first friday
First Friday Art Reception with Beverly Rayner
November 6, 5-8pm
Beverly Rayner
Photography, Found Objects & Mixed Media
Join us for First Friday at Tumbleweed Found as we welcome acclaimed Santa Cruz artist Beverly Rayner, whose imaginative mixed media works bring together photography, found objects, and unexpected materials to explore the curious, humorous, and sometimes darker complexities of human experience.
Beverly’s fascination with discarded objects began in childhood, growing up in a small Connecticut town where she spent time exploring barns and junk shops. Her father, a master of “making something out of nothing,” taught her the possibilities of transforming castoffs into something new. Her mother inspired an equally enduring love of photography. At around eleven years old, Beverly began taking pictures obsessively with a hand-me-down Brownie camera, then a Polaroid, and she eventually ended up falling in love with the darkroom.
Over time, these two passions—photography and making things—merged into an artistic practice that has spanned more than 40 years.
Beverly creates singular, often sculptural works that blur the boundaries between photography, assemblage, and storytelling. Incorporating everything from antique/alternative photographic processes, tintypes, daguerreotypes, and found photographs to x-rays, wax, paint, and salvaged objects, she transforms familiar materials into unexpected and thought-provoking compositions.
Her work explores the uncertain spaces where fact and fiction overlap, where humor meets darkness, and where our personal histories and perceptions shape how we understand the world. Each piece invites us to look more closely, question what we see, and discover meaning in the unexpected.
Beverly is represented by Themes + Projects in San Francisco and has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums nationally and internationally. Her work is held in numerous museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Berkeley Art Museum; Oakland Museum of California; Crocker Art Museum; and San Jose Museum of Art.
She received the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship in 2007 and was Artist in Residence at Hollins University in 2012. Beverly currently teaches art and alternative process photography at Cabrillo College and serves as Director/Curator of the Cabrillo Gallery.
At Tumbleweed Found, where we celebrate objects with history and the stories they carry, Beverly’s work feels especially at home. Her ability to recognize possibility in the overlooked and transform the discarded into something meaningful speaks directly to the spirit of our space.
We hope you’ll join us for an evening of art, conversation, and discovery, and an opportunity to experience Beverly’s remarkable work.
sense-making
An Introductory Workshop to Cellulose Nanofiber (CNF)
with Augusta Sparks
NEW DATES ANNOUNCED!
Two-Part Workshop
Thursdays; 10/29 & 11/5, 5:30-8:30 PM
What happens when we approach a material without already knowing what it could become? Sense-Making is a two-part introduction to cellulose nanofiber (CNF)—a material that invites experimentation, curiosity, and discovery.
Working with teaching artist Augusta Sparks, participants will work with CNF as an art material. Rather than working toward a prescribed finished object, the workshop encourages observation, experimentation, problem-solving, and following what emerges through the making process.
The two-session format allows for drying time, and to respond to what happened.
WHAT IS CNF?
Cellulose nanofiber, or CNF, describes a process. The University of Maine places cellulose in water, this can be softwood from Northern Maine, or any plant material that is being tested for research, for example eucalyptus, or hemp. This is then ground down into a nanosize particle. This pulp can be shaped, layered, coated, combined with other materials, and manipulated in unexpected ways. As it dries, it becomes lightweight and remarkably strong—and often changes in ways that become part of the creative process.
A BEGINNING, NOT A ONE-TIME WORKSHOP
Augusta describes working with CNF as a collaboration with the material. She invites participants to be artistic researchers, and play with a material that has no art history, no definition of right or wrong. Sense-Making is the required introduction for future CNF programming at Tumbleweed Found.
After completing this introductory workshop, participants will be eligible for upcoming opportunities including CNF exploratory workshops focused on particular processes, materials, questions, and creative directions, as well as a communal CNF open studio for those who want time and space to continue experimenting independently.
The intention is to build an ongoing community of makers who understand the fundamentals of the material and can continue learning through experimentation, observation, and one another.
