This month, SoHa Dance will receive this month's donation of 5% of our monthly gift certificate sales. 

SoHa Dance's mission is to encourage positive connections through movement and choreographic presentation. We choreograph and curate shows, promote new work from local and international artists, build community programs, and blog about dance all over the world. Our curiosity in finding out what moves people is the catalyst behind our movement and curations. 

If you know of a NYC-based nonprofit that could benefit from a little extra support, please let them know to fill out our submission form here. 

And if you'd like to pick up a gift certificate, that's easy too! 

Our friends at Park Slope-based art studio Private Picassos mainly offer classes for kids, but we've got great news for Brainery students: they also offer bimonthly BYOB workshops for adults. Check out these upcoming classes:

Intro to Watercolor Workshop on Saturday, September 10

Printmaking Exploration Workshop on Friday, September 16

Collage & Mixed Media Workshop on Friday, October 7

DIY Printmaking Workshop on Saturday, October 15

Silkscreening Workshopon Friday, November 4

Acrylic on Canvas Workshop on Friday, December 2

Learn more about Private Picassos here!

This month, Bushwick Street Cats will receive this month's donation of 5% of our monthly gift certificate sales. 

Bushwick Street Cats is an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to reducing the free-roaming cat population in Bushwick (and the surrounding area) through the use of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Whenever tame cats are found during the TNR process, they're fostered and found homes. 

If you know of a NYC-based nonprofit that could benefit from a little extra support, please let them know to fill out our submission form here. 

And if you'd like to pick up a gift certificate, that's easy too! 

This fall, join Brainery teacher Christine Garvey and Josh Bobrow in exploring the relationship between presence and creativity at their Drawing + Mindfulness Retreat in the Catskills. Through a combination of restorative and flow yoga, guided meditation and mindfulness workshops, and a dedicated drawing-from-observation course, students will explore a rich and multi-faceted mindfulness practice that aims to create space for reflection, gratitude, and curiosity.

Register by October 1 for three days of drawing, reflecting, and self-care in the Catskills.

How can you as a writer make sure your work will get the attention of an editor or agent? What should you be doing to improve your chances of getting published?

Sam Hiyate, literary agent and former publisher will be giving one-on-one meetings to review and give professional advice on your query letter and a 20 page writing sample. Fiction and non-fiction welcome. 

Limited time slots available on Saturday, September 24. Each consultation session is one hour and costs $100. 

• 10:30am-11:30am 
• 11:30am-12:30pm
• 1pm-2pm

To sign up for a slot, email us! Payment ($100) will be made only via check or cash on the day of the consultation. Your query letter and 20 page writing sample should be sent over via email the week before the meeting. Sessions take place at a coffee shop near the Brainery (190 Underhill Avenue) in Prospect Heights. Brainery gift certificates cannot be used to pay for this session. 

About Sam: Sam Hiyate is president of The Rights Factory, a boutique literary agency. In his 20+ year publishing career, he has worked with literary magazines, small presses and New York Times bestselling authors, repping everything from debut fiction and memoir to graphic novels.
www.therightsfactory.com

This fall, we're partnering with the Brooklyn Historical Society to bring you discussions about some of our city's favorite wildlife. 

Part 1: Pigeons - Monday, November 7

Learn about the "rats of the sky": pigeons. Find out how they got here and how they've adapted so well to our urban environment.

Part 2: Bugs - Monday, November 14

Cockroaches or bed bugs, which are worse? Entomologists, exterminators, and other experts help to answer this question (and may even convince us that they aren’t all that bad). 

Part 3: Rats - Monday, November 21

A historian, a biologist, and NYC's "rat czar" will attempt to get to the bottom of why every mayor's attempts to rid the city of these rodents has failed.

The Brooklyn Draw Jam is partnering with Shoestring Press to present HallowZINE, a comics and prints fair. Join the Draw Jammers on Saturday, October 29 to celebrate the Halloween season with live drawing, candy, beer and BBQ, and of course plenty of comics, zines, and prints for sale.  

This cozy festival will be a great chance to check out the newly-launched Shoestring Studio (a membership-based workspace for painting and drawing) and get to know the vibrant comics and illustration community of Crown Heights. 

Check out the HallowZINE Facebook page to RSVP (optional) and invite your friends!

This month, Heritage Radio Network will receive this month's donation of 5% of the Brainery's monthly gift certificate sales. 

