Virtual 2-Day Workshop

As we enter this winter of unknowns and isolation for many, this time in history can be seen as gift as much as struggle. Within this liminal, in-between space lies dormant a great potential for creative exploration.  If the words or feelings of falling “Between the Cracks” speaks to you, we invite you to take part in a group exhibition at the Kress Center in Egg Harbor.

January 23 & 30 from 10am-12pm

Open to all ages, it is recommended that artists attend both free Virtual (Zoom) Workshops led by Door County artist and educator Dawn Patel. Recordings of the workshops will be available through end of February 2021 and will be shared below inside this article when they are available.

Artists should supply their own tools and equipment. If needed, computer/WIFI access will be available at the Kress Pavilion during workshops times. Please call to reserve your computer space at 920-868-3334, extension 3.

Participants will create and display a work of art for a 3-month exhibit beginning March 2021. All mediums will be considered (some limitations may apply for the space). The workshop will utilize visualization, automatic writing and drawing as well as meditation of dream and consciousness exploration. Absolute beginners as well as experienced artists are encouraged to join.

(Video above: Between the Cracks – Session 2)

Dawn Patel is the artist and clothing creator behind Brilliant Stranger in Egg Harbor and on Etsy.  Dawn has over 30 years of experience creating, teaching and exhibiting art, as well as developing her own method and practice of embodied art making. Past teaching experience with Youth through Adults include Milwaukee Art Museum, University of WI Milwaukee, Northland College, the Chas A Wustum Art Museum and The Peninsula School of the Arts.  She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards and most recently served as an artist in residence in Puebla, Mexico with the Arquetopia Institute.

For many artists and creators living in Door County, the question of belonging begs to be answered. The climate, tourist/seasonal economy and demographics of Door County can result in experiences of solitude that while often ideal for artistic practice can lead to isolation. If not connected to one of our county’s prominent galleries or tied to a beneficial social network, many an artist creates in a private space and can seemingly fall “between the cracks.”  This space can be be seen as a liminal space.

And yet, in the famous words of Leonard Cohen, this is “where the light gets in.”  These pockets of light are where artists working in solitude fill the liminal spaces of our County with beauty and creativity.  Liminality can, in this way, be seen as an opportunity and gift.

Perhaps you are creating in solitude and your work is not seen by a larger audience than close friends and family? Or you belong to a supportive social group that is itself between the cracks of our dominant narrative? Or you are concerned you may lack the funds to present your work in a way that makes it gallery material?

Whatever your “story”, if you resonate with the feeling of being and falling “between the cracks” in any way, you are invited to participate and contribute to this unique exhibition opportunity.

We will begin with a two day virtual workshop, in which the experience of liminality is explored and embodied, and ultimately leading to the creation of a work of art, writing or performance on the the theme of the in-between space – the cracks or crevices of culture and society where creativity pours into a private space. 

What and Who are Liminal?

People existing in the crevices and margins of  the mainstream (such as hermits, monks, exiles) People having an experience that puts them the in a temporary way (such as grief, job loss, divorce, illnesses, but also astronauts, cave explorers and travelers) People who enter into liminality as a practice – Artists, Spiritual practitioners, actors, etc.., and people who by definition are liminal beyond personal choice and decision (marginalized people, refugees, immigrants, members of racial minorities, transgender people and people with disabilities, to name some examples)  The social circumstances resulting from the Covid Pandemic can be seen as creating liminal experiences for many, as well as some of the current breakdowns in political stability and status quo.

Contact Dawn Patel for more information at dawn (at) brilliantstranger.com or 920-366-0301.