Check out this sampling of treasures included in our silent auction, with more auction surprises to come at the party. The bidding will happen in person at our fundraiser benefit, so take some time now to browse and don’t miss your chance to take home one of these special items! It’s a win for you, and a win for Mineral to keep building a vibrant arts community. Get your tickets here!
Tell your story: A writing workshop with Claudia Castro Luna
Spend a memorable day with a group of four friends in a personalized writing workshop. Claudia can tailor this workshop to memoir, poetry or a combo. Your group will join Claudia for a morning and early afternoon in an idyllic setting on Whidbey Island to write, read, and respond to generative prompts that can get you going on your writing journey or spice up what you are already working on.
Light breakfast and lunch are included. Porch-sitting, forest bathing, and eating scones with home-made jam at tea time are also part of the package. Workshop will be in late September or early October on a mutually agreed day. If travel to Whidbey is too difficult the workshop can take place at Folio in Seattle.
Claudia Castro Luna is the author of several books, and a recent fellow with the Academy of American Poets (2019), Poet Laureate for Washington State (2018-2021), and Seattle’s inaugural Civic Poet (2015-2018).
Winter Wonderland: MLK Weekend at Mineral School
Your group of up to 10 can rule the school from Thursday, January 16 to Monday, January 20, 2025 – the long weekend bookended with Monday off to remember Martin Luther King Jr. Reunite with family, bring together friends, or jam with your writing partners, art partners, or book club. We’ve got six bedrooms – four with two queen beds apiece, two with one queen each – and cooking, lounging, and dining space aplenty. We’ll include breakfast supplies – coffee, tea, milk or its plant analogs, bread, eggs, fruit, butter/nut butter, and yogurt. Our facility is non-smoking, but it’s dog-friendly for one four-legged friend.
OOLA Distillery Private Tasting & Tour
OOLA Distillery, a premiere and local distillery since 2010, is providing a gift certificate good for a tasting for up to 15 people! Spend an afternoon with your friends, sipping on OOLA’s latest spirits while privately touring the distillery in Seattle’s historic Georgetown neighborhood. (expires 12/30/2025)
Guided Tour of Japanese Garden or Arboretum with Anne-Phyfe Palmer
Join Anne-Phyfe Palmer, founder of 8 Limbs Yoga Centers, and docent at the Seattle Japanese Garden, for a guided tour of the Arboretum or Japanese Garden. Depending on the donor’s interest, the tour can also involve instruction or a conversation about Mindfulness meditation and/or yoga. (Anne-Phyfe is also a life coach, if you’ve got some life questions to explore.)
Anne-Phyfe is also providing a set of her three gorgeous, hardcover books — pick up this special gift for someone you love or for yourself. Books include: “This Family of Ours: A Keepsake Journal,” This Life of Mine: A Legacy Journal,” and “My Baby’s Book: A Keepsake Journal.” (Book art by papercut artist and illustrator Sarah Trumbauer.)
Baja Beachfront Vacation Home for Group Getaway
Plan a memorable group vacation, retreat or family reunion at a modern, beachfront home about a 1.5 hour drive south of San Diego (and across the Mexico border). This offer provides 3 nights AirBnb rental of the entire home anytime between December 2024 to May 2025, excluding holidays. (You can also add more days to extend your vacation!)
Casa Los Primos is a private, 8,000 sf home on the sand in a safe, gated beach community. It has 9+ bedrooms, 12 beds, 8 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and 2 detached casitas. Enjoy the sweeping ocean views while relaxing by the firepit, or cooking at the outdoor pizza oven. Surfing, horseback riding, sand dunes, zip lining, music, dancing, and great food are at your fingertips. The home is 30 minutes from the amazing Valle de Guadalupe wine country where you can enjoy great wine and amazing food with beautiful vistas. Massage and chef meals at the home can also be arranged, or drivers to take you to wine country.
(Mineral School board member Liz Jones knows this home and she’s happy to help you figure out trip logistics. Easiest travel option is to fly to San Diego, then either rent a car and drive to the house or you can take a combo of public transit, private bus or taxi to the house. Even Liz’s 80-year old dad has traveled the house solo on public transit! It’s great if you have friends or family in Southern California who will join your trip and drive you.)
Portrait Session With Mark White Photography
Mark White’s photography work originated with street photography for Real Change capturing the lives of ordinary and vulnerable people, and broadened to include images of street protest, architecture, and urban landscapes. He’s also a highly skilled portrait photographer. Mark photographed all three cohorts of Mineral School’s and Seattle Escribe’s first-of-its-kind Spanish-language residency program for U.S.-based writers working in Spanish. For one very fortunate Mineral School supporter, he’s offering a portrait session at his Pioneer Square studios, after which you can select a few favorites to keep.
Photo of Mineral Lake by Anthony Koopman
Mineral, WA native Anthony Koopman, also known as StormKing Photography, has been chronicling the countryside and Mineral Lake for many years — and has even served as one of a small crew of photographers hired by Mt. Rainier National Park. He’s sharing one of his favorite images tonight to support Mineral School.
Garden Consultation with Stacey Vaeth of Royal Green Designs
Stacey Vaeth’s experience with plants runs deep, from installing and maintaining interior plantscapes, working on an organic CSA vegetable farm to building greenhouses in the highlands of Guatemala with the Peace Corps.
Stacey’s offering one hour garden consultation to walk your garden, ask questions you’ve always had, and generate ideas. About us: Royal Green Designs creates native, edible, pollinator-enticing and beautiful garden designs that are good for ourselves and our environment. We focus on empowering our clients with permaculture and organic planting techniques to get the most out of their gardens.
Shibori Indigo Dyeing Workshop for 4 people (or a family)
Learn the fascinating art of shibori dyeing! In this workshop, you’ll learn several different shibori techniques and have the option to dye various items. The host will provide 1 tea towel and 4 napkins per person for dying, and each person is also welcome to bring 1-2 of their own items (plain t-shirts are good).
Shibori is a Japanese dyeing technique that typically involves folding, twisting or bunching cloth and binding it, then dyeing it in indigo. It’s an amazing craft where every piece you dye is a little bit of a mystery.
Your host, Caroline Dodge, is an art maker and supporter and someone who’s helped put on some of the most creative parties in Seattle as the longtime Director of Promotions at The Stranger. (Mineral School board member Liz Jones describes Caroline’s dye parties as “a perfect afternoon with friends, getting a little witchy with a vat of dye.” Light snacks and drinks included.
An Evening Of Tarot For Four With Madame Jane
Mineral School founder Jane Hodges got her first deck of tarot cards while interning during the first Bush Administration at the Smithsonian Institution’s magazine The Wilson Quarterly. Tasked with opening the book editor’s mail and delivering the spoils to his office in the castle building, she hid her glee when she saw he’d been sent a tarot deck. “You can throw those out!” he said, waving the precious package away with a dismissive wave of his hand. The rest is herstory. Reader, she took them to her dorm room and homes in New York City, Seattle, and Mineral — and now to your place. Madame Jane will provide beverages (wine and non-alcoholic options) and snacks and read from her “Enchanted Tarot” deck for you and three friends, in any home within one hour of Seattle, Washington. The experience will take about two hours.
MUCH MORE TO COME – We’re saving some surprises for the party!
