10th Annual Brush with Nature Arts Festival –
July 14, 2019 – Emily Oaks Nature Ctr, Skokie
Skokie, IL – Emily Oaks Nature Center, 4650 Brummel Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 welcomes the return of Anatomically Correct’s Brush with Nature Arts Festival for its 10th year! We invite you to step away from your electronics on Sunday, July 14, 2019 from 9:00 am – noon to watch over 50 Chicago area professional artists “plein air” paint on easels, create sketches and photograph elements of nature during Emily Oak Nature Center’s outdoor Pancake Breakfast in the Woods. (Plein air is a French term which means out in the open air.) Visitors are invited to eat delicious pancakes served hot off the griddle with syrup or strawberries, enjoy turkey sausage, and assorted beverages; and take a walk to watch the Brush with Nature artists create the artworks along the Nature Center trails. Admission to the art event and walking the trails of the Nature Center is FREE, however, visitors wanting to partake of the pancake breakfast can purchase food tickets through the Skokie Park District website. SKOKIE ROCKS will also return to the Brush with Nature Arts Festival. Skokie Rocks is our grassroots community art project, where members of the community of all ages and abilities are invited to create art designs on small river rocks and hide them in a secret place, but not too hard to find. Once a rock is found (marked with our website address BrushWithNature.org), we ask that a participant take a photo of their found rock and post it on our public Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/227494671307986/. Brush with Nature founder, Debra Hatchett remarks, “One of the goals of Skokie Rocks is to bring members of our diverse community together, many of whom are from different countries and cultures - through art. Adding the social media platform allows for individuals to connect online.” Last year, participant Candy Fisher Youngen wrote on our Facebook page, “It’s so rewarding, giving rather than receiving, but I was taking my dog for her morning walk and low and behold I found a ROCK! My first found rock! I first thought it was a hacky sac ball but the closer I came, I realized it was a rock. It made my day. Exactly what it was supposed to do - Thank you Brush with Nature!” When participant Trina James saw the photo Candy took of her painted rock on our Facebook page, she responded, “Yay! That was my rock. Glad you found it! I left it on the Skokie Valley bike trail on my way home from painting it at the pancake breakfast at Emily Oaks.” Artists who would like to paint, sketch or photograph should pre-register through the website: www.BrushWithNature.org. Skokie Rocks participants are asked to bring their own smooth river rock to paint during the Festival. Paints and Brushes will be provided. Brush with Nature Arts Festival is presented by Anatomically Correct Arts, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and dedicated to showcasing works by artists in alternative spaces in a combined effort to educate, diversify, and promote community awareness of the visual and performing arts. This event is sponsored in part by the Skokie Park District, the Village of Skokie Fine Arts Commission, Blick Arts Materials and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. http://www.brushwithnature.org