Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease and Art Supply Exchange programs, Veterans participate in a six-week graphic score and poetry composition residency culminating in the creation of 20 original pieces of music performed and recorded by professional musicians. Black Moon Trio is honored to again be joined by world-renowned botanical artist, Heeyoung Kim and members of her Botanical Art Academy to showcase watercolor painting methods and techniques. Poet and creativity expert Kathryn Haydon also joins the team as her collection of poetry, Unsalted Blue Sunrise: Poems of Lake Michigan, provides the thematic framework for Veterans to compose works about their connections to our freshwater treasure as well as their connections to each other.

Kathryn P. Haydon is an award-winning poet and the current poet-in-residence at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. Her haiku and poetry have been published internationally in leading journals such as The Heron’s Nest, humana obscura, Wales Haiku Journal, Presence, and many others. Kathryn’s most recent poetry collection, Unsalted Blue Sunrise, was written on the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan over the course of 365 daily walks to the shore.

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Wildflower painter, Heeyoung Kim, documents native plants of Midwestern prairies and woods. Rare and endangered ones are in her priority as plant population is rapidly decreasing globally. She creates detailed portrayals of each plant and its life cycle through keen observation and broad research throughout its growing seasons in natural habitats. Her paintings and drawings are distinguished with scientific accuracy, authentic composition, and masterful rendering of the medium. She has been building up a digital image bank with her artworks in Project 200. She set a goal to paint 200 native species and hope her art would be used for educating the public about native plants and nature conservation.
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Brushwood Center works collaboratively with community partners, artists, health care providers, and scientists to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County, Illinois, and the Chicago region. We engage people with the outdoors through the arts, environmental education, and community action. Brushwood Center’s programs focus on youth, families, Military Veterans, and those facing racial and economic injustices.
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Our hospital provides primary care and specialty health services, including mental health care, women’s health services, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), foot care (podiatry), vision care (optometry, ophthalmology, and cataract surgery), orthopedics, and more. Below, you’ll find our address and hours, parking and transportation information, and the other health services we offer at our Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center at the Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago.

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