Children's Book Illustrators

Join us on the Spirit of Washington for their Signature Bottomless Mimosa Brunch Cruise! Let's set sail and relax! **About the Cruise:** "Set sail for a memorable experience on the Potomac River with a Washington, DC Signature Bottomless Mimosa Brunch Cruise that is as scenic as it is delicious! You'll savor a chef-prepared buffet and bottomless mimosas while staying cozy and warm in our comfortable indoor areas. Marvel at unparalleled views of Washington, DC's iconic landmarks, such as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial from inside or enjoy fresh breezes on the open-air decks. This fun-filled dining experience for all ages is complete with lively DJ entertainment, dancing, games, and a fully stocked cash bar. Elevate your weekend plans with a one-of-a-kind brunch cruise on the water!" **What to Expect:** * 2 Hour Cruise * Brunch Buffet * Unlimited mimosas * Live DJ entertainment * Scenic Potomac River views * Lively Book Discussions and Activities * Dress code: Casual Attire **How to Attend:** **Cost: $107 per person** ***Payment is due at the time of registration in full, NON-REFUNDABLE.*** Space available for 20 members. Must have at least 10 members for event to occur. **Meeting Location:** Pier 4 580 Water Street SW Boarding Time: 10:30am Cruising Time: 11:30am-1:30pm Parking is located at The Wharf Parking Garage This is an excellent opportunity to dance, relax, and eat with good company! Great views of the monuments, free-flowing champagne, mimosas and sparkling cider, freshly prepared entrees, salads, and desserts, Unlimited coffee, hot tea, iced tea and water- all with your book girlfriends! Join us for a fun-filled time!

We are going to talk about the books we read—any books, from any genre. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, classic literature or something modern, everyone is welcome to share their thoughts, impressions, and favorite passages. It’s a relaxed and friendly conversation where we can discover new ideas and enjoy each other’s perspectives.

Jaime Echt, from The Crafter's Workshop, is joining our annual Creative Minds Summit this year! If you love the thought of playing with every color of the rainbow in one mixed media project, then this booklet is for you! Jaime will teach you various stenciling techniques while you explore the why’s and why not’s of color theory. Dimensional Stencil Butters combined with modeling pastes, paint pens, permanent pens and more will be the media of the day. Suitable to all, from beginner to crazy eclectic enthusiast, this class offers you instruction in color theory, stenciling techniques, mixed media painting, and simple bookmaking (zig-zag book ties with ribbon) as you use Stencil Butters in many different ways. Learn more about this class, your student supply kit fee & list via Artistic Artifacts’ secure online website: [https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-color-wheel-fold-out-booklet-with-jaime-echt](https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-color-wheel-fold-out-booklet-with-jaime-echt) \*\*\* Due to the size or other requirements of the class or concurrent scheduling, some classes are in our second-floor space: access is via stairs only. Registrations for all Artistic Artifacts classes MUST be paid for [through our website](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk), or via a visit to our shop at 4750 Eisenhower Avenue. We encourage you to RSVP here, but to ensure your seat you MUST follow through via our website. [View our complete class policies »](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/class-policies)

A highly-requested returning teacher, Kecia Deveney, joins us for our annual Creative Minds Summit. Stitched After Printing: Gelli-Printed Fabric Creatures is welcoming to all levels and celebrates imperfection, texture, and personal voice. We’ll begin by printing directly onto fabric using Gelli Arts plates, layering color, pattern, and marks to create a surface full of history and movement. From there, the printed cloth becomes the foundation for a soft sculptural figure. Hand stitching, fabric collage, and simple mark making will bring each figure to life — wonky, expressive, and entirely unique. These are not perfect dolls; they are character-filled beings shaped by process and intuition. What you’ll learn: monoprinting layered designs on fabric using a polymer printing plate; intuitive mark making with paint and simple tools; shaping printed cloth into a soft sculptural figure; hand stitching for structure, detail, and expression; creating faces and personality through texture and stitches; trusting the process and letting a piece unfold naturally. Learn more about this class, your student supply kit fee & list via Artistic Artifacts’ secure online website: [https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-gelli-printed-fabric-creatures-with-kecia-deveney](https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-gelli-printed-fabric-creatures-with-kecia-deveney) \*\*\* Due to the size or other requirements of the class or concurrent scheduling, some classes are in our second-floor space: access is via stairs only. Registrations for all Artistic Artifacts classes MUST be paid for [through our website](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk), or via a visit to our shop at 4750 Eisenhower Avenue. We encourage you to RSVP here, but to ensure your seat you MUST follow through via our website. [View our complete class policies »](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/class-policies)