Heritage Radio Network is a network of food thought leaders and industry experts, from brewers and bartenders to pastry chefs and policy makers. HRN is a media platform of 40+ hosts and their guests having conversations about food that go far beyond the boundaries of traditional media. With 7,000+ episodes of archived content with visionaries and tastemakers, the live stream of HRN’s 39+ weekly shows, and station-produced food news, HeritageRadioNetwork.org is the planet for food radio programming. 

They're an independent, member-supported, 501(c)3 not-for-profit. They thrive on finding solutions, and are united in the idea that a small group of dedicated people can change the world one bite (or sound bite) at a time.

If you know of a NYC-based nonprofit that could benefit from a little extra support, please let them know to fill out our submission form here. 

And if you'd like to pick up a gift certificate, that's easy too! 

We're working on a big project (more soon) and wanted to do something very special to celebrate: for the next 40 gift certificates sold at $50 or more, we'll add on a 10% bonus! We'll keep you updated here with how many bonus certificates remain (currently remaining: 37).

Here are the steps:

1) Purchase a gift certificate online for yourself or a friend of $50 or more. If you want to keep it a surprise or give the gift at a later date, you can either enter your own information in the recipient section or select a date in the future for your giftee to be notified. You can also purchase gift certificates for yourself in order to receive the bonus. 

2) After the purchase is made, we'll manually add 10% more to your gift certificate on all certificates of $50 or more. You'll receive a second email notification with the newly increased gift certificate information. If you want to print out a physical card to gift to someone, be sure to use the pdf included with this second email. If you choose to have the gift certificate sent directly to a friend, they'll receive a second notification directly from us with the increased amount. 

And that's it! Gift certificates never expire and can be used toward any class or event where the tickets are sold directly on the Brainery's website.

Please note the bonus offer does not apply to any gift certificates purchased before October 25, 2016. Any gift certificates purchased with a gift certificate will not receive the bonus. 

This spring, Brainery friend Christine Garvey is once again offering a lucky group of students the opportunity to spend a week drawing and exploring in beautiful Tuscany. The week will include daily drawing classes and excursions around Florence and the surrounding countryside. This unique trip is designed to help you observe and appreciate your environment while recording that experience through drawing.

More info here!

We're super, super excited to announce that we'll be opening a second location in Windsor Terrace later this November! 

We'll be located in an awesome little storefront at 1233 Prospect Avenue. It's (literally) a stone's throw away from the Fort Hamilton F/G train entrance on Prospect Avenue. We love the neighborhood and can't wait to start hosting classes there. 

To see if a class is located in Windsor Terrace, Prospect Heights, or elsewhere, be sure to note the location of each class at the top of each course page. 

And here are the first batch of classes we'll be hosting, starting in a couple of weeks!  

Fall Harvest Crowns - November 22

Tarot Card Basics - November 28

How to Write a Cookbook Proposal - November 30

Three Week Improv Intensive for Professionals - December 1, 8 + 15

Make Your Own Evergreen Wreath - December 5

Sculpting with Wool: Needle Felting Basics - December 6

The Real History of Cave Paintings - December 13

Create Your Signature Dish - December 14

Books by Brainery teachers and friends make great holiday gifts! Here are some new ones and some old favorites, from cooking and food history to flowers and fact-checking.

Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman

The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan  

 

This indispensable cookbook will teach you to make Chinese takeout favorites at home, from moo shu pork to black sesame ice cream.

 

The Flower Chef: A Modern Guide to Do-It-Yourself Floral Arrangements by Carly Cylinder

This guide to floral design will tell you everything you need to know about flower arranging, with gorgeous images throughout.

Gowanus: Brooklyn's Curious Canal by Joseph Alexiou

Discover the forgotten origins of this infamous New York waterway and learn about how the Gowanus has affected the culture of Brooklyn.

Infested by Brooke Borel

Science writer Brooke Borel combines storytelling and scientific expertise to reveal the history of the dreaded yet fascinating bed bug.  

The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking by Brooke Borel

This readable yet thorough guide is the perfect gift for the journalist, editor, or news junkie in your life.

Wine Hack by Jeffrey Schiller

We're looking for someone to help out around the Brainery. It's part-time (approx 20-22 hours a week, $14/hour), entirely at the Brainery, and involves all kinds of super glamorous* and not-so-glamorous things. 

