Out and About Life The concept is similar to that of the Little Free Library, but instead of books, the gallery is for art. Anyone can come to the gallery and leave a small piece of art (6 inches by 6 inches or smaller), take a piece of art, or both! “People, local artists have just contributed really cool little things. And it’s just a way for people to experiment with new mediums [and] to play,” Lyon says. From tiny pots to quilts to paintings, Lyon has seen a miniature version of just about anything you can think of inside the gallery. She loves the way that people have embraced the concept and simply had fun with it. “I like to arrange the gallery and swap out who is visiting and take a photo for Instagram, but when people bring or take art, they often re-organize things too,” Lyon says. “A couple of times now someone has put in some kind of bed or couch and I will find one of the ‘people’ laying down inside the gallery.” The gallery has motivated Lyon to create art more regularly. Additionally, other Bellingham locals — both children and adults — have also been inspired. A woman recently told Lyon that, since discovering the gallery, her young daughter has wanted to visit it every day. The gallery has not only inspired her daughter to create more art but herself as well. “As adults with bills and jobs, we can forget how much fun it is to play. But being playful is one way to spark your creativity, and with the gallery, there’s an outlet for all of it.” Lyon explained how the gallery has created a “little community” of creative people, and this community is constantly growing. These connections the gallery fosters among creators are being made both in-person and online. “It’s open to all artists, creative pursuits, amateur, professional, dabbling,” Lyon says. “If there’s a piece of art that strikes your fancy, you can have it — it’s free. It’s really just about sharing creativity, inspiring each other to be creative.” Follow @littlefreegallery_bellingham on Instagram to see what’s happening in the gallery today! Near the Corner of West St. and Eldridge Ave., Bellingham
QUICK STATS Length: 3 hours Fee: $50
Meet the Mushrooms: Fungus 101 with Evan Holmstrom WRITTEN BY MARISSA MULJAT | PHOTOGRAPHED BY EVAN HOLMSTROM
H
AVE YOU EVER WANTED to
learn more about mushrooms, or maybe you’d like to be more aware of the nature that surrounds you? Now is your chance to do just that. The North Cascades Institute (NCI) is putting on a workshop titled “Meet the Mushrooms” that allows participants to interact with and learn more about fungi. “Fungi inhabit their own kingdom of life,” says Evan Holmstrom, the workshop’s instructor. Holmstrom has been working in environmental education and wilderness learning for about 10 years. He appreciates the fungal variety that Bellingham has to offer and is excited to share his love for this species with others. Workshop participants will meet at Fairhaven Park and head into the 100 Acre Woods to locate and learn about mushrooms. “We’re not just talking about mushrooms and looking at pictures,
but rather seeing them where they occur,” Holmstrom says. “Hopefully, by the end of the day, we can have a basic idea of what identification looks like for mushrooms.” This workshop will occur in two sessions on October 9. The morning session is from 9 a.m.–12 p.m., and the afternoon session takes place from 1–4 p.m. Sign-ups can be made online at ncascades.org. NCI was started in 1986 with a mission to connect the community to nature. Holmstrom explains that the organization helps people learn how to sustain and develop a reciprocal kinship with the natural world. “Essentially, our goal is to educate, inspire, wow, [and] delight people with experiences in nature to the degree that they develop a higher awareness and a deeper familiarity with how amazing and wonderful the natural world is,” Holmstrom says. 360.854.2599, ncascades.org
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