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!
Vision-Revision Writing Workshops with Meg Jeske and Sara Blackthorne
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
Tues Aug 30 9:30am – 12:30pm
Ground Your Writing in the Physical World
In this workshop, you will learn to create an image vocabulary. Through a series of prompts and exercises, we’ll practice drawing on that image vocabulary to write descriptive prose without flowery language. Writers of all genres are welcome and will benefit from this class.Taught by Sara Blackthorne.
Wed Aug 31 9:30am – 12:30pm
Anything but Empty
Writers find inspiration anywhere. In this class, we’ll use song lyrics from singer-songwriters as prompts for writing. Fiction and nonfiction writers welcome. We will write, share, and walk away with several bits of fresh writing. The title of this workshop comes from the Sara Bareilles song, “Brave.” Open to all writers. Taught by Meg Weber
Thurs Sept 1 9:30am – 12:30pm
Re-Visioning Your Words
So you’ve got some writing, (maybe from the workshop on Tuesday or Wednesday?!) and you want to take it to the next level. Together we’ll explore tools for re-visioning your writing, and experiment with ways to enliven and communicate exactly what you intend. Taught by Meg Weber
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. She is currently at work on two book-length memoir projects.
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. Learn more at sarablackthorne.com. Together Meg and Sara operate Paper Lion Press. Pounce over to PaperLionPress.com
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day.
Please bring a notebook or journal and writing implements. Please bring a snack if needed. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 15+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:12.
Please RSVP by Aug 26 souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
SUMMER ART CAMP For Adults (and kids) Program*
Fiber Arts Camp with Brooke Shepherd and Deirdre Spahr
Three One-Day Workshops: RSVP for 1 or all 3
Tues Sept 6 10am – 1pm Workshop with Brooke Shepherd
Introduction to Tapestry Weaving
Come try tapestry weaving! This basic technique of weaving cloth starts with very simple
beginnings. In this class you will learn the basics of choosing yarns, warping the loom and
weaving basic shapes. The sample piece you create may be kept as a future reference, used as
a small mat or sewn into a pouch or pocket. Small looms and basic materials will be provided.
Materials Fee $45 includes small loom, yarn, and tapestry needle.
Please RSVP 2 weeks before class begins
Students may bring yarn and their own loom and save on materials fee
Max 12 Students Skill level – Total beginner through Intermediate
All ages – children 5 and up
Wed Sept 7 10am – 1pm Workshop with Brooke Shepherd
Dye Workshop: Indigo or Shibori
Learn about different dyes and how they relate to the weather and temperature. The appropriate technique will be determined by the instructor (and the weather) and then all will have hands-on instruction.
Thurs Sept 8 10am – 1pm Workshop with Dierdre Spahr
Felted “Paintings” with Naturally Dyed Wool
Natural dyes presentation and workshop – Wool painting design planning through drawing or painting, Begin felted pictures through laying down base layers using multi-needle felting tool, Finalizing felt paintings through using single needles to add fine detail
Materials: $55 each for natural dye materials, wool roving, wool backing, foam felting pads, felting needle tools and felting needles – participants would take home a felting needle tool, felting foam and a handfelted “painting”
Brooke Shepherd
Growing up on the West Coast with the Pacific Ocean in my backyard has most definitely shaped my creative processes: salt air, the rhythm of waves crashing, the cycle of the tides and the moon…these are the memories that I invoke which inform most of my work. Seawater Studio is my textile arts studio based in Portland, Oregon. I create a seasonal collection of garments and accessories as well as collaborate with other artists in order to produce one-of-a-kind handwoven yardage for the fashion, interior design, and costuming industries. I aim to use only sustainable and organic yarns, dyes, and fabrics in my work and am especially inspired by the mission of the Fibershed movement.
Deirdre Spahr, Deirdre’s love for the outdoors began as a child in Pennsylvania where, from a young age, she and her little sister had free range of the farm fields, woods and creeks surrounding their home. Her parents are both active environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts who have long supported her interests in sustainable development. Before becoming a Waldorf school teacher and moving to Portland, Deirdre worked with non-profit groups in New York to develop educational programming for children and adults, on environmental and humanitarian issues. It is Deirdre’s hope to reawaken conscious connection with nature and community through fun . . . and a fair amount of goading people into putting away their cell phones to engage directly with mud, bugs, skipping stones, stinging nettle, the pouring rain, climbing trees and more, as much as possible.
Cost $75 for all three days or $30 each day paid to the Sou’wester. This workshop is open to the public.
Please bring additional material fees noted in class description paid directly to the instructor. All skill levels welcome, no art experience needed. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided.
Please RSVP souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542
Creative Writing Retreat with Nick Jaina
Nick’s first Summer Art Camp workshops went so well that we are adding another workshop. This time in Artist-In-Residence style in which the entire lodge is set aside for students in this workshop and all students may book a room in the lodge for $50 a night.
