with Jeremy Stepien
Make candles the old-fashioned way, by dipping a string in wax. This activity is designed as a drop-in and is open to all ages (young children may need parental assistance).
2 pm – 3:45 pm Rice Sack Heat Bag Workshop with Ollie Scaffidi
It’s winter and now’s the time to learn how to make your very own heat pad to take home. You’ll learn how to use common household materials to make your own microwavable heat warmers. These pads are customizable: you can use them for pain or cramp relief, an immunity boost, or to keep warm on a cold day. Choose from a variety of materials, including essential oils, to personalize your DIY heat pad. All ages welcome: alternative techniques will be available to make the project accessible and fun for everyone.
2 pm – 4 pm Outdoor Felting Workshop with Rylee Krumrei
Create a small mixed media tapestry by embedding dried plant material and small trinkets into a flat felt sheet using the technique of needle felting with loose wool. Wear your fingerless gloves!
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