Loppet Outdoor Art

Connecting Art & the Outdoors

Loppet Outdoor Art

This new program series seeks to create pathways of connection to the natural world through movement and creativity.

Check out the programming avaiable this fall – registration is now open!

Modern Dance in the Woods

Join us outdoors at various locations around Theodore Wirth Park for a community building dance class. The class will start with movement fundamentals and build over the course of four weeks into longer patterns that will train stability and coordination, all with an emphasis on playful exploration. This space to practice is open to dancers and non-dancers alike.

Program Details:
  • Dates: Mondays, October 6-27, 6-7:30 pm
  • Location: Wirth Beach
  • Cost: $120

    Nature Mask-Making

    Gleaning inspiration from local ecology and folklore, join puppeteer and naturalist tuesday utz to design and create a unique paper-mâchè mask. Using an interdisciplinary and multimedia approach, this class will teach out-in-the-field close observation and deep listening, sketching, sculpting, paper-mâchè, painting, collage, and mechanical design. Be prepared to use your imagination. Through fantastical adornment and shapeshifting, this class calls upon multicultural traditions of mask making and puppetry to honor and connect more deeply with the More-than-human world. Each student will leave the class with a Nature-inspired mask, just in time for Samhain, Día de Los Muertos, and Halloween. We encourage artists and nature-lovers of all ages and all levels to join this course. Beginners welcome!

    Program Details:
    • Dates: Wednesdays, October 1-29, 5:45 – 7:45 pm
    • Location: Wirth Beach
    • Cost: $170 (includes $20 materials fee)

    Norwegian Fan Mittens

    Knit your own winter outdoor mittens to cheer on your favorite skiers (or whomever) this winter! A beginner-friendly class, this Norwegian tradition of making your own knitwear will keep your hands both busy and cozy, and be something to tell a story about. Led by Maree Hampton, who has seen first-hand (pun intended) how many clapping made with love mittens are found at a Norwegian World Cup event. Come make your own!

    In this class, you’ll learn:

    • Reading and following a colorwork chart
    • Managing two yarns for stranded knitting
    • Knitting in the round using double-pointed needles 
    • Shaping a mitten with increases and decreases
    • Creating a thumb gusset and finishing with a neat thumb

    What to bring:

    • Two contrasting colors of worsted-weight yarn
    • Size US 6 and US 8 needles (DPNs or circulars)
    • Stitch markers, tapestry needle, and scissors

    Prerequisites:
    Participants should be comfortable casting on, knitting and purling, and knitting in the round. Some experience with simple projects like hats or fingerless gloves is helpful but not essential.

    Program Details:
    • Dates/Times: Wednesdays, November 5-19, 5:45 – 7:45 pm
    • Location: The Trailhead at Theodore Wirth Park
    • Cost: $110 (includes $20 materials fee)

    Create a Book: Paper Making, Writing & Bookbinding

    Learn simple bookbinding techniques and experiment with generative writing exercises in this three week course that invites participants to tap into a space of intuitive, creative play. Resist and reflect on Artificial Intelligence and it’s harm while using pre-existing text to form new poetry and prose. Each class will begin with a “writing” exercise followed by instruction on how to make a flat back journal that can hold your final text pieces.

    Program Details:
    • Dates: Thursdays, November 6-20, 5:45 – 7:45 pm
    • Location: The Trailhead at Theodore Wirth Park
    • Cost: $110 (includes $20 materials fee)

    Registration

    The Loppet will issue a full refund of the program fee minus the original processing fee up until 4 weeks before the program starts.  Between 4 and 3 weeks from the program start date, a 50% refund will be issued. There are no refunds for any cancellations within less than 3 weeks of the start of a program.

    Other Details

    Physical expectations: Participants will be asked to hike 1-2 miles around uneven and hilly terrain. If anyone would like to participate in the class but have physical limitations, please contact rykken@loppet.org to make arrangements as best as we can.

    Weather Protocols

    Scholarships: If finances are a barrier, please reach out to rykken@loppet.org to discuss. We’d love for you to join us!

    Connecting people to the outdoors through experiences that grow community.

    Past Classes

    Poetry in the Garden

    Join the Loppet Foundation and Garden Naturalists from the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden this June for a four class program series integrating creativity, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Inspired by the early Summer and flourishing in the natural world, we’ll explore readings of nature writers, play with new forms of content, and experiment with various styles of poetry via prompts and exercises. This is an inclusive, generative class, and will be complemented with naturalists who can share their knowledge of what is happening in nature during the time together as well.