• Being in charge of the main space in Prospect Heights (190 Underhill) during classes on the following days:

   - Sunday, daytime (6-7 hours, exact timing varies a bit week to week, generally 10-6ish)
   - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings 5:15-10:30pm
   - While you'll mostly be working in Prospect Heights, some flexibility to travel to our Windsor Terrace space (off the F/G) for shifts is required

• Keeping the space clean and organized - set up, material prep, and cleaning. You'll need to be able to move tables, carry stuff up and down the stairs, sweep, mop, do dishes and the like. Lots of cleaning! 

• Being very detail oriented and on time! 

To apply: Send us an email to jobs@brooklynbrainery.com. Attach a resume if you want (pdf please!), and let us know why you're interested in the gig.

Please note that availability to work all four days of the week listed above is mandatory. Apply by Thursday, December 1st. We hope to hire and begin training ASAP. Please no follow up phone calls. 

*Just kidding, none of it is very glamorous! 

It's here! Sarah Lohman's book, Eight Flavors, is officially being released into the world on Tuesday, December 6th. And to celebrate, we're giving away TWO copies! 

To enter, comment below letting us know which of the eight flavors Sarah discusses in the book you're most excited to learn more about: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. 

Entries close on Friday, December 9 at 5pm EST, after which we'll randomly select and contact the winners. 

Learn more about the book:

Eight Flavors offers unique culinary history of America offers a fascinating look at our past and uses long-forgotten recipes to explain how eight flavorschanged how we eat.  Young historical gastronomist Sarah Lohman discovered that American food is united by eight flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. 

Eight Flavors introduces the explorers, merchants, botanists, farmers, writers, and chefs whose choices came to define the American palate. Lohman takes you on a journey through the past to tell us something about our present, and our future. Weaving together original research, historical recipes, gorgeous illustrations and Lohman’s own adventures both in the kitchen and in the field, Eight Flavors is a delicious treat—ready to be devoured.

And check out some videos and recipes featuring the eight flavors:

Sarah Lohman Reveals the History of Chili Powder and Soy Sauce 

Sarah Lohman Reveals the History of Black Pepper and Vanilla

Thai Omelette with Sriracha sauce 

This Sunday, the Brooklyn Draw Jam presents its annual Holiday Bizarre at Shoestring Studio and Shoestring Press. Both spaces will be transformed into a festive holiday market/comics fest.

Established local artists will be exhibiting and selling prints, textiles, drawings, paintings, illustrations, comics, zines and other handmade goods. Bring home original art and pick up unique holiday gifts! Enjoy hot spiced cider, holiday treats, and more.

Check out the Holiday Bizarre Facebook page and invite your friends!

The School for Making Thinking (SMT) is embarking on its Spring 2017 Semester with three classes that seek to make you re-think the way you think. Classes at SMT use art to provoke questioning and deepen thought, and the classes this semester will help you learn how to merge art and activism, how to make good dialogue great, and to let you engage in the ancient practice of acting the fool.

SMT Spring 2017 Courses are commencing February 15th.  Courses will be held at the Abrons Arts Center at 466 Grand St. in the Lower East Side.  

HOLY FOOLS: PERFORMING THE IRRATIONAL IMAGINARY

Thursdays 7-PM | March 2nd – April 20th
Alexandra Tatarsky

A performance workshop interwoven with performances! Hysterical laughter politics to reenergize you in these dismal times! Surreal psycho babble songs and conversations!  Together we will make and share performances and writings from the perspective of the clown, the holy fool, the outsider, the bumbling truth-seeker. Through readings and embodied experiments, we will take inspiration from myriad traditions and practices that engage gibberish and ecstatic movement including Russian Futurist zaum poetry, Kabbalistic vision text, primitive voice work, automatic writing, and Nuyorican lingulisualism. Each class will include discussion, physical warm-ups, and generative writing assignments that consider performance to be a form of research. 

EAVESDROPPING FOR DIALOGUE:
EMBRACING TRANSGRESSION TO LISTEN FOR WHAT GOES UNSAID
Wednesdays 7-9PM | February 15th - April 5th
Rachel Lyon

George Saunders has said, “Bad dialogue is when A asks a question and B answers it.” Dialogue should be two people “firing missiles past each other.” And well-written dialogue is “like poetry—it’s not functional, but it looks good on the page and has a zinginess." In this course, we'll analyze the power dynamics, performance, communication, confession, (dis)functionality, and "zinginess" of organic and constructed dialogue from vastly different sources—from Beckett to GChat to the subway. We'll eavesdrop on ourselves, our friends, and strangers, and read between the lines in our own conversations. We'll comb through the archives at StoryCorps, and take a trip to see some improv comedy. And we'll practice the craft of writing great dialogue, from "said-bookisms" to dialogue tags, direct address, and beyond.