ABOUT AUGUSTA SPARKS
Augusta Sparks is an artist living and working in La Selva Beach, California.
She received her Bachelor’s in Photography from Bard College, a Master’s in Arts in Medicine from University of Florida, a Maine Arts and Humanities in Medicine certificate and a MFA in Intermedia from University of Maine. At University of Maine, she initiated use, and teaches
workshops with, the Process Development Center’s cellulose nanofiber as an art medium. Augusta came to the University of Maine to serve as a teaching assistant for the Maine Arts and Humanities in Medicine program. She then went on to work with Dr. Hugh Silk as the art consultant for developing a database and faculty development toolkit to integrate medical humanities into family medicine residency training, at the UMass Chan Medical School. Prior, Augusta founded the Carnegie Picture Lab, an arts education non-profit, and the social prescription program Arts In Health: First Aid Art Kits for the quarantined population during COVID in Walla Walla, Washington. Recently, she has taught workshops in the California University system, community programs in Maine and California; exhibited at the Parsonage Gallery in Searsport, Maine and with the Performance Art Initiative in Rockland, Maine; presented at SPACE gallery in Portland, Maine; has been written about in Art New England and published in ArtPlace.
Learn more about Augusta and her work:
https://www.andwithevery.com
https://augustasparks.com
8 Participants
$125 for both sessions + $25 material fee
Registration is for both sessions and is non-refundable.
GaTES OF GRIEF
Join in community for an intimate conversation about grief and loss.
with Harper Cheaney & Maria Walsh
Saturday, November 7, 6-8:30 PM
Join us for a small gathering exploring the many expressions of grief through thoughtful questions, shared stories, and quiet moments of reflection. Gathered around intimate tables, participants will move through five “gates” of grief, each offering space for conversation, listening, and connection.
Inspired by the work of Francis Weller and his book The Wild Edge of Sorrow, this gathering offers space to explore grief through conversation, reflection, and community. Books are available at Tumbleweed Found.
Facilitated by Harper Cheaney & Maria Walsh
Maria is a movement teacher and dancer. She teaches Dance for Parkinson’s as well as pilates,
and works with folks experiencing dementia. Maria also volunteers as an herbalist with Santa Cruz Herbal Mutual Aid, supporting the unhoused community with herbal medicine.
Harper is a therapist who works primarily with grief in its many forms. They are trained as a death doula and volunteer as a hospice volunteer. Harper is an artist and voracious reader, endlessly hungry for engaging with the ways our lives are shaped by how we live and how we die.
Hosted at Tumbleweed Found, 1025 Center St., Downtown Santa Cruz
Registration required $45-55 sliding scale, non-refundable
Space limited to 12.
estate clearance sale
at tumbleweed found
Friday–Sunday, November 13-15
9 AM–2 PM
Our estate sales are held monthly out of the garages on the Chestnut Street side of our building, behind 11th Hour Coffee, 1025 Center St., Downtown Santa Cruz
New inventory every sale!
Friday & Saturday: Estate sale pricing
Sunday: Everything 50% off!
Cash preferred. Credit card processing fees and applicable sales tax apply.
We hope you’ll stop by, explore, and find something wonderful to take home — or tuck away for someone special this holiday season!
See parking options. Parking strictly enforced.
Ancestor portraits
A Minimalist Collage Workshop with Iris Weaver
Thursday, November 19, 5:30-8:30PM—Full (Waitlist open)
Thursday, December 10, 5:30-8:30PM
Join collage artist and photographer Iris Weaver (@irisweavercollage) for a workshop exploring ancestralportraiture through collage. Together, we will reflect on family history, memory, identity, and the visual traces left behind through photographs and personal imagery.
Participants are encouraged to bring photographs of their loved one(s) or ones that represent them as well as images that reflect their ancestors’ interests, landscapes, or daily lives. Some people find it easier to work with images that represent the person or copies of photographs versus the actual photos of the person.
