SOU’WESTER EVENTS!
Discover what’s happening during your next stay or plan a visit around our free live music, workshops, wellness offerings and more!
Workshop Series at The Sou’wester
Kinchaku Kago: Japanese Basket Purse with Donna Crispin
Weave a bit of Japanese culture into your day by making a “kinchaku kago” or Japanese basket purse, large enough to carry your phone and wallet. We will twine and plait with cane and reed to create this small purse, lined with handmade paper. The top portion will be a pre- made drawstring bag that we will sew onto the basket. This basket design by Donna was featured in Belle Armoire magazine.
“Eugene weaver and basketmaker Donna Sakamoto Crispin isn’t one to expound on the depth of meaning in each piece of her vastly diverse body of work. Rather, she is one of those rare, refreshing artists who allows a work of art to speak for itself–and, often, for her. Ms. Crispin’s art form utilizes traditional Japanese and Native American techniques passed down from generation to generation for hundreds, even thousands of years. She believes her work as artist and teacher is fundamental to preserving this craft which, outside of the realm of art, is largely obsolete.
But beyond these considerations–and we should hope every artist regards the heritage of their craft with such reverence–Ms. Crispin doesn’t get overly concerned with the details. “I’m just doing what I want to do,” she says. “I like to see what I can do with different materials. Often, I’m just responding to the environment.” This usually means she works with materials gathered sustainably, from leaves and pine needles gathered from the forest floor to painstakingly harvested strips of cedar bark.
But sometimes, Ms. Crispin creates a piece that seems to be in direct conversation with the world around her. As complex, intricate, and varied as all her work is, it is these landscape-inspired pieces that are arguably the best examples of Ms. Crispin’s artistry. While artist-in-residence at Playa Home in Summer Lake, Oregon, Ms. Crispin created Willow Pod, seen above, a living willow and red osier dogwood basket. The juxtaposition of basket and landscape reminds her, she says, of the Japanese concept of wabi, “a lonely sense of impermanence.” It is perhaps appropriate that all she need say in explanation of the piece is a single word, all others failing. Isn’t that, after all, why we create visual art in the first place: because explanations, summaries, generalizations–words–simply aren’t enough.” ~Luke Fannin
COST: $50 plus $25 material fee (Please pay material fee directly to the instructor.)
BRING: scissors, checkbook box (for a mold), awl, water bottle, old towel, and please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided.
All workshops are open to the public.
All Skill Levels Welcome. Open to students age 16 and up.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542
Workshop Series at The Sou’wester
Ayurvedic Nutrition and Self Care for Autumnal Equinox with Elyssia Schaeffer
Learn how to use the ancient healing practices of Ayurveda and Yoga to keep your body and mind balanced as we transition from Summer To Fall. Seasonal beverages and snacks will be provided!
Elyssia Schaeffer is a Certified Wellness Coach and Registered Yoga Teacher from Portland, OR blending her knowledge of Ayurveda, Yoga and holistic nutrition to share person-centered seasonal eating and self care practices.
COST: $15
BRING: Yoga mat and a blanket. Please wear comfortable clothes.
All workshops are open to the public.
All Skill Levels Welcome.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542
Come experience the therapeutic workings of a Finnish sauna in combination with a full body mask of wild foraged mineral clay. These natural therapies joined together, act as powerful means of detoxification, stress relief, muscle relaxant, skin cleanser, and more. Bring your bathing suit and a friend, be prepared to sweat it out with like minded folks, brave a cold plunge, and paint each other with some Skagit river valley clay.
$20 for Sou’wester guests $25 for general public.
Dress to accommodate the maximum amount of clay. Towels, clay, information hand-outs, tea and filtered water provided. There will also be an opportunity to purchase wild harvested mineral clay for future personal use.
Space is limited to 8 folks
Please RSVP. Any questions? Email mamookwellness@icloud.com
WEEKLY EVENT
A unique ambient sound experience, blending tiny ambient concert and harmonic healing in which participants are enveloped in the vibrational drones of various traditional healing instruments.
COST: Suggested donation $5-10. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
RSVP: souwesterwellness@gmail.com
WHERE: Wellness Trailer
Space limited to 8 people
Workshop Series at The Sou’wester
Topography of Self: Writing Workshop with Sara Blackthorne
Topography of Self: (n) the way places infuse, inspire, and invade our writing life
Topography of Self is an investigation into the way place appears in our writing. It is a road map to the places we have lived, breathed, dreamed, and suffered. Designed to infuse your work with sensation by pushing you deep into your own sense memory, this course will inspire, enlighten, and enliven your work.
The places we go, the landscapes we discover, change and alter us. Our journey to new territories inspires us, and these locations leave traces of their being in our hearts. Exploring the impact these places have on our souls and psyches gives us new insight into our experiences and fodder for our writing. It changes the way we talk about place. Our place.
Rooting into the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, we will use writing prompts, images, smells, and sounds to dig deep into our image vocabularies and discover our internal geography. Through this discovery, we begin to write the stories that mirror the topographies of our journey to this moment.
A writer, editor, creative coach, and intuitive ritualist, Sara Blackthorne brings her love of mystery and the journey to her writing and art. She can often be found wandering along the beach, in the forest, or a city street. Her first chapbook, Wander, explores the topography of self.
COST: $40
BRING: Notebook, writing instruments, photograph or object representing their favorite place (suggested but not required.) Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided.
All workshops are open to the public.
