We appreciate your assistance with publicity of our programs, classes and special events this month. Please contact me for interviews, photos and more information. Thanks!

Womanspace Programs for May 2010

Contact: Gale Ketteler, Program Coordinator/Marketing Specialist, gale@womanspace-rockford.org, 815-877-0118

More information available at www.womanspace-rockford.org.  You may also register there for programs and events via credit card or PayPal®, and sign up for Intertwinings e-news.  Registration after deadline will be accepted on a space-available basis only. Call 815-877-0118 or email gale@womanspace-rockford.org, for more information. Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place at Womanspace, 3333 Maria Linden Drive in Rockford.

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Holistic Health Fair & Open House for Mother’s Day!

Date: May 8

Time: Saturday, 10:00a-2:00p

Location: Womanspace campus

Cost: Freewill offering. Suggested donation $5.

Bring your family and friends to explore the Womanspace campus, plus experience chair massage, foot reflexology, Reiki and more. Our member-experts will happily pamper you for a donation toward their services, and you’ll find a wide variety of products and services offered by our members and business partners. You can also view the “WomanSpeak” art exhibit in Gallery 1, tour New Dimensions art studio, and learn more about upcoming programs, summer camps and art classes at Womanspace. Dance around the Maypole, experience a walking meditation on the labyrinth, and enjoy the beautiful gardens on our seven-acre campus. Womanspace has unique gifts just in time for Mother's Day, including jewelry, books by local authors, Womanspace gift memberships, certificates for classes, original art, greeting cards and more in Gallery2Go gift shop. We also have $5 Mystery Gifts and plants in wooden gift boxes – a perfect surprise for mom!

WomanSpeak Art Exhibit

Through Saturday, May 8 in Gallery 1 (Fountain View Room). Open Monday-Thursday, 9a-5p, plus evenings and weekends when programs are scheduled. Freewill Offering.

WomanSpeak features art inspired by the words of strong females and runs through May 8, the next Holistic Health Fair and Open House at Womanspace. Works of art are available for purchase in a wide variety of media by members and art instructors at Womanspace. Artists featured are Dorothy Bock, Fran Bock, Karen Gines, Charlotte Hackin, Judith Hayes, Elaine Hirschenberger, Cindy Hughes, Pat Lai, Susan Lee, Cynthia Linnabary, Sue Mount, Nancy McManus Olson, & Chrissy Stanfa. 40% of your purchase benefits Womanspace and its programs.

Yoga for Girls & Women

Dates: May 4, 11, 18, 25

Time: Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30p

Instructor: Tami Bogard

Location: Womanspace Library

Cost: $40/four classes or $12/class

For girls & women ages 9 & up, at all levels of ability and experience. Being a girl these days can be a beautiful experience. Come learn how to navigate this space and honor your body with yoga. Tami utilizes Hatha Yoga to help you find a happy balance between exploring your physical potential and finding that space of calm with deep relaxation. Dress comfortably and bring a sticky mat.

A Personal Fitness Trainer since 1992 and certified by The American Council on Exercise, Tami views her occupation as a way to help people. Teaching yoga since 2003 has allowed her to use her past knowledge of the body in a whole new way. “I feel very grateful that I am allowed to make a living doing something I love so much.”

Lunch and Learn: The Integrative Approach to Arthritis

Date: May 5

Time: Wednesday, Noon–1:00p

Presenter: Dr. Tracey Kinigakis

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $10  Registration preferred by May 3. Walk-ins welcome.

Are you tired of hurting? Do you want to find natural ways to calm inflammation? Come listen as Dr. Tracey Kinigakis, Board certified family physician and Integrative Medicine consultant, discusses approaches to joint pain. Let's look at simple and safe ways to improve how you feel. As always, your questions are welcome. Sponsored by State Farm Agent Lisa Mawyer. Bring a sack lunch.

Dr. Tracey Kinigakis is trained in conventional medicine as a Board Certified family physician in both the United States and Canada. In 2006, she completed a two-year Integrative Medicine Associative Fellowship through the University of Arizona, Tucson under the leadership of Dr. Andrew Weil. This educational experience was life changing, both personally and professionally. Today Dr. Tracey uses her skills and experience in conventional medicine and current knowledge of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies, offers a consulting practice treating patients as a whole person- body, heart, mind and spirit. http://yourwellnesspartner.net/

Evening Yoga

Dates: May 5-August 25

Times: Wednesdays 5:30–7:00p

Instructor: Tami Bogard

Location: Womanspace Library

Cost: $40/four classes or $12/class

De-stress and unwind after work with yoga. Tami utilizes Hatha Yoga to help you find a happy balance between physical intensity and deep relaxation. This class for adults is open to both men and women, at all levels of ability and experience. Dress comfortably and bring a sticky mat.