Mon Sept 12 th – Thurs Sept 15th 10am – 1pm or 2pm – 5pm
This set of workshops focuses on all the good things that writing can do for your mental and emotional state, how it can bring you closer to people, and how it can help you understand the world. Rather than just trying to make something marketable, we will work on discovering the interesting, funny, and wonderful ideas that are sitting inside of us.
Students sign up for the workshop and then pick the time slot they prefer.
Sign up for 1 day or all 4. Pick one time slot for each day.
We are offering Writer Retreat prices for any suite in the lodge: $150 for the week or $50 a night (potentially shared accommodations). Students do not have to stay at the Sou’wester to take any of these classes.
Nick Jaina is a musician and author from Portland, Oregon. His book Get It While You Can is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Creative Non-Fiction. He has taught writing workshops for ten years at Pendleton Rock Camp.
Cost $100 for all four days or $30 each day.
Please bring a laptop or pen and paper. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot tea and coffee provided. Workshop for students ages 15+. All skill levels welcome. Max # of students:10 (5 in each session, morning or afternoon.)
Please RSVP souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360 – 642 – 2542.
Call the Sou’wester to book your stay – all lodge rooms have been set aside for this retreat.
We are located at 3728 J Place, Seaview, WA 98644
Winter Workshop Series
Prose Writing Workshop with Nick Jaina
DATE: Saturday January 21st
TIME: 10am-2pm
TITLE: Prose Writing with Nick Jaina
COST: $30
Nick Jaina is a musician and writer from Portland, Oregon. His new album Brutal Lives is out on Fluff & Gravy Records. It is available on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, and wherever digital albums are sold. There will be an album release performance at the Liquor Store in Portland on October 6th.
He is a co-founder and musical director of the Satellite Ballet and Collective in New York City. He has composed the music for three ballets and three contemporary dances with that group, featuring dancers from the New York City Ballet, Ten Hairy Legs, and Juilliard, performing at the Baryshnikov Center and the Joyce Theater. Their most recent performance was two sold-out shows at Brooklyn Academy of Music in May 2014. Of that show, the New York Times wrote, “[The] pure, pungent, earthy music for strings, piano, and percussion… was the most physically bracing part of the night.”
He released his first book, Get It While You Can, a work of non-fiction, through Perfect Day Publishing in January 2015. It was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Awards.
To RSVP please call the Sou’wester front desk at 360-642-2542 or email souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com.
Winter Workshop Series
Herbal Plant Walk and DIY Elderberry syrup and Herbal Vinegar with Lara Pacheco
DATE: Saturday February 4th
TIME: 10am-2pm
This workshop will involve a plant walk, elderberry syrup and fire cider demo as well as tasting the fruits of our labor. I’ll discuss the medicinal virtues of plants and medicine that help support our immune system during the cold and flu season. We can also break for lunch in between.
Lara Pacheco is a mamita, musician and clinical herbalist in Portland, OR and she runs her own business called Seed and Thistle Apothecary, which offers seed to medicine herbal preparations and educational programs for all ages with a bent on social justice. She is also co founding the Seasonal Wellness Clinic which is a popup clinic to serve the low income community in her neighborhood.
COST: $10-$20 sliding scale
BRING: sack lunch/snacks, pen and paper for notes, suitable gear for the outdoors this time of year
To RSVP please call the Sou’wester front desk at 360-642-2542 or email souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com.
To see a list of all of our Winter Workshop Series please visit:
www.souwesterlodge.com/
Workshop Series at The Sou’wester
Writing is Magic: Story Structure with Nick Jaina & Olivia Pepper
This class will be an exploration of the magic that is writing. We will intersperse short lectures on the hidden truths in the etymology of language with writing exercises that unlock what you are afraid to write about. The purpose is to explore the reverential nature of writing, as a form of therapy, understanding, and communication. Olivia and Nick will focus on inspiration, building meaningful stories, and connecting to the parts of ourselves that are atavistic, that have always existed. (Students are encouraged to take both classes, April 8th and April 15th, but are also welcome to join one or the other. The content of each class will be different. The focus of the class on April 8th will be on Story Structure: We will focus on mythology and the roots of storytelling to inform us how we can structure a story to provide a satisfying progression for the character and themes. The focus of the class on April 15th will be on Mechanics: We will focus on subtext, dialogue, and other ways of packing as much emotion and depth into every line of our writing.)
It will be fun too! Your life is your art. You have already collected all the beautiful things in your world with every choice you’ve made. Now all you have to do is see your own life with grace, and document what you see with honesty. Easy.
Nick Jaina is a writer and musician from Portland, Oregon. His memoir Get It While You Can was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award. Olivia Pepper is a healer and mystic from Austin, Texas.
COST: $50
BRING: pen and paper or laptop, 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.
This workshop is for students age 14 and up.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542