The Art of Noticing: Sketching and Reflecting on Beloved Places

The Art of Noticing: Sketching and Reflecting on Beloved Places
Program Leaders: Ann Klefstad and Maja Kalstrom Mueller

Slow down and explore your favorite place on the island through a multi-layered process, as you observe, sketch, color, write, and weave your reflections into a final piece that captures its essence.

Explore a favorite place on Star Island through a creative, multi-layered process with a sculptor and mixed media artist. Over the week, we’ll slow down and truly experience our chosen spots—first by noticing and describing them, then by sketching and adding color, and finally by writing about their history, meaning, and details. Together, we’ll weave our reflections into a final piece that captures the essence of each place. At the end of the week, we’ll photograph our work and create a digital collection of our beloved places.

Ann Klefstad is a journalist and artist who brings words and images together to tell meaningful stories, with her work on view at https://annklefstad.com. She’s also a longtime UniStar visitor, grateful for the ways the island has shaped her family. Her daughter, Maja, grew up in the Camp UniStar community—attending family and youth weeks, serving as a youth week counselor for eight years, and volunteering during family weeks—and is excited to return with her own young family to help lead this week alongside her mother.