Jessica Klinge, veterans program specialist at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, adjusts a piece of art Friday. The Riverwoods facility runs year-round programming for veterans centered around nature and art. Its annual exposition showcasing their art to the public opened Sunday. Brian Hill/[email protected]
Ahead of Veterans Day, Brushwood Center in Lake County has opened its annual art exhibition featuring pieces from veterans who participate in the center's year-round At Ease programs.
Brushwood Center started At Ease, an art and nature program designed to support veterans and their families, in 2015. Often through partnerships with other organizations, its activities include hiking events and photography in nature, as well as art classes such as women's water color and acrylic painting.
"A lot of our partnerships are focused on mental health and supporting mental health, but also around supporting social connection," Executive Director Catherine Game said of the center's mission. "And spending time in nature and participating in the arts are really powerful ways to derive benefit in both of those areas."
The nonprofit center, located within the 565-acre Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods, aims to improve health equity and access to nature through the arts, education and community action.
Brushwood also offers art and environmental education programs for youth, families and those facing racial and economic injustice.
Currently, Brushwood Center has more than 50 different programs underneath the At Ease umbrella, according to Game. It serves about 900 people including veterans and their family members from across northern Illinois.
Anna Nothnagel, a Navy veteran from Oswego, has been participating in At Ease programming for about a year. She describes herself as a life-long artist, and has spent the past year taking classes and teaching acrylics.
"It's kind of forced me to stop and take in nature and appreciate the moments that I'm given just in my own backyard of finding these things to focus on to appreciate and gain a deeper understanding of," Nothnagel said.
In addition to the art itself, Nothnagel says she's built a community around Brushwood.
"When you get in a room full of veterans that do have the slight things in common -- we're all there to do art; we're all there to learn and have fun -- it makes it easy to socialize and it gives you something to focus on besides the negative things that maybe make us the same," Nothnagel said.
Around nine of Nothnagel's pieces from this year will be on display at the annual veteran art exhibition. The free event opened Sunday and will be available to the public through Nov. 30 at Brushwood's building in Riverwoods.
"The first time I went to it, I had family and friends with me, and they're looking, they go, 'Did you know it was going to be this big of a thing?'" said participant and instructor Jerry Loza of Berwyn.
Many program participants are serious artists. Others are just starting out. But Loza says everyone is there for a bigger reason than just learning art.
"No matter what's going on, there's someone in the group who has gone through it, and we all help each other out," Loza said. "We all support. We're all there. We listen, we talk, we joke, and then we also paint and, you know, it's been very, very therapeutic. The healing nature of art is incredible."
Brushwood is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays, and by appointment by calling (224) 633-2424.