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The Places Between: Mixed-media Workshop with Julie Klear Essakalli
Multimedia workshop aimed at celebrating third spaces
Concept Inspiration
A third space is a place outside of home and work where people gather, connect, exchange
ideas, and develop a sense of community. Cafés, libraries, parks, bookstores, community centers,
gardens, and neighborhood gathering places can all become third spaces.
But a third space is more than a physical location. It is a place where we feel welcomed,
encounter others, and experience a sense of belonging.
Workshop Description
Where do you go to feel connected—to other people, to your community, or even to yourself?
In this mixed-media workshop, we will explore the idea of third spaces through the creation of
an accordion-fold book. Each panel becomes a different moment, detail, memory, or possibility
connected to a meaningful gathering place.
Participants may choose a real third space from their lives—a favorite café, park, library,
community garden, neighborhood, or gathering place—or imagine a space that represents the
kind of connection and community they would like to experience.
Through collage, drawing, handwritten words, pattern, texture, and found materials, participants
build a small visual journey across the unfolding book.
The accordion structure allows the artwork to be viewed one panel at a time or opened fully as
one continuous landscape, echoing the way we move through and experience shared spaces.
Registration pricing below. The Patron Ticket best honors artist and her time instructing; also offering — in shorter supply — Equity Tickets for more accessible registration options.
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Patron Ticket: $15
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Equity Ticket: $7.50
Julie Klear Essakalli is a passionate advocate for children, specializing in early childhood arts education, entrepreneurship, and children’s book writing and illustration. She is the co-founder of Zid Zid, a play-based enrichment platform active in U.S. preschools, and formerly led the acclaimed children’s brand Zid Zid Kids. An award-winning illustrator and author, her titles include The Butter Man, The Animal Spring, and Mindful Poetry Moments. Julie’s vibrant mixed-media collage work is represented by the literary agency Painted Words. Fluent in Arabic and French, she spent 15 years in Morocco and now lives in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood with her family. She loves connecting with early childhood educators, poets and illustrators, and can be found on Instagram at @julieklear.
Drawing of Seattle's temporary Armory Park, 1972 by Karlis Rekevics
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