Entrance to the Grand Canal from the Molo, Venice (detail) by Canaletto, 1742-1744
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 a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts.
The sessions spotlight a wide range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. The course has a limited enrollment to maximize interaction among the instructor and students.
February 3 Explore Place
Step into Canaletto’s Entrance to the Grand Canal from the Molo, Venice to explore the dynamic relationship among setting, character, and story.
February 4 Unveil Stories
Inspired by Cecilia Beaux’s Sita and Sarita, discover the multiple layers of stories in the art, life, and times of this early 20th-century American artist.
February 5 Probe Perspective
Discover the potential of writing from numerous perspectives and points of view inspired by 20th-century American artist Paul Cadmus’ satirical Bar Italia.
Surface is a teaching artist, playwright, theater director, and museum educator. She presents workshops nationwide in creative writing and drama as a Kennedy Center teaching artist, is a Chautauqua Institution Writer-in-Residence, and was a faculty member at Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom.
3 sessions
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