A Personal Fitness Trainer since 1992 and certified by The American Council on Exercise, Tami views her occupation as a way to help people. Teaching yoga since 2003 has allowed her to use her past knowledge of the body in a whole new way. “I feel very grateful that I am allowed to make a living doing something I love so much.”

Life Drawing

Dates: May 5, 12, 19

Time: Wednesday, 6:30-8:30p

Instructor: Dorothy Bock, MFA

Location: New Dimensions Studio

Cost: $50, includes all materials

In each class, participants will concentrate on drawing the human figure, concentrating on general form and anatomy of body in motion, plus body stilled, standing or sitting. Special small sketches will zoom in on the head from various viewpoints, hands feet, with issues of foreshortening, particular focus, and mood. All materials are provided and covered in the fee.

Dorothy earned her MFA in Art at the University of Notre Dame. She has been a teacher of art, literature and the humanities since 1950, and co-founded Womanspace in 1975.

Beginning Wheel-Thrown Pottery

Dates: May 5, 12, 19, 26, June 9, 16

Time: Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30p

Instructor: Cathy Hodges

Location: New Dimensions Studio

Cost: $95 (includes all materials)

Space is limited to six students! Register by May 4

Ages 16-Adult. For true beginners as well as those who have had one or two previous classes. Each will have a wheel to work on and ample opportunity to practice centering the clay and pulling up bowls, mugs, and plates. Material costs are included in fee.

Cathy has studied at Womanspace as well as with pottery teachers in Tennessee and Colorado. She has taught pottery at Womanspace for several years.

Yoga for Women

Dates: May 6-August 26


Times: Thursdays, 9:30–10:45a


Instructor: Una Ryan


Location: Womanspace Library


Cost: $40/four classes or $12/class

Yoga is an easy-to-learn workout program that not only improves flexibility, strength, balance, and stamina, but also reduces anxiety and stress. This basic Hatha Yoga class for adults will also help improve mental clarity, so the time spent in practice is more than worth it. Dress comfortably and bring a sticky mat.

Una has studied yoga since the early 70s with a number of local teachers, beginning with Behram Guard. She has also taken workshops with Rodney Yee, Donna Farhi, and Patricia Walden. Una teaches basic Hatha Yoga, emphasizing reduction of stressful tension in mind and body.

Daf Drum Lessons

Dates: May 6-August 26

Times: Thursdays, Level 1 Noon-1:00p

Instructor: Pardis Haghdoost

Location: Gallery 3 in New Dimensions

Cost: $40/four classes or $12/class

Bring your Daf drum and learn how to play this mystical instrument from a native Persian. The Daf is a large hand-held drum with metal rings that jangle against the inside frame. Pardis will teach technique and also share the spiritual side of the drum as it is used in sharing the writings of Rumi, Hafiz & other mystics. In addition to the weekly class, you will need to practice regularly. Contact Womanspace for information on sources for purchasing a Daf.

Pardis Haghdoost is an RN at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. Her passion and ancestral talent lies in reciting Rumi’s poetry and playing the daf drum, used ceremonially for centuries in her native Persia.

Junior Member Program: Make Mom’s Day (Brunch)

Date: May 6

Time: Thursday, 5:30-8:00p

Presenter: Carol Valaitis

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $20, includes dinner

Limited to six girls. For ages 9-13. Surprise Mom by giving her a Mother's Day Brunch on May 8! Learn how to shop for ingredients and how to use those ingredients to make a tasty brunch that every Mom will love. This will be a gift of love from your heart and hands. After enjoying your sit down brunch (dinner) on the spot, you'll go home ready to make this special meal three days later with a menu, shopping list, and recipes. You might even repeat it in June for Father’s Day! 

Carol Valaitis is a retired teacher and President of the Board at Womanspace. With a Master’s Degree in Education for the Gifted and Talented, she taught gifted students grades 2-6 for 20 joy-filled years in Rockford, Batavia and Woodstock.