    Urban Birding Collective: Birding Photography in Peak Migration

    Join instructors from the Urban Birding Collective with a new lens (pun intended) through spaces in Wirth Park. Learn tips and tricks in bird photography to capture these delightful creatures in undoubtedly one of the most exciting times of year for bird sightings. This is an introductory class.

    Watercolor: Negative Spaces

    Using hikes for inspiration, Megan Murrell will show us her favorite method of using negative space to inform the overall composition. This class is beginner friendly and will look at introductory watercolor techniques as well. Plan to hike, learn something new, and take the time to do some painting and reflect with others.

    Nature Collage

    Join MCAD artists Maz Her and Makayla Smith for a collage class: an art technique of creating a new piece of art using different forms and media. We will use hiking and collage to observe and collect pieces of nature, take patterns and lessons from nature, and utilize different methods of the art of collage.

     

    Natural Makers

    Based in Theodore Wirth Park, this hands-on, outdoor class will explore how to make practical items out of natural materials, using a variety of skills and tools. We’ll learn to carve wood, make natural cordage, sew, tie knots and lashings, build fires and more. Projects include making A-frame packs, cooking over a fire, and burning wooden bowls. Emphasis is on safety, creativity, problem-solving, community and fun! This gently-paced class welcomes makers of all skill levels, and is intended for intergenerational partners: children and their parents,  grandparents or other special adults.

    Handcrafts in the Woods

    Based in Theodore Wirth Park, this hands-on class will combine nature exploration and green wood carving, a traditional Scandinavian handcraft. Emphasizing sustainability, you’ll gain skills to transform a common local material from its raw form into items of your choice such as butter spreaders, magic wands, game pieces, beads and more. This gently-paced class welcomes makers of all skill levels, and is intended for intergenerational partners: children and their parents or grandparents or special adults.

    Come learn the basics of green wood carving in an outdoor environment. You’ll learn about carving knives and grips, wood species and carving safety. Above all, we’ll have fun together and go home with the confidence to keep carving at home.

    This three-session series is designed for kids ages 8-14 and an accompanying grown-up. One adult per child registrant.

    Hike & Print

    Join the Loppet this March in a new three-class program integrating nature, movement and print-making at Theodore Wirth Park. Starting with a hike, this class will center ourselves in nature and our bodies, followed by indoor background and instruction in the art of print-making.  We will be using carving blocks, and all materials will be included in the program. Beginners welcome! It will inspire and refresh you artistically and personally!

    Betsy Hsiao is a printmaker inspired by the prairie, the wetlands, the lakes and the woods. She loves the challenge of putting the beauty that surrounds her in Minnesota into a woodcut.

    Hike & Write

    Join the Loppet this November in a four class program series integrating creativity, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Inspired by the deep autumn, we’ll explore readings of nature writers, keep nature journals and experiment with creative writing via prompts and exercises.

    Hike & Watercolor

    Join the Loppet this Fall in a new three-class pilot program series integrating creativity, art, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Starting and finishing with a hike, this class will take place outdoors in a special pocket of the park, with a lesson from a lead artist, time designated for painting, a regrouping for snacks and sharing, with the intention of building connection to the outdoors, ourselves and each other. It will inspire and refresh you artistically and personally!

    Embroidery in Nature

    Join this playful and generative class by immersing yourself in the natural world, learning various embroidery techniques, and crafting together multiple projects into a final product that can remind you of the park you were inspired by.

    ““Most things I’ve done in my life are because of my love of stories and storytelling. I have found a few threads of string that can tell many stories!” – Shalee Dunaski Palmquist

    Poetry in the Garden

    Join the Loppet Foundation and Garden Naturalists from the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden this September for a four class program series integrating creativity, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Inspired by the approaching autumn and changes in the natural world, we’ll explore readings of nature writers, play with new forms of content, and experiment with various styles of poetry via prompts and exercises. This is an inclusive, generative class, and will be complemented with two naturalists who can share their knowledge of what is happening in nature during the time together as well.

    Nature Journaling

    Join Heather Cummins and a Garden Naturalist for an introduction to the art of nature journaling at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. Come alone or with a group, and take the opportunity to pause, connect with nature, build a sense of place, and set off on a journey of discovery. We’ll explore observations in the different areas of the garden: woodland, wetland, and meadow. Take time for creating and reflecting back together in a positive, supportive, generative environment.

    “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” – Mary Oliver

    Nature journaling is the regular recording of observations, perceptions, and feelings about the natural world. This can be done through writing, drawing or painting, photography, and more. All you need to get started is some paper and a pencil or pen. Basic materials provided.

    Interested in leading a class?

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    The Loppet depends on our community to support our mission through donations, membership and volunteering.

    Support our mission of connecting people to the outdoors through experiences that grow community.

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