Maple syrup is part of the culinary and farming heritage of Ontario. Maple sugar and syrup were the principal sweeteners that First Nations and pioneer families used to brighten those winter meals that were based on stored root vegetables and smoked pork. Syrup was made on most family farms. It offered productive work during the lulls of winter and spring months when other farm activities were not so pressing. This workshop will focus of the science that underlies this traditional craft. David Hahn will open the workshop with a talk at the Wintergreen Lodge on the science of syrup. He will explain how to identify trees, and how to best collect the sap once it is flowing. David will also explain how to boil the sap, and how to bottle and grade the syrup. Following lunch, which will feature foods that use maple syrup in their preparation, participants will spend the afternoon taking part in the various aspects of maple syrup production at David’s neighbouring farm. As well as learning about syrup production, participants will have ample opportunities to enjoy the enchantment of the sugar bush during the earliest days of spring.

David Hahn and his wife Marion Watkins operate Forest Farm on Canoe Lake Road in South Frontenac. They produce maple syrup and certified organic garlic and they were Eastern Ontario Garlic Champions in 2006 and 2008. David is active with the movement to strengthen the local food system in the countryside around Kingston. He has been involved with the Food Down the Road project and is currently working with National Farmers Union New Farm project. This project is helping new and established farmers learn about the opportunities in sustainable production for local markets. David has networked with the thousands of farmers from around the globe who have gathered at Terra Madre in Turin Italy in both 2006 and 2008 to develop new models of farming that will resist the global domination of corporate agriculture. David also believes that development of renewable energy will offer significant opportunities farmers and rural communities here as it has in Europe. David is also a municipal Councillor in South Frontenac Township. He is also currently the Vice Chair of the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority.

Do you have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear? Are you concerned with a sustainable wardrobe? Then we have the perfect solution to your wardrobe woes. Join Annie Clifford, artist, musician, and refashionista as she shows you how to “refashion” your wardrobe with a snip here, a tuck there, and a little dash of found fabric treasures. Refashioned clothes are recycled, reused, and remade items. Each piece is unique and should be heaps of fun to make and wear. You will leave this workshop having transformed one, two, maybe three wardrobe items using any and all of your favourite bits of recycled or reused fabric, jewellery, and other garments. Plan to arrive with a few items to refashion along with fabrics, accessories, or any other reclaimed materials to refashion with. You don’t need to have too much sewing experience to enjoy this; many fine things can be done with very simple sewing skills. We’ll also have a few sewing machines around for folks who already know how to use them without help, or feel free to bring your own. And if you’re a really terrible sewer, don’t worry about it. We’ll also have some strong glue!

Annie has fun making clothing. She aspires to create garments that flatter the human body and make people feel beautiful. Annie participates in fair consumption and promotes ethical sourcing and locally made products. Her quirky urban-meets-rural designs feature vintage fabrics, screenprinted linens and silks, and upcycled wool and cotton. Upon returning to her native city of Kingston after an extremely useful degree in Contemporary Theory, Annie became deeply involved in the Kingston art scene, and soon found her place among the NGB Studios, a popular artist studio complex on the banks of the Cataraqui River, and became a founding member of Made4You, an artisan collective and store in downtown Kingston. When not creating unique and stylish clothing, Annie hangs around with her superband and ambient folk collective, The Gertrudes.

Have you ever contemplated preparing your favourite Indian treats and dishes at home but talk yourself out of it in trepidation of where to begin, and what spices to use? Spend the day with Mona Khairullah learning about the important role spices play in Indian Cuisine; learn the essentials for your Indian spice box, key ingredients and kitchen fundamentals. Indian cooking is as diverse as it is delicious and is regarded as one of the most exotic and tasteful cuisines on the globe. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make delicious Indian cuisine in the comfort of your own home.

Mona Khairullah is a retired Interior Designer with a passion for cooking and entertaining. Four years ago she opened her heart and her home to offer cooking lessons in Indian cuisine. Mona provides an informative, interactive, and fun environment, culminating with a scrumptious Indian meal.

