On Sunday, Brushwood Center invited women veterans to experience a day of recharging and relaxing in community with fellow women veterans and family members in the peace and tranquility of Ryerson Woods.
Nature, Art and Wellness Day for Women Veterans offered the serenity of wellness activities: yoga, forest bathing, reflective acrylic painting, all part of a full-day program, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with breakfast and lunch also provided.
Catherine Game, executive director of Brushwood Center, said programs for women Veterans are part of Brushwood’s At Ease: Art & Nature for Veterans and Military Community initiative — offering a nature-based approach that serves 900 veterans annually, building skills in creative expression, and providing veterans with access to mental health support.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought us such an increase in public exposure and understanding of the importance of time spent in nature and exposure to the arts,” Game said.
“Programs like At Ease really marry these two modes of healing,” Game added.
Started in 2015, At Ease began simply, as a monthly prairie photo workshop for veterans. Since then, At Ease has grown into a multifaceted program for Veterans, Service Members, and their families designed to empower wellbeing through nature-based art, music, and photography workshops.
“More than 90% of the more than 400 military veterans who participated in an At Ease program evaluation expressed an increased sense of well-being from the wide range of arts and nature programs engaging active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and family members,” Game said.
Jessica Klinge is the Brushwood Veteran program coordinator, and also a veteran who says that in the male-dominated military, sometimes women veterans feel overlooked.
“At Brushwood, we offer programs for women Veterans that foster camaraderie and explore special issues like sexual trauma, since about 1 out of 3 women Veterans say they experienced sexual harassment or assault while in the military,” Klinge said.
Angelique Lawyer, of Westchester, is a retired Army Nurse who served both domestically and abroad for 22 years.
“It feels good to be able to connect with a community of female Veterans, to share stories and experiences, especially when it feels that others may find your service and commitment hard to believe or difficult to acknowledge,” Lawyer said.
Forest therapy guide Sarah Abu-Absi says Sunday’s program included a meditative walk through Ryerson Woods as a way to let the judgmental part of our brains take a break and practice just being present – relating our senses and our hearts to nature, without having an agenda.
Kathy Wilson, of Mundelein, participated on Sunday, and says she is the spouse of veteran, Saford Wilson, who served as a Navy Corpsman during the Vietnam
War.
“My husband and I have attended Brushwood art-centered programs together, we’ve enjoyed our connection to the vast veteran community in our area, and benefit from attending as a family with our grandchildren,” Wilson said.
Game says Brushwood Center works with many program partners to make At Ease programming possible, relying on the support of community volunteers, partners, and donors.
Veteran program partners include Allenforce, American Legion Cicero Post #96, Art Impact Project, Blue Star Families, Black Moon Trio, Chicago Lighthouse, Chicago Vet Center, Kids Rank, Lovell FHCC, Bridge program National Museum of the American Sailor, U.S. Forest Service, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Veteran Art Tribe, We Serve, Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County, and others.
Margarete de Soleil, of Skokie, attended and says she grew up with 10 siblings and a dad who had a career in the military.
“Brushwood has given me a way to belonging and healing, a way to relate to the military culture of my family and to honor Veterans through my artwork,” de Soleil said.
de Soleil’s paintings are currently featured in a group exhibition, At Ease in Nature, now on display in the Brushwood Center Gallery through November 30.
At Ease in Nature features artwork created during the 2025 At Ease program year, as well as work inspired by the artists’ experiences in nature. According to the Brushwood website, this year’s exhibition highlights the diversity that can be found in nature and in the armed forces, making each stronger than they would be without it.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
