Connect With The Landscape

UPDATE: Due to an injury, we are sad to announce we are postponing this workshop. We'll let you know when it's rescheduled.

 Dorothy Ramon Learning Center plans a two-day workshop in the Banning area on April 27-28 that will help artists connect with San Gorgonio Pass native landscapes through the paintbrush — and through Native American cultures.

Plein-air artist Terry d. Chacon (Pat Murkland Photo)

In the first part of the workshop, Center President Ernest Siva (Cahuilla/Serrano) of Banning will share traditional area Native American cultural songs and stories. Daniel McCarthy, an archaeologist knowledgable in native plant uses, will share the Native Americans' many uses of local native plants for foods, medicines, tools, and more, and lead a short tour of the landscape. 

Then Terry d. Chacon of Redlands, a national award-winning artist, will take over and lead a plein-air workshop, painting with oils outside on location in natural light.

Proceeds from the $100 workshop will benefit the nonprofit Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's work to save and share Southern California Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts, according to organizers. Class space is limited; to enroll call the Center, 951.849.7736. Information: www.dorothyramon.blogspot.com.

Save Your Family Treasures

Basket by Eva Salazar

What family treasure do you have?  Maybe it’s a Native American basket. Or a one-of-a-kind photo album featuring your ancestors. Or your great-grandmother’s quilt. At Dorothy Ramon Learning Center on Monday, March 25, you can find out how to preserve your treasure for yourself and future generations. 

Maggie Wetherbee, curator of the Edward Dean Museum & Gardens in Cherry Valley, will explain in a Dragonfly Lecture starting at 6 p.m. at The Gathering Hall, 127 N. San Gorgonio, Banning, how to care for and preserve heirlooms and family treasures. 

Wetherbee encourages people to bring their “stuff” to share and for her advice. It’ll be a lot like a San Gorgonio Pass version of the popular television program, “Antiques Roadshow;” although Wetherbee does not give values, she will refer those interested in their item’s value to a qualified appraiser.

What she will do is advise you how to take care of your treasure. At similar lectures elsewhere in Riverside County, people have brought amazing items to show Wetherbee, such as old Native American baskets and even a Civil War diary. So, join the fun and see what others have celebrating heritage and history.

Wetherbee has extensive experience in preservation and curation. Most recently as curator at Edward-Dean, Wetherbee has worked to preserve an extensive and varied collection dating from the 1500s.

The recommended donation of $5 will benefit Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s mission to save and share Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. Information: 951.849.7736.

Songs & Stories With Flutes