You will be introduced to the magic of needle felting while we create fun wearable art broaches and beads. Using colourful wool fibre, perhaps some bits from nature collected on one of the trails at Wintergreen, and a little imagination, you can create a whole collection of accessories and learn needle felting techniques with endless possibilities.

Andrea Graham is an award winning feltmaker and educator from the Kingston, Ontario area where she is the chair of the Kingston Fibre Artists and the Canadian Coordinator for the International Feltmakers Association. Andrea has studied feltmaking with many respected feltmakers and has participated in international felt exhibits, juried and invitational shows, and has been featured in publications around the world. Andrea’s work has recently been exhibited at the Ontario Crafts Council, the Tom Thompson Gallery, and galleries in Scotland and Holland. This year, Andrea’s work will be included in the exhibit, “NeoFelt” in Colorado.

The workshop begins at 10:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm. Lunch will be served and there will be opportunities for walks on the Wintergreen property. Guests may choose to extend their stay by arriving the night before the workshop begins, or staying on after the workshop has ended. Accommodation extra.

(Friday evening to Sunday noon)

Glass artist Kevin Kapler will teach you to cut and assemble pieces of glass so that they can be kiln-fired into a single piece of solid glass. By the end of the workshop you will not only understand the process of glass fusing, you will also have created a series of beautiful and functional pieces to use at home or as a gift to family and friends.

The workshop begins Friday evening, after you have settled in at Wintergreen and enjoyed an evening meal with other workshop participants. You will learn the history and importance of fused glass, view a wide range of samples of fused glass, and join a hands-on demonstration of the materials, equipment, and basic cutting and glass breaking techniques. By the end of the evening, you will have created a pendant. Saturday will be devoted to creating a 10” square plate, including the design, cutting, and layout of the plate. Throughout the day, enjoy creating your own glass pieces, punctuated by demonstrations and discussion about the medium. Kevin will be available between sessions, offering personal consultations on technique, composition, and colour as you develop your own approach to fused glass design. On Sunday morning, there will be time to make a set of coasters before the closing lunch.

About the Instructor

Kevin Kapler first became interested in working with glass nearly a decade ago when he took an introductory workshop on stained glass. After a few years, he purchased a kiln and shifted his emphasis to ‘warm’ or fused glass. Since then, he has taken many courses on various fusing techniques, built his own studio, and now offers instruction to individuals and small groups. He is a regular contributor to the southeastern Ontario Studio Tours, and is associated with Stoneheath Studio along with Sally Chupick (watercolours and oil paintings) and Heather Sheratt (handweaving). His works are for sale through the Glasshouse in Kingston, the Woodchuck Gallery in Gananoque, as well as from his website.

Calligraphic and mixed media artist Holly Dean will lead you through the delightful experience of creating a handmade book from used sheets of paper. You will learn how to bind a soft-covered journal and alter the page surfaces with paints, inks, and collage elements, so they can be written upon once again. Bring along all those scrap sheets you have been saving.

Holly Dean is a gifted artist and calligrapher who creates art rich in mood and mystery. Through Holly’s inventive mixed-media techniques, past, present, and future merge in dramatic layers of text, imagery, and paint. Holly also creates mixed media paintings for the Cirque, each one a handmade original. These creations are sold through Cirque du Soleil shows and on their website. Her works are also for sale through The Grotto and her own studio in Merrickville, as well as from her website.

Haiku poetry celebrates the beauty of the ordinary moment. Derived from the Japanese tradition, haiku is characterized not only by simplicity, but also by reverence for nature. Poets Philomene Kocher and Terry Ann Carter will invite participants to explore haiku through reading and writing exercises within the group and on your own. Bring a pen, a writing journal, and a sense of adventure, and be inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds Wintergreen. In the afternoon, participants will be invited to make small books to showcase their poems: flutter books, fan books, accordian books, matchbox books, collage with Japanese papers and more…

Philomene Kocher began writing haiku in 1991. Her work has been published internationally, and most recently in the Canadian haiku anthology “Carpe diem: Anthologie canadienne du haïku / Canadian anthology of haiku” (Les Éditions David & Borealis Press, 2008). She is Secretary of Haiku Canada. In 2008, she completed her Master of Education studies in which she explored haiku as a way of connection with persons with dementia. Her haiku can be read in the September 2007 archives of the Daily Haiku website.

