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Foraging Walk (April 13)
with Michael Baker
Former Allerton In-Residence naturalist Michael Baker will return to the Park to conduct a Foraging Walk from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 13. Location TBD
Baker, a professional forager, will give demonstrations of the current uses of edible plants and mushrooms during the walk. Participants will be introduced to a variety of wild edible plants and mushrooms and be instructed on which plants to avoid.
$35/person (all ages). Register here by April 9. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Michael Baker is a professional foraging educator and podcaster in the Chicago suburbs. His show, the Wild Edible World podcast, seeks to educate anyone who will listen on edible plants and fungi, what they taste like, and where you can find them. He is also a co-founder of Remnant Roots non-profit which seeks to adopt vacant lots and turn them into native plant sanctuaries.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Indigo Dyeing with the Environment in Mind
with Jenny Knavel
Experience Level: Beginner (all ages)
Use plant-based materials in an environmentally-friendly process at Indigo Dyeing with the Environment in Mind on Wednesday, April 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Carriage House.
In this workshop, instructor Jenny Knavel will familiarize you with a creative, multicultural practice that utilizes prominently plant-based materials. Students will prepare an organic, fermentation dye vat utilizing indigo powder, an extract prepared from the plant Indigofera tinctoria.
The indigo vat-making method is safe for (supervised) children to use. Shibori, a Japanese, manual, resist dyeing technique will be discussed. Utilizing basic shibori-inspired techniques, students will be able to create unique patterns on their scarves.
$85/person (Those under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a registered adult). Register by April 2. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Jenny Knavel received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997. She is a professor of art at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, where she teaches primarily design and digital photography classes. In addition to teaching, she is an active artist. Her work has been juried into numerous regional and national and international juried exhibitions.
In 2021, her artwork was selected to be on the cover of the SAQA Journal (Studio Art Quilt Associates), 2021, Volume 31, No. 2. Additionally, she had work included in the Second Biennial of Natural Dye exhibition, China Silk Museum, Hangzhou, China.
Making Mozzarella Cheese
with Lee Schuler
Experience Level: Beginner (ages 15+)
Learn about cheese-making at Making Fresh Mozzarella on Wednesday, April 16 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Solarium.
Instructor Lee Schuler will take students through the process of turning milk to curd and curd into fresh mozzarella. Students will be able to sample their cheese with some of Lee’s flavored olive oils and crostini and take the remainder home!
$75/person (ages 15+. Ages 15-17 should be accompanied by a registered adult). Register by April 9. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Lee Schuler recently moved from Illinois from Pennsylvania, where she taught fungal identification and edibility at environmental education centers for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and for private land owners. She is certified as a wild edible mushroom expert and licensed to harvest and sell to restaurants and markets in the State of Pennsylvania. Schuler is also a contributing culinary author for a wild mushroom trade journal.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Lee has worked as a field biologist and environmental educator, and currently works in public health. She is an artist and cook and enjoys acquiring new and useful skills as much as she loves sharing them.
Knitting 201: Mittens
with Billie Theide
Experience Level: Knitting experience required; must be proficient at garter stitches
Put your knitting experience to use at Knitting 201: Mittens on Thursdays, April 17 and 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.
In this two-week course, instructor Billie Theide will help students further their knitting skills by expanding on the Knitting 101 course taught in the fall. This class is open to all who have knitting experience.
Those taking part will gauge, cast on in the round using those mysterious double-pointed knitting needles, with stitch markers, knit rib stitch, increase, decrease and slip stitches, create a gusset, read knitting patterns, repair mistakes and cast off.
$90/person*. Register here by April 14. All sales are final.
*Students should bring:
— 1 set of 7-inch long bamboo #5 (3.75mm) Clover brand double pointed knitting needles. There are five needles in a set.— 1 set of 7-inch long bamboo #7 (4.5mm) Clover brand double pointed knitting needles. There are five needs in a set.— 1 pair of sharp scissors
Along with one of the following yarn skeins:— 1 Lion Brand Wool Ease Worsted Yarn in solid or heather. This is classified as Worsted Weight 4 yarn made of 80 percent acrylic and 20 percent wool. There are 197 yards per skein. It is machine washable. Avoid purchasing a dark colorway; OR
— 3 Essential Wool Superwash Merina Wool Yarn by K+C. This is classified as Worsted Weight 4 yarn made of 100 percent Merino wool. There are 84 yards per skein; the three skeins must be the same dye lot. It is machine washable. Avoid purchasing a dark color.
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Billie Theide is a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Racine Art Museum, among others.
She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
Improve Your Improv (April 17)
with Kyle Tasch
Experience Level: All Levels
Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, April 17 through May 29 in the Music Barn.
Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.
This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.
Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join!
$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by April 10 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.
He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.
Improve Your Improv (full series)
with Kyle Tasch
Experience Level: All Levels
Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, April 17 through May 29 in the Music Barn.
Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.
This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.
Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join!
$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by April 10 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.
He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.
Barn Quilt Painting (April)
with Jane Cade
Experience Level: Beginner
No barn? No problem! Join the barn quilt movement by creating your own painted quilt block to use at your own home at Barn Quilt Painting on Saturday, April 19 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Studio.
The workshop will start with a pre-primed board with a design already drafted (choose one of the 2 options). Students will tape and paint at their own pace, choosing from a wide variety of colors.
Instructor Jane Cade will also share history of barn quilts, techniques, tips, and discuss how to properly seal your finished piece after the paint has dried for 48 hours. Leave with a 20×20″ wooden ‘quilt block’ to keep for yourself or share your talents and give someone a handmade gift.
$90/person. Register by April 11. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
About the Instructor
Jane Cade is a retired teacher from Clinton Junior High School. She has been painting barn quilts for eight years and sells her work online and at craft festivals. She teaches classes at Parkland Community College and will be teaching classes at her workshop beginning next year.
Improve Your Improv (April 24)
with Kyle Tasch
Experience Level: All Levels
Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, April 17 through May 29 in the Music Barn.
Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.
This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.
Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join!
$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by April 10 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.
He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.