Using techniques such as cutting, layering, repetition, and juxtaposition, participants will create collage portraits that honor, reinterpret, and reimagine ancestral narratives. We will explore how fragments of photographs, textures, and found images can be combined to create visual stories that bridge past and present.
All materials will be provided, including collage papers, vintage imagery, and archival source materials.
All levels welcome. No prior collage or art-making experience is necessary.
Iris Weaver studied art on weekends at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam while living and teaching in the Netherlands. Her work has recently been exhibited at Gallery 881 with Broad Magazine in Vancouver, British Columbia (2024) and Postales desde el Limbo in Zaragoza, Spain (2025). Her work has also been featured in Contemporary Collage Magazine, Kolaj Magazine, and Why Collage? Magazine.
Hosted at Tumbleweed Found, 1025 Center St., Downtown Santa Cruz
Registration required $45, non-refundable
Space limited to 8
studio four
A quieter space for deeper creative practice.
Settle into four uninterrupted hours of creative exploration in a calm, contemplative setting.
Limited to four participants, Studio Four offers individual workspaces, thoughtfully curated collage materials, drawing supplies, and the option to journal throughout your session. Whether you collage, draw, write, or move between them, this is a space to slow down, follow your curiosity, and immerse yourself in the creative process.
We invite participants to keep conversation to a minimum, creating an atmosphere that supports focus, reflection, and unhurried making.
Studio space and materials. No Instructor.
Monthly • 4 hours • 4 participants • $25
Thursday, 11/12,, 10-2 or 2:15-5:15
Sunday, 11/22, 10-2 or 2:15-5:15
Studio Guidelines
Create as much as you’d like during your session, but please leave all shared materials and supplies at Tumbleweed Found for others to enjoy.
Please return all shared tools before you leave.
OK to use wet media, including liquid glue, Mod Podge, gel medium, paint, or other wet adhesives. Bring your own glue and brushes,. if using more than glue sticks.
No food, please. Covered drinks are welcome.
To reserve your spot, text or call 831-419-3130.
weekly collage
Weekly Collage at Tumbleweed Found
At Tumbleweed Found, we work with families navigating estate transitions and are continually surrounded by the paper trails of everyday life—maps, postcards, photographs, letters, books, magazines, stamps, sheet music, and other ephemera that might otherwise be discarded.
Through collage, we give these materials a second life, transforming fragments of history, memory, and printed matter into new works of art.
Our weekly collage gatherings offer a welcoming space to slow down, experiment, and explore your creativity. No Instructor, self-led.
Every session is different, with an ever-changing collection of vintage papers and found materials passing through Tumbleweed Found.
We provide everything—just bring yourself.
Materials include vintage photographs, maps, postcards, stamps, handmade papers, broken books, magazines, artist clippings, glue sticks, scissors, cardstock, and more.
Session Details
Wednesdays | Three-hour sessions
Limited to 8 participants per session
Sliding scale: $10–$15 per person
Cash preferred; Venmo and credit cards accepted with a 3% processing fee.
Please pay at the front counter before your session begins.
Cancellations are charged unless we’re able to fill your spot.
Studio Guidelines
We encourage you to create as much as you’d like during your session while leaving shared materials and supplies for others to enjoy.
Please return scissors, glue sticks, X-Acto knives, rulers, and other shared tools before leaving.
Due to our limited shared workspace, we ask that you keep your work paper-based and avoid dimensional (3D) materials. No wet glues, Mod Podge, paints, or other wet media.
No food, please. Covered drinks are welcome.
Reservations
To reserve your spot, text or call 831-419-3130.
Prepayment is required for groups of 3–4. Groups of 5 or more are invited to arrange a private collage gathering.
Parking information is available on our Contact page.
November dates released:
Wednesday, 11/4
Wednesday, 11/11
Wednesday, 11/18
No collage 11/25
To reserve your spot, text or call 831-419-3130.
Private Collage Gatherings
Gather your family, friends, or coworkers for a private three-hour collage session at Tumbleweed Found.
Designed for groups of 5–8 participants, these self-guided gatherings include studio setup and all collage materials. No instructor is provided.