Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts.

The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. Each workshop has a limited enrollment to maximize interaction among the instructor and students.

Surface is a teaching artist, playwright, and theatre director and producer. She presents workshops nationwide in creative writing, reflective writing and drama as a Kennedy Center teaching artist and museum educator. She was a faculty member at Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom.

Session Information

Character: Uncovering Complexity

Meet 17th-century Dutch artist Judith Leyster through her Self-Portrait as you probe how details help create rich, compelling characters.

Additional Sessions

• January 16: Setting: The Power of Place
• January 23: Story: Arcs of Action
• January 30: Dialogue: Spoken and Unspoken
• February 6: First Person: Monologues and More

General Information

• View Common FAQs and Policies about our Online Programs on Zoom.