PROPHETIC ACTIVIST ART: STRATEGIES FOR A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
Tuesdays 7-9PM | February 28th – May 2nd
Tom Block 

This seminar explores how to build individual art-activist projects. Classes will include an introduction to the specific aspects of the Prophetic Activist Art model, and then an exploration about how these ideas can be applied to each artist and their endeavor.   It will then introduce artists to the specific ideas of the model, including co-opting political, business and social energy; partnering with non-profit groups; making liaisons with other artists; utilizing unusual exhibition and outreach methods; “Machiavellian” activism; how to build a project from inception through completion; how to imagine and successfully attain quantifiable activist goals and other specific aspects of a Prophetic Activist Art intervention.

If you would like to learn more about SMT or register for their Spring 2017 courses, check out their website at http://www.theschoolofmakingthinking.com/nyc-classes.

Books by Brainery teachers and friends make great holiday gifts! Here are some new ones and some old favorites, from cooking and food history to flowers and fact-checking.

Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman

The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan  

 

This indispensable cookbook will teach you to make Chinese takeout favorites at home, from moo shu pork to black sesame ice cream.

 

The Flower Chef: A Modern Guide to Do-It-Yourself Floral Arrangements by Carly Cylinder

This guide to floral design will tell you everything you need to know about flower arranging, with gorgeous images throughout.

Gowanus: Brooklyn's Curious Canal by Joseph Alexiou

Discover the forgotten origins of this infamous New York waterway and learn about how the Gowanus has affected the culture of Brooklyn.

Infested by Brooke Borel

Science writer Brooke Borel combines storytelling and scientific expertise to reveal the history of the dreaded yet fascinating bed bug.  

The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking by Brooke Borel

This readable yet thorough guide is the perfect gift for the journalist, editor, or news junkie in your life.

Wine Hack by Jeffrey Schiller

We're totally thrilled that our friend and longtime Brainery teacher Chitra Agrawal is about to launch her first cookbook, Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Brooklyn on March 21st, and we're lucky to have a copy to giveaway to you all. 

Chitra's taught many South Indian cooking classes for us over the years, and her food is some of my favorite ever. 

What can you expect in the book?

Lifelong vegetarian and chef Chitra Agrawal takes you on an epicurean journey to her mother’s hometown of Bangalore and back to Brooklyn, where she adapts her family’s South Indian recipes for home cooks. This particular style of Indian home cooking, often called the “yoga diet,” is light and fresh, yet satisfying and rich in bold and complex flavors. Grains, legumes, fresh produce, coconut, and yogurt—along with herbs, citrus, chiles, and spices—form the cornerstone of this delectable cuisine, rooted in vegetarian customs and honed over centuries for optimum taste and nutrition.  

To enter the giveaway, comment below by Friday, March 17 at 5pm EST, letting us know what you're most interested in learning from Chitra's book. We'll select a winner at random from the entries. You can also email contest@brooklynbrainery.com if you're not on Facebook. 

If you've cooked Thai food, you may have had to search around the city for fresh lime leaves. They're reliably available at the wonderful Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street in Manhattan, but hard to find elsewhere, even at stores that carry a lot of Thai ingredients. That's why we were excited to find them at the 45th Street Supermarket on the corner of 8th Ave and 45th Street (on the west side of the street) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. 

 

A post shared by j soma (@dangerscarf) on Mar 18, 2017 at 3:55pm PDT

  Leave a comment below if you know a spot for fresh lime leaves in NYC! 

Triples is an adorable little black-and-white cat that we found lost and frightened on the side of the road. After a bit of research we discovered she was first discovered hiding in the wall of a construction site, rescued and adopted, but then abandoned again near where we found her.

Triples is super friendly, loves being pet, and adores playing with mouse toys. She would also be comfortable with other cats if introduced slowly. Help Triples get a true forever home!

Email us and we'll put you in touch with the rescue to meet her and start the adoption process!