‘Creative Writing for Visual Artists’ is our newest Continuing Ed course. It will be taught by the amazing Susanne Reece (’20). She will provide a supportive, challenging environment to help visual artists hone their storytelling skills. Here’s the course description:
Are you a visual artist who has always been interested in creative writing, but you haven’t known how to get started or where to begin? Or maybe you’ve done some writing, enjoyed it and are looking to jump back into it. This course will give you the opportunity to experiment, strengthen your voice as a writer, and build confidence in your writing skills in a welcoming and supportive environment. We will explore essential elements of creative writing – character, plot, point of view, setting and theme, and what makes a compelling story. A series of exploratory exercises using visual writing prompts (photographs, illustrations and paintings), will give you a chance to try your hand at short-form fiction (short story, flash fiction), creative nonfiction (flash memoir, personal essay) and poetry. Over the course of the semester, you will produce a portfolio of written work and select one piece to further develop and polish as a final project that, along with a visual of your choosing, you will turn into a handmade zine or chapbook. We will also discuss how to post and share your writing, including blogging, self-publishing and submitting work to publishers and literary journals. Let’s work together to find out what you like to write, what kinds of stories you want to tell, and how your creative writing can strengthen and inform your visual arts practice.
NOTE: This course is fully online and offered through a combination of synchronous as well as asynchronous lectures and discussions. Students are invited to attend regularly scheduled online sessions during the listed course hours.