Insights and Guidance From the Cards

The Tarot is an ancient repository of wisdom. It provides clarity and guidance on life's challenges as well as deep wisdom on our soul's path. This class, for beginners and experienced Tarot readers, will explore creative approaches to the Tarot by examining the Major and Minor Arcana cards, simple layouts and games to broaden our knowledge. This class is designed to reflect the Tarot's origins as a game but with an emphasis on nurturing individual growth. Please bring a Tarot deck (Rider Waite preferred, but bring deck you are currently using).

Margaret Jones, M.Ed., tarot reader, educator, and award-winning storyteller, facilitates seminars as a national trainer to assist individuals on their path to self-discovery. She is the author of Walking Sacred Sites: Listening to the Stories, a collection of articles about her journeys to sacred places across the world.

Discover the art of rug hooking!

Janet will guide you through each stage of this joyful, simple, and uncomplicated art form. Discover how easy it is to add rovings, hand-spun and synthetic yarns, felting techniques, and decorations once you've mastered the fundamentals. Discuss the origins and history of primitive rug hooking, how to gather and prepare materials, and where to look for design inspiration.

Kits, ranging from $41-$60 and payable to Janet in class, include a hook, instructions, binding, burlap, a hoop and a selection of one-of-a-kind heirloom and hand-dyed wools.

Review designs/kits at jconnerhookedrugs.com and email jconnerhookedrugs@gmail.com specifying your kit choice(s). No experience necessary.

Bring lunch and a sharp fabric scissors.

Janet Conner, BS in Art Education from Moore College of Art & Design, is a member of the Saco Valley Fiber Artists, and exhibits regionally and at ME Fiber Arts Center. Her hooked designs, as well as those of her students', have been highlighted in Finishing Hooked Rugs and Rug Hooking Magazine. In 2016, Janet co-authored the book Rug Hooking Traditions with James and Mercedes Hutchinson. She released Magnificent Hooked Rugs, influenced by Western art history, in 2020. She teaches both domestically and abroad.

An estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste end up in landfills each year in America. Let's keep some clothes out of the landfill by learning basic hand-mending stitches! Explore different stitch techniques and create your own cloth stitching sampler book to take home. All materials provided.

Sara Ottomano has more than 10 years of experience teaching art classes. She enjoys encouraging others to play with materials, explore sustainable artmaking practices, and create stories together.

Discover how birds overcome the various difficulties that winter weather can present to our feathered companions, like locating shelter, food, and water. We will also look at the different kinds of birds that come to Maine, such as ducks and raptors.

Linda Woodard, an avid bird watcher, has been Director of the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center for 18+ years. She has taught high school biology, bird watching, marsh ecology and a wide variety of environmental topics.

In four hours, with a break for lunch, make 10 unique cards using techniques such as stamping, embossing, die cuts, fancy folds and more. Registration closes at noon on 12/5. Bring lunch and an adhesive (not a glue stick). Suggestions: Scor-Tape, two-sided tape, Tombow white glue, or a tape runner.

Faith Garnett began teaching card making in 2009. She sells her original greeting cards online.

When's the last time you spent time in the woods in early winter? What gifts does the forest give us when the flowers are asleep and the animals are curled in their dens? Come and look closely at what is still alive and what is sleeping, and learn about local ecology with plant and bird hobbyist Laura Grover. Discover the treasures of the wild world on beautiful Wabanaki land at Clifford Park in Biddeford. We will meet in the parking lot at 2 PM and take a stroll along a moderate trail with a couple of hills, rocks, and roots; and maybe a little snow or ice. Registration closes at noon on 12/6. Wear comfortable boots, with good grips if it's icy, and weather-appropriate clothing. Rain date 12/15. Note: Please communicate any accessibility concerns at registration, and Laura will contact you to discuss any needed accommodations.

Laura Grover is a plant and bird hobbyist, botanical illustrator for Fedco Seeds, and a mindfulness ambassador. She has led many plant identification and mindful foraging walks for people of all ages. She enjoys bringing people together to look closely in nature, practice mindfulness outside, and be a sensory animal in the woods.