Sculpture: Connecting Forms

Dates:  May 6, 13, 20, 27

Time: Thursday, 6:30-8:30p

Instructor: Dorothy Bock

Location: New Dimensions Studio

Cost: $70, includes all materials

Whether working with realistic, designed, or abstract forms, participants will be encouraged to work with two, three, or four forms that interface/interlock with each other. These collective pieces may also call for other materials besides clay - wood, metal, fabrics, tiles, etc. Outdoor sculptures, relief (2D), and three-dimensional clay works are possible.

Dorothy earned her MFA in Art at the University of Notre Dame. She has been a teacher of art, literature and the humanities since 1950, and co-founded Womanspace in 1975.

Handbuilt Pottery

Dates: May 10, 17, 24, June 7, 14, 21

Time: Mondays, 6:30-8:30p

Instructor: Melinda Konetski

Location: New Dimensions Studio

Cost: $95 (includes all materials)

Space is limited! Register by May 6

Ages 16-Adult. This class is an excellent introduction to working with clay and is recommended prior to taking Beginning Wheel Thrown Pottery. Students will learn to construct bowls, vases, and vessels of many shapes and sizes, using a variety of building techniques including pinch, coil, and slab.

Melinda has 5 years of experience throwing pottery. She has a small studio in her home and studied pottery at both Rock Valley College and McHenry College.

Watercolor: Spring Spaces

Date: May 11, 18, 25

Time: Tuesday, 1:00-3:30p

Facilitator: Dorothy Bock, MFA

Location: New Dimensions Studio

Cost: $60, includes 140 lb. paper

Experience en plein air watercolor expressions. All painting will begin with sketching and color outdoors on the Womanspace grounds - near the fountain, evergreens, flower gardens, oak trees, stone and wood benches, and rocks everywhere. For the final hour of each class painters will move indoors to perfect their work. We will share group evaluation that is non-judgmental, positive and helpful. All of this depends on sunshine, bright skies, and dry grasses. Bring watercolors and brushes - paper provided in fee.

Dorothy earned her MFA in Art at the University of Notre Dame. She has been a teacher of art, literature and the humanities since 1950, and co-founded Womanspace in 1975.

Bookwoman: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Date: May 12

Time: Wednesday, 9:30-11:00a

Location: Womanspace Library

Cost: Freewill Offering-Suggested Donation $5

Registration preferred by May 10. Walk-ins welcome.

The Help is a deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope. It tells a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and those made to be crossed. It’s 1962 and Skeeter returns home after graduating from Ole Mis to discover her beloved Constantine, the maid who raised her, has disappeared. Aibileen is a wise, regal black maid raising her seventeenth white child. Minny is perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi and can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. These women come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. Starting a movement of their own, they forever change a town, and the way women view one another. All women are invited to this book club to share observations, enthusiasm, insights and the pure enjoyment of reading. 

EarthMatters: Rain Gardens

Date: May 12

Time: Wednesday, Noon-1:15p

Guest Presenter: Jessica Vandeboom

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: Freewill Offering-Suggested Donation $5.

Registration preferred by May 10.Walk-ins welcome.

See how implementing a rain garden in your community can make good use of storm water runoff, conserve precious water supplies and help protect water quality in our watersheds. This session will feature the considerations, implementation and maintenance of a rain garden, presented by Jessica Vandeboom, Resource Analyst with the Winnebago County Soil and Water Conservation District.  Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about rain gardens, receive valuable literature and talk one-on-one with a resource professional. http://www.winnebagoswcd.org/ Prior attendance is not required. Bring a sack lunch. 

Junior Members Popcorn & Movie Night

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Date: May 14

Time: Friday, 6:00-9:00p

Facilitators: Pat Lai and Monica Krysztopa

Location: Library

Cost: $10, free for Junior Members

For Junior Members ages 9-13. All junior members and one guest each are invited to our second movie night! Wear your PJs, bring a blanket, munch on snacks, then get comfy and enjoy the movie where craziness reigns as two groups wage musical war against one another. In the end it all comes down to a question of what's more important--stardom or friendship? Call 815-877-0118 or e-mail info@womanspace-rockford.org to register! Not a Junior Member? Join now for just $35 per year.

