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!
GRETTA SEABIRD LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER
3/1/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM
Live Music: Gretta Seabird
Gretta Seabird is the new moniker from frontwomen, Lee McDonnell (from Lee and the bees, Bevelers) that is packed with soul and pop. Lee and the band are set to release their first single ‘Cycling’ off their upcoming EP February of 2025.
Lee has played locally in Portland for 13 years and has performed her songwriting across the US and Canada.
Over the years she has shared bills at large and intimate settings with notable bands including Kaleo, Waxahatchee, Taylor John Williams, Nicki Bluhm, Shook Twins, Moorea Masa, Jesca Hoop, Mutual Benefit, among others.
Her new project began with a simple songwriting challenge. Every two weeks, Jeremiah Brunnhoelzl would email guitar tracks from his flat in Brooklyn, NY to Lee McDonnell in Portland, OR, who would then give herself a mere day to pen down lyrics and melody. As the songs formed at a rapid, yet natural pace, the pair began to believe in the poetry they were creating, in the little moments caught in time. Thus, Gretta Seabird was formed, and with it the debut EP “Cycling.”
Lee McDonnell and Jeremiah Brunnhoelzl first met in 2011 near the beginning of their music careers, which found them each playing in various projects across Portland’s independent music scene. McDonnell formed projects ‘Bevelers’ and ‘Lee and the Bees’ and Brunnhoelzl began performing under the moniker ‘Arlo Indigo,’ allowing each artist to develop their own voice as they maintained a friendship over the years. The pandemic years brought about a transitional period for both artists: Brunnhoelzl relocated to Brooklyn, NY, while McDonnell battled vocal challenges that led to the loss of her singing voice for over a year.
“Losing my singing voice was absolutely frightening and I felt like I was losing my identity.” McDonnell said. “I felt like this EP was a revisit to getting back into music and falling in love with the processes and production.”
The EP is fresh, buoyant, each of its tracks a tiny love letter to the human condition. McDonnell’s voice floats above Brunnhoelzl’s playful guitar work, her rich harmonies and backing vocal flourishes adding a warmth to the spacious mix which explores an indie-pop sound that brings to mind The Blow, or Lucius. The sonic experimentation was a conscious decision on the part of McDonnell, who was eager to break free from the bounds of her guitar and embrace a new and unrestrained territory of exploration. It speaks to her philosophy as an artist, which renders her songwriting urgent and off the cuff.
$75.00
With visiting artist, Chris Baskin!
Make your own ceramic vessel – a form created by human hands for 14,000 years or more and still going strong – with artist, educator and potter Chris Baskin. Explore clay bodies and forming methods. Create and decorate your own unique vessel. Consider form, function, utility and necessity with your hands and heart
As artist, educator, and potter, since 1995 I have taught in a host of contexts from University, to artist residencies in Portland Public Schools, to working with an elementary student and his grandmother, in my own studio over the past four summers. I teach connecting with clay in visible and material ways, connecting with the self, the heart and hands, and connecting with larger world of humans living on this planet through images, stories, and records of things made in clay!
$115.00
With Joe Hochman!
Dig deeper into the concepts, conversations and techniques that produce great cups. Through discussion and demonstration, we will develop a systematic approach to the myriad decisions that come together to produce intentional and refined drinking vessels. We will explore various cup forms, trimming techniques and handle making approaches. Students should expect to come away with a few finished mugs, and a deeper understanding of how to engage in the design and production of thoughtful cups.
Joe Hochman is an active duty service member in the Coast Guard and an avid potter stationed in Westport, WA. He has had the privilege of making, teaching, and showing in Santa Fe New Mexico; Macomb, Illinois; Juneau, Alaska; and Asheville, North Carolina. With a background in Philosophy and a love of teaching, he believes that conversations about pots, the communities that spring up around them, and teaching others how to make them is as important as the work he makes himself.