Note: RSVPs for this meetup opens when our previous one ends. For April, we will be reading Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. The Hardcover runs 165 pages. It was published in 2025. The GoodReads blurb is **A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.** Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past. Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, *Three Days in June* is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers

THE YEAR'S BREAKOUT NOVEL AND WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT—A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND READ WITH JENNA PICK “Dazzling. . . Knapp tirelessly and beautifully replicates not just loss and grief but endless rebirth and delight.” —The Washington Post “Elegant. . . this is a wholly original work.” —People Magazine “A magnificent novel.” —Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Horse The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life? In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates... Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing. With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the "one . . . precious life" we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic. LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL

Join our Chief Creative Mind, Judy Gula, during the last day of our Creative Minds Summit 2026. Create a playful mixed media bird collage using a combination of vintage and contemporary design! In this popular class (first created by Judy and Liz Kettle of *Textile Evolution* for our inaugural Creative Minds Summit) you will learn fabric collage, discover tons of hand and machine stitch ideas and try out screen printing and block printing. Using vintage quilt blocks, linens and fabrics, you will create the first layer of your collage. It will then be enhanced using Thermofax screens and hand carved [wooden printing blocks](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wooden-printing-blocks) using [Artistic Artifacts Textile Paints](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/op), while both machine decorative stitches and hand stitches depth and interest. Learn more about this class, your student supply kit fee & list via Artistic Artifacts’ secure online website: [https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-birds-gone-wild-fabric-collage-with-judy-gula](https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-birds-gone-wild-fabric-collage-with-judy-gula) \*\*\* Due to the size or other requirements of the class or concurrent scheduling, some classes are in our second-floor space: access is via stairs only. Registrations for all Artistic Artifacts classes MUST be paid for [through our website](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk), or via a visit to our shop at 4750 Eisenhower Avenue. We encourage you to RSVP here, but to ensure your seat you MUST follow through via our website. [View our complete class policies »](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/class-policies)

Julie B Booth is a fellow Creative Mind, and past teacher at Artistic Artifacts, excited to join us again for our annual Creative Minds Summit. Create a hand stitched landscape/cityscape that expresses the essence of a special-to-you place. Julie will guide you through the process of designing an abstracted version of your special place based on personal photos that you bring to class. Along the way, you’ll learn Julie’s approach to layered fabric collage, choosing interesting hand stitches to fill in the spaces of your scape (including needle lace and ruching), free style bead embroidery and attaching place-related natural objects using thread nets. Julie will also demo some finishing techniques. (This class is suitable for all levels, though some experience with hand-stitching is helpful.) Learn more about this class, your student supply kit fee & list via Artistic Artifacts’ secure online website: [https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-sensing-place-with-julie-booth](https://artisticartifacts.com/products/cms-sensing-place-with-julie-booth) \*\*\* Due to the size or other requirements of the class or concurrent scheduling, some classes are in our second-floor space: access is via stairs only. Registrations for all Artistic Artifacts classes MUST be paid for [through our website](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk), or via a visit to our shop at 4750 Eisenhower Avenue. We encourage you to RSVP here, but to ensure your seat you MUST follow through via our website. [View our complete class policies »](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/class-policies)

Looking forward to seeing you! Please know that you don't have a reserved spot until you register at [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/speed-dating-for-autistic-adults-tickets-1982622638683?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawP1rHJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe09Q_4uRXeVchWzuAfDhgFlwnANLaOOKGr1stjbTaw5QD9gQXLos5IOBPUQs_aem_XUyVMTIlkYCPy8pVfz533Q) and purchase your ticket. Limited tickets available. Join us for a supportive, structured Speed Dating event for autistic adults (ages 25 to 40) on Sunday, April 19, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00pm in Bethesda, MD (address provided after registration). This facilitated event is designed for heterosexual pairings and offers a welcoming, low-pressure environment to meet potential partners. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is $35 on our website and free for our **[Constellations](https://www.harringtonmatchmaking.com/constellations-membership)** members.