Beyond the Drama: Taking A Higher Perspective

Date: May 18 and 25

Time: 6:30-8:30p

Facilitator: Marcia Phillips

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $85, includes all materials & 4 CE hours Register by May 13

Learn how to help yourself and others find greater awareness, meaning, forgiveness, and growth through the circumstances and challenges of life. It is easy to get caught up in life's drama and our reactive thoughts and emotions. You will learn how to help yourself and others move on, beyond the drama, into a higher perspective of acceptance, gratitude, balance, and growth. This class is beneficial for anyone, as well as health care practitioners in any field.

Bridges of Unity is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider. Upon completion of this class, students will receive a certificate for 4 CE hours, NCBTMB-approved. Massage Therapist license renewal is due this year.

Marcia Phillips is an intuitive healer, massage therapist, teacher, president and founder of Bridges of Unity, and author of Seven Portals to Your Soul: An Accessible Guide for Mending Your Life - available in Gallery2Go at Womanspace. She left a successful career in engineering to pursue her vision of helping people heal themselves and bring about a world that works together in love and collaboration. www.bridgesofunity.com

Lunch and Learn: Teen Dating Violence

Date: May 19

Time: Wednesday, Noon–1:00p

Presenter: Karen Gill

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $10  Registration preferred by May 17. Walk-ins welcome.

Come to this important program to learn what qualifies as domestic violence and the similarities and difference between adult and teen victims and perpetrators. As women, mothers, daughters, sisters and mentors, it’s important that we understand Teen Dating Violence. We’ll also hear how interventions for teens differ from those used with adults. Bring a sack lunch. Beverages provided. Sponsored by State Farm Agent Lisa Mawyer.

Karen Gill, CADC, MBA is Vice President of Operations and Fund Development for Remedies Renewing Lives (formerly Phase/Wave), a multi-service agency providing both outpatient substance abuse treatment and shelter and service. She provided technical assistance for the IDHS Bureau of Domestic & Sexual Violence Prevention for five years before returning to PHASE. For 15 years prior to consulting with state funded services she operated as Vice President of Program Services at PHASE. Her career interests include criminal justice, mental health, gender specific services, integrated programming for female victims of domestic violence who also suffer from addiction, female addicts’ pregnancy and parenting issues, and teen dating violence. http://www.phasewave.org/

Art Lecture: Marc Chagall

Date: May 20

Time: Thursday, Noon - 1:15

Facilitator: Dorothy Bock

Location:  Fountain View Room

Cost: $10, includes refreshments

See the fascinating work of Marc Chagall - his images of dreams, memories of his roots and past, fantasies of his wishful future. Then examine the visual reality of life and natural objects that he paints with all their mythical associations in stunning color.

Dorothy earned her MFA in Art at the University of Notre Dame. She has been a teacher of art, literature and the humanities since 1950, and co-founded Womanspace in 1975.

Junior Members Event: GnC Tea (Grace and Courtesy)

Date: May 22

Time: Saturday, 3:00-5:00p

Host: Phyllis Peterson

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $10, free for Junior Members

For ages 9-13. It’s time to learn the manners you need to succeed in life. Our Grace and Courtesy (GNC) Tea will be a very special experience for young women to discover a delightful tradition they can share with their family and friends. Phyllis will demonstrate serving tea and the appropriate food to accompany a tea, plus all the etiquette you’ll need to know. She will also share the art of storytelling, an important skill for the host of a tea!

Phyllis is an author, storyteller and performer with three books, Assisting the Traumatized Soul, Healing the Wounded Soul, and The Heroic Female Spirit: A Collection of Tales. Her program "Protective Behaviors for Children" is being used in China, Thailand, Japan, Swaziland and Botswana. For the next three years, an NGO in Botswana is training 300 counselors via the ministry of Social Services to teach protective behaviors to children nine years old and under. Phyllis loves sharing the ritual of afternoon tea with adults and children.

Queen of Heaven Group

Date: May 23

Time: Sunday, 7:00-9:00p

Facilitator: Debby Gaines & Gale Ketteler

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: Freewill Offering-Suggested Donation $5. Split with facilitators.

Registration preferred by May 20. Walk-ins welcome!

This group for women meets periodically to explore the divine feminine. We will view Donna Read and Starhawk’s film Signs Out of Time, a documentary narrated by Olympia Dukakis on archeologist Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994), who found that Europe’s origins lay in a cooperative, peaceful, Neolithic Goddess culture. Her theories challenge conventional archaeology, spirituality, theology, and religious studies, while inspiring artists, feminists, environmentalists and activists. Subscribe to Intertwinings e-news on our website for details on additional summer plans. Previous attendance is not necessary and walk-ins are welcome. Please bring food or drink to share, meet some like-minded women, and share good conversation.