Terry Ann Carter has taught language arts from kindergarten to college. An international award winning haikuist, Terry Ann participated in the Basho Festival, Ueno, Japan, and served Haiku Canada as Vice President for four years. Her most recent collection of poetry, Transplanted ( Borealis Press, 2005) featured lyric poetry as well as haiku. She co-founded the Ottawa haiku group, KaDo, in 2002 (with Marianne Bluger) to promote interest in haiku and related Japanese forms. Terry Ann is a co-organizer (with Claudia Radmore and Guy Simser) of the Haiku North America conference this summer in Ottawa (August 5-9) which will feature Canadian and international poets.

Interested in solar? Or reducing the amount of energy you use? This oneday workshop will focus on renewable energy and building science. Using Wintergreen’s very own ‘off grid’ systems we will explore energy and energy consumption. The workshop will be a mixture of teaching and discussion and will include topics such as solar electricity, solar domestic hot water, strawbale insulation, thermal mass, and living roofs. Absolutely no prior knowledge is needed – we will be starting with the basics and building throughout the day. Come and meet Ian Kilborn from Kingston’s Quantum Renewable Energy, and energy systems technology student Michael Scott and find out how to reduce your energy bills as well as your carbon footprint. Rena Upitis will round out the facilitation team, sharing her insights as the building owner and designer.

Ian Kilborn is a mechanical engineer, and co-owner of Quantum Renewable Energy. He teaches energy auditing and solar technology at St Lawrence College, and is a former Energy Adviser with the Energuide for Houses program. Michael Scott is currently a student of Energy Systems Engineering Technology at St. Lawrence College. Coming from an environmental science and physics background, Michael cut his teeth helping to design and install Wintergreen’s energy systems.

Have you always wanted to try your hand at watercolour painting? Then this is the workshop for you. Over the course of the day we will explore various techniques, including dry brush painting, washes, and the use of wax and salt for special effects. Inspired by the vistas of Wintergreen, we will focus on landscapes and natural objects. By the end of the day, you will have produced several paintings – at least one of which you will be proud to hang in your home. Participants who enjoy the one-day workshop may want to take part in an extended workshop that combines watercolour with the practice of yoga (September 18 – 20).

Rena Upitis is a mixed media artist, musician, teacher, and timber frame carpenter. She has an abiding interest in sustainable architecture and has built several small cedar cordwood buildings. She has been painting in watercolours since 1992, and has studied with West coast artist Margaret King and the late Toni Onley.

Composer and media artist Matt Rogalsky leads this workshop with a focus on audio documentation of “natural” soundscapes throughout the 200+ acres of Wintergreen. Some background to concepts of “soundscape composition,” “acoustic ecology,” and field recording (microphone techniques, issues of recording quality, etc) will be covered. After an introduction to use of high-quality portable digital recorders (provided), participants will spend part of the day working in pairs, walking the trails and collecting sounds. After lunch, participants will work editing their collected sounds on computer, learning some basic but powerful techniques for enhancing and modifying their recordings, as well as strategies for multitrack mixing and surround-sound presentation This introductory workshop assumes participants have no previous experience in audio recording technology.

Matt Rogalsky’s work as a media artist often focuses on exploration of abject, invisible/inaudible, or ignored streams of information. Since 1985 his performances and installations have been seen and heard across North America and Europe. A double CD of live performances, Memory Like Water, was released in 2006 on XI Records. Most recently, a DVD/exhibition catalogue for his piece, “When he was in high school in Texas, Eric Ryan Mims used a similar arrangement to detect underground nuclear tests in Nevada,” was published in 2008 by the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.