All Skill Levels Welcome.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542
Workshop Series at The Sou’wester
Radio Muse: Writing Workshop with Meg Weber
Writers find inspiration anywhere. In this workshop, we’ll use song lyrics from singer-songwriters as prompts for writing. We’ll explore how the confluence of words, rhythm, melody, and harmony affect our own words and stories. We will listen to songs from several musicians and read along with the lyrics. Then we’ll write together and share these fledgling bits of story aloud. At the end of our workshop, you’ll walk away with several short pieces of fresh writing and hopefully a new appreciation for how music can influence and inspire your writing. Fiction and nonfiction writers welcome, no experience necessary.
Meg Weber writes to connect with herself and to understand the world around her. She believes in the power of words and in the synergy created by writing in community. Meg holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is a therapist in private practice. Her work has been featured at MUTHA Magazine, The Manifest-Station, and The Quotable. She is currently at work on two book-length memoir projects.
COST: $40
BRING: Notebook, writing instruments, photograph that represents a memorable event or age in the individual’s life (suggested, not required.) Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided.
All workshops are open to the public.
All Skill Levels Welcome.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542
WEEKLY EVENT
Mindfulness Talk with Shanna Gillette
Shanna is a certified yoga teacher, ordained metaphysical counselor and empath. Her journey began as a small child inadvertently discovering deep meditation as an escape from abuse. Having always had an interest in the unseen and unexplained, she began having out of body experiences before learning to speak. Eventually she received a regents scholarship to ASU for religious studies. A series of intense life changing experiences including a serious car accident brought her to the first of several “awakenings,” beginning most notably in 2005. She now helps people through the shift in consciousness we are currently experiencing, assisting them along the path toward self-forgiveness and self-love – the greatest journey of all.
Truly exemplifying her favorite quote from Kahlil Gibran, “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain,’ she adds, “The journey to wellness is a constantly evolving process where we learn to nurture body and mind beginning with the heart; To truly understand that the most important step to long-lasting good health and harmony isn’t necessarily about sweating our way to perfect abs or contorting our bodies into painful positions. It starts within. It’s about self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, and self-love. It’s about learning to accept and respect ourselves wherever we may be. Through the physicality of yoga, we tune into a deeper more expansive space beyond the trivial day to day. We learn that it’s ok to nurture ourselves and to ALLOW our spirits to be happy.”
Shanna received her yoga teacher’s certification at Bryan Kest’s world renowned studio in Santa Monica, CA. She attended Arizona State University for Religious Studies, and is currently studying at the University of Metaphysics Sedona. She is available for private yoga and counseling sessions and can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/shanna.gillette
http://www.facebook.com/justbevibration
COST: Suggested $5-10 donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
RSVP: souwesterwellness@gmail.com or call (360) 642-2452
WEEKLY EVENT: YOGA
Candlelit Vinyasa Flow with Shanna Gillette
Drop in to this intermediate evening flow tuning into the breath and out of the chattering mind. Our focus is on balance, relaxation, flexibility, and acceptance of where we are. Fluid movement and creative transitions promote deep and even breathing to strengthen the nervous system and increase circulation to the organs. Binaural soundscapes open the mind to the vibration of universal consciousness. Guided meditation begin and end each class.
Shanna is a certified yoga teacher, ordained metaphysical counselor and empath. Her journey began as a small child inadvertently discovering deep meditation as an escape from abuse. Having always had an interest in the unseen and unexplained, she began having out of body experiences before learning to speak. Eventually she received a regents scholarship to ASU for religious studies. A series of intense life changing experiences including a serious car accident brought her to the first of several “awakenings,” beginning most notably in 2005. She now helps people through the shift in consciousness we are currently experiencing, assisting them along the path toward self-forgiveness and self-love – the greatest journey of all.
Truly exemplifying her favorite quote from Kahlil Gibran, “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain,’ she adds, “The journey to wellness is a constantly evolving process where we learn to nurture body and mind beginning with the heart; To truly understand that the most important step to long-lasting good health and harmony isn’t necessarily about sweating our way to perfect abs or contorting our bodies into painful positions. It starts within. It’s about self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, and self-love. It’s about learning to accept and respect ourselves wherever we may be. Through the physicality of yoga, we tune into a deeper more expansive space beyond the trivial day to day. We learn that it’s ok to nurture ourselves and to ALLOW our spirits to be happy.”
Shanna received her yoga teacher’s certification at Bryan Kest’s world renowned studio in Santa Monica, CA. She attended Arizona State University for Religious Studies, and is currently studying at the University of Metaphysics Sedona. She is available for private yoga and counseling sessions and can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/shanna.gillette
http://www.facebook.com/justbevibration
COST: Suggested $10-20 donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
BRING: yoga mat (we will have some available for community use) and a blanket or something warm if needed
RSVP: souwesterwellness@gmail.com or call (360) 642-2452
This is a level 2 class.
WEEKLY EVENT
A unique ambient sound experience, blending tiny ambient concert and harmonic healing in which participants are enveloped in the vibrational drones of various traditional healing instruments.
COST: Suggested donation $5-10. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
RSVP: souwesterwellness@gmail.com
WHERE: Wellness Trailer
Space limited to 8 people
Come experience the therapeutic workings of a Finnish sauna in combination with a full body mask of wild foraged mineral clay. These natural therapies joined together, act as powerful means of detoxification, stress relief, muscle relaxant, skin cleanser, and more. Bring your bathing suit and a friend, be prepared to sweat it out with like minded folks, brave a cold plunge, and paint each other with some Skagit river valley clay.
$20 for Sou’wester guests $25 for general public.
Dress to accommodate the maximum amount of clay. Towels, clay, information hand-outs, tea and filtered water provided. There will also be an opportunity to purchase wild harvested mineral clay for future personal use.
Space is limited to 8 folks
Please RSVP. Any questions? Email mamookwellness@icloud.com