Getting Organized 101

Thursday, October 5, 2023
10:30AM -12:30PM Pacific Time

Corte Madera Store - $80

 

For the first in our Organized in October series, join Liza Algar, Certified Professional Organizer, to learn more about the nuts and bolts of organization.  

Are you ready to get organized? This is the perfect place to start. This class will cover:

• an overview of the benefits of getting organized. 
• tips on how to declutter and downsize, starting with the process
• what to do with the stuff you don’t want 
• how to better organize what you keep 

Through a series of questions and prompts, Liza will help you to determine your organizational style, articulate your vision for your space, and walk you through the process to get there. Liza will also share tips on how her less-is-more philosophy can help you manage your time and improve productivity. And of course, there will be lots of time for Q&A!

Liza Algar is a Certified Professional Organizer (CPO) and member of NAPO (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals), currently serving on the Board of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Liza’s goal is to help people live better. By getting rid of excess stuff in your home or office and organizing your space, she turns chaos into calm. Whether going through a transition like downsizing, moving, or just overwhelmed by clutter and paper, she helps people reclaim their space, and set up systems to improve functionality, productivity, and well-being. As a bonus for Book Passage customers, Liza is a former publishing executive, and loves to talk about organizing books and styling bookshelves!

Les Nabis - Prophets of Modernism

Two Fridays - October 6 and October 13, 2023 
1PM-3:00PM PT

Corte Madera Store

$120 for both, $65 for one session

 

 

 

In 1889 a group of artists calling themselves Nabis (the Hebrew word for Prophets) abandoned Impressionism and Academic painting calling for a new art. 

It all began in Pont Aven where Paul Gauguin encouraged his disciple Paul Serusier to paint Le Bois d’Amour or The Talisman and Maurice Denis issued his famous dictum that a painting need no subject, as it was an arrangement of colors on a flat surface. Out went linear perspective and in came bold flat colors. 

In 1891 Eduard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, and Maurice Denis established themselves in Paris, soon joined by more artists: Ker Xavier Roussel, Paul Ranson, Felix Vallotton, August Cazalis and others. All employed bold colors, distinct outlines, and a disregard for perspective. 

We will study their works and learn of their supporters: poets, critics and journalists. Vuillard and Bonnard were labeled “Intimists.” We shall see why this was so. They all embraced the idea of Art as Decoration and some created huge wall paintings, thus abolishing the difference between Art and Craft and - we could say - returning painting to its origins on walls. In spite of their common goals, their subject matter varied greatly. This is where the fun of looking begins!

 

Kerrin Meis taught art history at SFSU for ten years and has led study tours in Europe. Her Book Passage classes have been favorites for years.

Interiority Complex: How to Create Authenticity on the Page

Saturday - October 7 • 10:30am-12:30pm PT

Corte Madera Store • $80

 

When we begin writing a story, a poem, or memoir, thoughts can be foggy and unclear. Identifying that elusive something in our writing can be challenging. In this class we will explore the art of discovery and delve into the power of meaningful storytelling by examining interiority as a craft tool (external reader experience) shown in literary examples and interiority as a creative tool (internal writer experience). 

Learn how to bring authentic characters to life on the page and create genuine connection with readers. The process of unveiling our fears, insecurities, secrets, and memories can be a daunting one, but is essential in establishing genuine connection with our writing.

We will study various craft techniques and explore writing exercises as gateways to authenticity on the page, whether real, fictional, or poetic. Putting words on the page, we commit to the vulnerability of honesty required to create meaningful work. We will set aside the obsession with the end result and learn to trust the writing process.

 

 

Britta Stromeyer Esmail is the author of the award winning picture book Raina’s (UN) Happy Birthday and Finalist for the Bellingham Review Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction 2021. She is an editor of Tuxedo Literature & Arts Journal and the associate editor for FastForward Magazine. She teaches creative writing workshops for adults and youth, grades 5-12. She holds a Certificate in Novel Writing from Stanford University, an M.A. in International Communication from American University, and is currently an MFA’23 candidate at Dominican University, CA. She is a member of and advocate for the National Writing Project Council, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators, and the 12x12 Picture Book Challenge. Her second picture book, Look at Me. Who Do You See? is forthcoming in 2023. www.brittastromeyer.com

 

What students are saying about Britta: 

Britta was thoughtful and full of wisdom. This class was inspiring and thought provoking.  I left inspired and full of possibility!
- Rebecca R.