**NOTE: AN RSVP ON MEETUP DOES NOT SERVE AS A BOOKED SPOT. YOU MUST BOOK VIA LINK BELOW TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT.** **You must book your spot through our website: [[Booking Link Here](https://www.lesbifriendstravel.com/events/craft-and-spark)]** Spring is here, let’s meet it with creativity, intention, and connection. Lesbifriends Travel invites you to Craft & Spark, a fun and flirty afternoon designed for Black queer women and non-binary singles ready to step into the season with ease and possibility. We’re transforming a private residence into a warm, interactive space where good energy meets thoughtful play. This isn’t your typical social, no loud bars, no awkward hovering, just art, crafts, good music, guided moments of connection, and the kind of space where introductions flow naturally. Hosted in collaboration with Happy Trees Entertainment, create something tangible, and maybe even meet someone whose spark feels just right. **Event Details You Should Know:** 📅 **Date:** Sunday, April 19, 2026 ⏰ **Time:** 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM 📍 **Location:** Private Residence in Southeast DC (exact address shared with confirmed guests) 💸 **Cost:** $40 **What to Expect:** * One guided craft: Stained Glass Art Workshop – Design 3–5 stained glass pieces you can display in your window or space at home * Water and juice refreshments * Music, structured icebreakers, and social flow moments **Plus:** 💬 A short intentional icebreaker to spark conversation 🎶 Cozy house party vibes with music 📸 Time to mingle, create, and capture moments at the end **Who This Event Is For:** Black queer women and non-binary singles craving a relaxed, intentional, and creative way to meet new people and connect in real life. ✨ Lesbifriends Travel invites you to breathe, be present, make something beautiful, and let the laughter (and maybe flirtation) unfold naturally. Learn more details and claim your spot here: **[Craft & Spark](https://www.lesbifriendstravel.com/events/craft-and-spark)**! **Note:** By attending this event, you agree to being photographed. However, if communicated, we will try our best not to capture you in photos and post you publicly. That request must be communicated ahead of time/at the beginning of the event to photographer and host.

Let’s go see the [state fair exhibit](https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/state-fairs) at Renwick! A nice way to move from winter into spring. We’ll meet out front at 10:30. The exhibit begins inside to your left and continues upstairs. Check comments day-of for how to find me. INHERENT RISK AND LIABILITY: Organizers carefully plan events and check public sources for weather and safety. Common sense dictates that conditions may change and there is inherent risk associated with attendance. Organizers do not accept any liability for accidents/injuries or any other incidences that may occur in connection with the activities published herein or on linked sites.

This meeting will be dedicated to talking about three Novellas: “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Gabriel García Márquez “By Night in Chile” by Roberto Bolaño “The Invention of Morel” by Adolfo Casares We will be meeting in the National Portrait Gallery Atrium. To stay up to date with events and discuss meetings or books, you can join our Whatsapp group. Please message me to get added.

For our inaugural meat up we will discuss the fan favorite David Grann’s Killers of The Flower Moon. Synopsis: The book investigates a series of murders of wealthy Osage people that took place in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the early 1920s after extensive oil deposits were discovered beneath their land. After the Osage are awarded headrights in court to the profits from oil deposits found on their land, the Osage people prepare to receive the wealth to which they are legally entitled from sales of their oil deposits. The Osage are viewed as the "middle man" and a complex plot is hatched to eliminate the Osage inheritors one by one, by any means possible. Officially, the count of the wealthy Osage victims reaches at least 20 but Grann suspects that perhaps hundreds more may have been killed because of their ties to oil. The book details the new FBI’s investigation of the murders and the eventual trial and conviction of cattleman William King Hale as the mastermind behind the plot. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193388249-killers-of-the-flower-moon We will meet at ForFive in Rosslyn in the upper floor seating area.

Our May book will be Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Book summary: In a tiny cafe where time travel is possible under strict rules, customers revisit pivotal moments they can't quite change.

Join us for a calm and cozy afternoon of creating together at Oakton Library. This is a relaxed social art meetup, not a class. No instruction, no pressure. Just time to focus, draw, paint, and connect. We’re keeping this one intentionally small: **Maximum 10 seats** for a more intimate creative space. 🗓 First Saturday of every month 🕐 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM 📍 Oakton Library *** ✨ **What to Expect** This is quiet, focused art time with light conversation. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced artist, you’re welcome. You’re free to come late or leave early. *** 🖌 **What to Bring** Bring any materials you enjoy working with. Keep setups clean and easy for a shared public space. Suggested items: * Sketchbook or loose paper * Pencils, pens, markers, crayons * Small watercolor or gouache setup * iPad or tablet * Crochet, journaling, calligraphy — any quiet creative work is welcome Please avoid messy materials or anything with strong odors. *** 📌 **Important** Seats are limited to 10. Please RSVP to reserve your spot. If you RSVP and can’t make it, let us know so someone else can join.

Shut Up & Write! meets at Cascades Library Room D We hope to see you there! Shut Up & Write is not affiliated with the Loudoun County Public Libraries.