BLAIR BORAX LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER
4/5/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM
Live Music: Blair Borax
Born on the East Coast, and home to the West, Blair Borax’s musical journey began unexpectedly in 2016, when a friend gifted her a cheap guitar. Since then, Borax has become a prolific songwriter, recording artist, and performer, known for her distinctive voice, captivating melodies, and thoughtful songwriting that taps into the heart of being human. Since she quit her day job in 2022, she has released two full length albums and played over 300 shows across the country. With more sophisticated songwriting, a newfound confidence in fingerpicking guitar, and a move towards dynamic acoustic folk production, her latest record, “Tender Lately” (2024), offers gentle reminders to quiet the inner critic, find joy in the small things, and embrace the precious brevity of our time on Earth. She is poised to release her third full length record, The Color Green, in 2025.
ROSE GERBER LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER
4/12/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM
Live Music: Rose Gerber
Known for the unique juxtaposition of her wry wit and ability to pen a heartbreaking ballad, Rose Gerber has been a fixture in the Portland, OR music scene where she’s honed her signature sound of rock meets country. Her songs are a melting pot of essential American sounds, bringing a high lonesome rock vibe to the familiar sound of the pedal steel whine. Think Natalie Merchant-fronts-The Cardinals.
$115.00
w/visiting artist, Marsha Mack!
Using various hand building techniques including pinch, coil, and slab, in this two day workshop participants will create tabletop potted cactus, succulent, and plant sculptures. Glazed in a variety of methods, materials, and surface design techniques, these houseplants are guaranteed to thrive in any environment. Participants should expect to create one to three potted plant sculptures between 6-12 inches tall.
Marsha Mack is the Assistant Director and Curator of Galleries & Exhibitions at the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University, with eight years of experience in professional curatorial roles. She holds an MFA in Ceramics and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, and a BFA in Ceramics from San Francisco State University. Mack was formerly the Director of Fresh A.I.R. Gallery and SEEN Studios (Columbus, OH), a nonprofit gallery and studio space serving artists with mental illness and substance use disorders, the Associate Director of David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO), and has taught studio ceramics at The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), The University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, CO), The Cultural Art Center (Columbus, OH), Washington Heights Art Center (Denver, CO), and Palos Verdes Art Center (Palos Verdes, CA). She is a practicing artist who has presented projects and exhibitions with the Columbus Museum of Art (Columbus, OH), the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, CO), Black Cube Nomadic Museum (Englewood, CO), The Galleries of Contemporary Art (Colorado Springs, CO), among others. She was recently named a 2023 recipient of the Greater Columbus Art Council and Columbus Museum of Art’s Visual Arts Fellowship, and was selected as a 2024 GLEAN Artist in Residence.
$250.00
With visiting national artist, Stanton Hunter
This workshop is designed to inspire potters and sculptors to move beyond technical skills and tap into their aesthetic sensibilities, unlocking new strategies and possibilities in their creative process. Through hands-on clay projects focused on contemporary 3D design, visual experiments, engaging discussions, and curated image presentations, participants will explore ways to break through creative blocks and deepen their artistic expression. Whether you’re seeking fresh perspectives or looking to take your work to the next level, this workshop will help you approach your art with renewed creativity and purpose.
Stanton Hunter is a ceramic artist/recently retired professor, and exhibits his work nationally and internationally. Writings (both authored by and about him) and images of his work appear in numerous publications. He has been an instructor and guest lecturer at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, ran the ceramics program at Scripps College in Claremont for five years, was a Visiting assistant Professor of Art at Pitzer College also in Claremont, and from 2005 to 2024 was a Professor of Art at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. He studied with Ken Price and Ralph Bacerra. Prior to art, he did his undergraduate work in perceptual psychology/alternative education at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and pursued a career in music before the visual arts. Stanton’s work incorporates vessels, as well as autonomous sculptural forms, site-specific installations with work in or referring to the landscape.