Debby Gaines facilitated her UU Church's Wild Women's Retreat for six years, including two years as co-chair with Gale. Her journey of self-discovery led to a pilgrimage to the island of Malta with Jennifer Berezan in 2007, where they explored ancient goddess sites. She is currently a student at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Gale Ketteler is Program Coordinator and Marketing Specialist at Womanspace. She first explored feminine theology in the Cakes for the Queen of Heaven course in Madison in the 80s. She has facilitated it twice in Rockford and is thrilled to help other women discover empowering stories that pre-date patriarchal history.

Film and Supper: A Mighty Heart

Date: May 24

Time: Monday, 6:00-9:00p

Facilitator: Dorothy Bock

Location: Fountain View Room

Cost: $10 (includes supper and discussion)

It was an event that shocked the world, and this is the story you never heard. In 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan. This film, starring Angelina Jolie in a top performance, is based on Mariane Pearl's best-selling memoir. She wrote it to introduce her son to the father he would never meet, with gripping descriptions of Daniel’s disappearance, the intense effort to find him, his eventual murder, and efforts to bring his kidnappers to justice. Mariane’s courageous desire to rise above the bitterness and hatred that continues to plague our post 9/11 world, transcends religion, race and nationality, and serves as a pure expression of joy for the life she and Danny shared.

This gathering is open to all, starting with supper, followed by the film and then a discussion of the themes, characters and artistry of the movie.

SpacePacers Walking Group

Walking is one of the best things you can do for your body, mind and spirit. . .and it doesn’t cost anything! Have fun in this women-only group and make friends while improving your health.  Sometimes creative and unconventional methods and incentives are planned to reach our daily steps goal, like our Virtual Walk to Mardi Gras. SpacePacers schedules walks two to three times a week in and around the Rockford area. There is no cost to be part of this Womanspace group and you are free to join us at any time for as many or as few walks as you want. If you are interested, please e-mail us to be put onto the list.

Green Fundraiser

EarthMatters is both our environmental group and a beautiful and functional and reusable shopping bag! Come to Womanspace and get your environmentally-sound reusable totes for just $10 each. They’re made by a woman-owned and operated company here in the U.S. from 100% post-consumer recycled water bottles, and they make a great statement!

Walk the Labyrinth

The Womanspace labyrinth and other gardens are free and open to the public daily during daylight hours. Labyrinths have been used by many spiritual traditions for over 4000 years. Our 11-circuit design is modeled after the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. It opens you to a meditative and transformative experience - the ancient practice of circling to the center, incorporating the imagery of the spiral into a meandering, but purposeful path. Its many turns reflect the journey of life, which involves change and transition, rites of passage and cycles of nature. Starting at the circle drive, follow the prayer ribbon hoops through the woods, turn right at the bench and onto the prairie to discover the labyrinth.  Allow yourself at least an hour to fully experience the journey to the center and back out again.

Holistic Health Room

Womanspace has a wonderful space for providing massage therapy, Reiki, and other bodywork. Appointments are made directly with the service provider, who will inform you of fees and other details. To contact a provider or learn more about our rental contract, contact us at info@womanspace-rockford.org or 815-877-0118.

Ceremonies, Gatherings and Celebrations at Womanspace

Consider Womanspace for your wedding, memorial service, renewal of wedding vows or other celebrations. Over the past decades, many people have enjoyed ceremonies on our grounds and in our facilities. Contact Womanspace for rental fees and information on how we can provide a one-of-a-kind experience in our gardens, pine forest, Labyrinth and other meeting areas.

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About Womanspace:

Situated on a seven-acre campus with art studios and galleries, Gallery2Go gift shop, beautiful gardens and a labyrinth, Womanspace has touched the lives of more than 20,000 men, women and children since its founding in Rockford, Illinois in 1975. Womanspace seeks to inspire individuals to discover new talents, interests and friendships, and is dedicated to helping people live their best lives through programs that enhance mind, body and spirit. Womanspace operates as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Directions:

From Mulford or Alpine/Spring Creek, take Spring Brook Road to Applewood Lane.  Travel one block north on Applewood and then turn left on Maria Linden Drive. At the top of the hill, veer to the right in front of the lot for Provena Cor Mariae.