As the first writing class I ever took, Britta’s workshop was an excellent way to kickstart my writing efforts. The rapidly paced and diverse prompt-writing exercises were challenging, thought-provoking and fun at the same time.
- Laurie W

A Deep Dive into iPhone Camera and Photography

Saturday, October 14, 2023
10:30AM -2:30PM Pacific Time

Corte Madera Store - $155

 

 

Want to become a pro with your smartphone camera? This hands-on workshop will set you on that path. Combining discussion and demonstration with the iPhone Camera, Susan and Neil Silverman will share their photography experience with you.

 

We will discuss the technical aspects of the phone settings and will also inspire and mentor on how to MAKE a great photo, not just take a snapshot. The phone cameras are powerful devices and we will share tips on how to make the most of it. This will be an interactive class that will teach you the intricacies of creating and saving photos that you’ll want to share, print, and will help preserve memories of special people, events, and journeys.

 

Part One: Getting Started

• Gaining control over your camera with basic settings, compositional considerations

Part Two: Diving Deeper

• Controlling the camera for more control of exposure, focus, shutter speeds, choice of lenses

Part Three: Going All In 

• Panoramic, close up photography, portraits, filters, videos

Part Four: Wrapping It Up

• Artistic considerations, some great apps for fine tuning images and creativity

 

* All camera phones are welcome, but we will be demonstrating on an iPhone

* This workshop is open to all ages and all levels of experience.

 

 

 

Susan and Neil Silverman are a husband and wife team who have been “captured” with photography for over twenty-five years --(teaching, leading workshops and working professionally in many venues). They have taught for the Santa Fe Photo Workshops, Gualala Art Center, Santa Rosa Junior College, Pacific Northwest Art School, Pt Reyes Field Institute, Great American Photography Workshop (GAPW), B&H Photo, PPC, PPWC, WPPI, Better Photo as well as many Photo Clubs and organizations. They have presented several podcasts and have been interviewed by several broadcasting stations. Sharing knowledge, experiences and camaraderie is as meaningful as “getting the shot”. Their work has appeared as the cover of Outdoor Photography, in Elle Magazine, der Spiegel, Sierra Club, the Cure, Audubon, Nikon World, Press Democrat, San Francisco Chronicle and many more. As photographers they realize that the light reveals itself in meaningful ways— on the camera, as a visual awakening, as an awesome moment in time and as a kindling of spirit and soul.

 

 

Managing Paper in a Digital World

Thursday, October 19, 2023
10:30AM -12:30PM Pacific Time

Corte Madera Store - $80

 

Do you struggle with accumulating piles of paper that never seem to stop growing? This class is for you!

Even in our digital world, our homes overflow with pieces of paper: from household bills to kids’ artwork to conference handouts. Professional organizer Lucy Milligan Wahl will walk you, step-by-step, through the exact process she uses with her clients to create a system to stop you from drowning in paper. 

NOTE: This class will include hands-on work and dive deep into the details, so bring that bag/box/pile of paper that has been stressing you out and we'll tackle it together!

Lucy Milligan Wahl is the founder of LMW Edits, a San Francisco-based boutique professional organizing company founded in 2014. Lucy is a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and its Bay Area chapter, holding certificates in Essentials of Organizing and Residential Organizing, as well as a 2023 NAPO Business Stamp of Approval. Lucy got her start in nonprofit fundraising, and giving back is still a huge part of her life. When she’s not organizing, Lucy serves as the Board Chair of CounterPulse, a performance art incubator in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, and volunteers as a member of the National Ski Patrol at Palisades Tahoe. Lucy holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Andrew, and rescue pitbull, Pippa.