The Saturday Workshops are a selection of workshops facilitated by creatives from all walks of life and modalities of art. These workshops are available for all retreat participants and to those who just want to attend for the day!
How it works: Register today and we’ll confirm your place. Prior to the Saturday Workshop Series, we’ll send out a final itinerary (we may add some options!) for you to choose from. On workshop day, arrive before breakfast to choose your workshops. Breakfast, lunch, coffee and sundries, prepared by our fabulous retreat chef, are included in your registration!
The Saturday Workshops
Breakfast Bar
Meet ‘n Greet
9:00 - 10:00
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Kelly’s workshops will be an open play space that begins in the visual realm, but ultimately works as a portal to open all other doors of creativity.
There will be an emphasis on loose, unfettered exploration with a “what the heck” attitude. You will banish stagnation by allowing feeling and expression to breathe through abstract color and form. The materials and techniques used allow a sense of improvisational flow. Often, when creating art one tries to aesthetically control the medium, which creates a sense of talking AT the canvas, much like a monologue. In these classes, Kelly wishes to open child-like openness which allows the medium to “talk back,” create a “dialogue” with it, and invite surprises. You’ll will tango, waltz and weave words into your art pieces.
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Identity, Writing the Body, and Liberation Poetics - In this workshop, we’ll learn about exploring identity through writing through personal bodily experience and utilizing liberation poetics. Prompts and poetry will be provided to stoke your creative flame.
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The artist statement is an opportunity to demonstrate that you are a thoughtful, deliberate writer who takes their literary career seriously. You'll need a version of this statement on your grant, fellowship, and residency applications, as well as your author web page. In this class, you'll learn how to cast your work in its strongest, most evocative light. Writers will leave with a statement that's ready to impress. This class is open to writers of all genres, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, songwriting, and graphic novels.
You'll read statement examples and learn how vetting committees use them.
Through a series of exercises, you'll generate ideas on how to talk about your work.
You'll craft, workshop, and revise your own statement.
The Morning Sessions - 10:15 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 1:15
The Midday Sessions - 1:15 - 3:00
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How do you write songs? Do you start with the music first? The words? The other way around? How do you find inspiration when it feels elusive? How do you organize your ideas when there are too many? How do you improve your craft over time?
Explore all of these questions and more in this interactive workshop, with guided individual and group exercises, that will give you firsthand experience in songwriting—or help you break through to the next level if you have already started. -
In this workshop, we’ll explore the nature of memory, and how both their truth and lack of reliability can lead to powerful story. We’ll talk about the ethics of writing about others, how pain and compassion are not disparate realities, and how authenticity in writing connects humanity through empathy.
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In this workshop, we will learn an array of different poetic forms and their history. Then, find unique ways to break them in a modern, nuanced, and impactful way.
The Afternoon Sessions - 3:15 - 5:00
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Kelly’s workshops will be an open play space that begins in the visual realm, but ultimately works as a portal to open all other doors of creativity.
There will be an emphasis on loose, unfettered exploration with a “what the heck” attitude. You will banish stagnation by allowing feeling and expression to breathe through abstract color and form. The materials and techniques used allow a sense of improvisational flow. Often, when creating art one tries to aesthetically control the medium, which creates a sense of talking AT the canvas, much like a monologue. In these classes, Kelly wishes to open child-like openness which allows the medium to “talk back,” create a “dialogue” with it, and invite surprises. You’ll will tango, waltz and weave words into your art pieces.
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Having the chance to question an author about crafting a literary life is a wonderful opportunity, and professional development is Lyzette’s forte. Her insights can help you plan, strategize, and create your own roadmap to help you advance your writing career’s trajectory. Come prepared to ask about anything and everything concerning the business side of building a sustainable career, whether you’re just starting out or already have a robust list of publishing credits. Questions might include:
How do I determine which literary competitions to enter and which ones I should skip?
How do I position myself as a competitive applicant for literary grant applications?
Does self-publishing help or hurt, or neither?
When can I consider quitting my day job and writing full-time?
What’s the best way to track my submissions?
If I’m only going to be active on two social media platforms, from an author standpoint, which should they be?
When and how should I request payment for my work?
What’re the differences among the five different publisher types?
How much time do I need to spend on marketing?
and a broad range of other topics!
Come even if you don’t know what to ask! You’ll gain a lot from hearing answers to others’ questions.
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In this workshop, we’ll dive into the power of public writing, and how to ensure that we write what we mean, and the reader receives the message. We’ll talk about how to write with impact and purpose, how to stay on task, and how to improve your chances of being published.
The Saturday Workshop Series is part of our quest to make art accessible! If you would like to SPONSOR A LOCAL (which we define as “anyone-who-can-get-here”), your contribution will go to our scholarship program to enable community members to participate in the workshop.