Mineral Arts & Residences: East Lewis County artist collective obtains nonprofit status, looks ahead to hosting more artists

Earlier this year, the Mineral School — an overnight artist residency based at the old Mineral School in the East Lewis County community of Mineral — was rebranded to the Mineral Arts & Residences, or MARS.

Now, MARS has officially become a nonprofit as the collective has finally obtained 501(c)(3) status, according to a news release.

“We applied for 501(c)(3) status this past summer by sending a dizzying doorstop of a document to the IRS detailing our mission and the 100+ events we’ve offered in Mineral and beyond and the 200+ residents we’ve supported, all in the hopes of hearing those special words only the IRS can whisper,” the news release stated. “What words? These: ‘We're pleased to tell you we determined you're exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3).’ And: ‘We determined you're a public charity.’ Graduating to 501(c)(3) is a big deal, and we nerds are thrilled!”

While waiting for the IRS to approve their nonprofit application, an additional 20 artists stayed at both the old Mineral School and the Mineral Lake Lodge as a part of MARS’ artist residency program, and were treated to presentations and work sessions with professional artists.

Those artists included; Claudia Rowe, author of “Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of Foster Care”; Mita Mahato, who shared her "Arctic Play” work; Kristine Lloyd, who shared her poetry work; River Selby, author of “Hot Shot: A Life on Fire”; Claire Thompson, who shared her prose writing along with Selby as a former Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Service trail crew leader, and Carina del Rosario, who shared her sewn and quilted project titled “Lay Your Burden Down.”

“We couldn’t host all these folks without some behind-the-wheel support from Acca Warren and the help of live-onsite dorm hosts, who in addition to Jane included Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Jason Cohen, Allison Ellis, Susan Shepard, Claire Thompson, Angela Wang and Jen Worick,” the news release stated. “Additionally, in the metro Mount Rainier community, we’d like to thank Jana Gardner and Rick Johnson for sharing The Jimmy Beech House, the recent congregation of Mineral Presbyterian Church (especially Kathy and Don Johnstone and patient Dick Hopkins), Jill Hale MacNeil and Alex MacNeil, and Max Vogt, all of whom made our nail-biter ascent into the next levels of the organizational hero's journey a little less terrifying by offering grace, patience, pragmatism and generosity.”

MARS announced they already have artists lined up for residency presentation sessions in 2026, including:

• Kirsten Sunberg Lunstrum, the author of the novel “Elita” along with the short story collection “Outer Stars,” which won the 2025 Katherine Anne Porter Prize for short fiction. Sunberg Lunstrum will be at MARS on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

• Charity Yoro, a poet originally from Hawaii whose poetry collection “Ten-cent Flower & Other Territories” won the 2025 Oregon Book Award for poetry. Yoro will be at MARS on March 14 at 7:30 p.m.

• Brittney Corrigan, an author who has written both fiction novels and poetry including a new short story collection called “The Ghost Town Collectives.” Corrigan will be at MARS on April 10 at 7:30 p.m.

“Some of (Corrigan’s) poems nod to Mineral, including one inspired by a cemetery gravestone and another in honor of an imaginary ‘Alien Abductee's Daughter,’ the news release added. 

MARS’ logo features a flying saucer hovering over Mount Rainier designed by Morton artist Sara Smiley, a nod to Kenneth Arnold’s historic UFO sighting which started the Summer of the Saucers in 1947.

Arnold took off from Chehalis bound for a refueling stop in Yakima on June 24, 1947, when flying over the Mineral area, he observed nine “saucer-like aircraft flying in formation” between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams flying at speeds he estimated to be more than twice as fast than any known aircraft at the time. His sighting helped coin the term “flying saucer,” along with sparking the “Summer of the Saucers,” where thousands of other people nationwide began reporting seeing strange things in the sky after hearing Arnold’s report.

During 2025, MARS also purchased the former Mineral Presbyterian Church with the intent to turn it into its new headquarters, and in January MARS staff will be hosting a town hall event to help determine the church’s future.

“We’ll be holding some public feedback gatherings in January (follow us on Facebook or write us if you want a reminder — and we'll put up flyers for those of you who watch bulletin boards) to find out what folks in the Mineral metro want us to offer,” the news release stated. “We'd like to know the ways in which you’d like an outlet for, instruction for, place to teach about, or sales venue for your art, or if there are programs you’d like to attend or (even better), roll up your sleeves to help manifest.”

The nonprofit is also starting a new fundraising campaign in 2026, where they will match every dollar donated up until $1,013, meaning matching funds will make the donation total $2,026.

Those interested in donating can do so at https://www.poweredbyshunpike.org/c/PBS/a/mineral-school. 

MARS’ mailing address is P.O. Box 214, Mineral, WA, 98355, and the nonprofit can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MineralArtsResidencieS/. 

For more information, email takemetoyourleader@welcometomars.org or visit MARS’ website at https://mineral-school.org/, though a new website, https://www.welcometomars.org/, is still in the works.