Creative Writing at Explore the Arts

Some of you may remember that last summer I volunteered at the Explore the Arts camp in Greenville, SC. I was thrilled when the camp's director, Donna Shanks-Major, asked me to teach the creative writing class this year. 

I had two classes: the first one consisted of eleven 6th-8th graders who wrote and published a camp blog. After receiving instruction about Muscle Words and the Who? What? Where? and Why? of reporting, they practiced observing and taking notes in a "Paint on Canvas" class. They wrote it up, received my edits and feedback from their peers, revised, and then moved on to observing other classes running concurrently in the Fine Arts Center. I hope you take a few minutes to read our blog; I'm proud of the way in which they learned how to incorporate figurative language and specific details into their work.

Photo courtesy Joanna Henn

The second class included seven eager 4th and 5th graders who came ready to write a story. (When they introduced themselves quite a few said they'd been "writing their whole life.")  Using lesson plans from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8,  I taught them how to Create a Character, Set the Scene, and Plan a Problem. They were each anxious to start their stories--many had constructed intricate plots in their imaginations before coming to class. 

We used some of the artwork displayed on the Fine Arts Center's walls to prompt their imaginations. In this exercise, they were looking at these pictures and imagining what the story was behind each character. I asked, "Who is this person?" and "What is she feeling or thinking?"

Photo courtesy Claire Natiez

When we studied setting, I asked the students, "What could happen here? What is the mood of this picture?"

This painting

inspired this descriptive paragraph:

The tornado rushes by as howling winds blows dust into the air, and tress bend against the wind. Gritty sand rushed into his mouth every time he took a breath. There was suddenly a chill in the air as hail pounded upon him. Suddenly all he could see was darkness. When he woke up it seemed that all of his bones were aching. Jeffrey L., rising fifth grader. 

I taught them these young writers the basics of writing fiction and they taught me how to dab. 

Photo courtesy Lydia Hammond

I'm not sure who was enriched more this week!

The Art of Growing Artists- Part III

It's been a pleasure to share images from my week volunteering with Explore the Arts camp at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC. If you missed it, here are the first and second posts. Thanks to all who have left comments and vicariously enjoyed my week.

Apart from talented instructors, one of the things that amazed me was the venue for this camp: the Fine Arts Center itself. It was like attending camp in a museum with one major difference: instead of entering gallery rooms off the halls filled with glass, pottery, exotic quilts, and lithographs, students walked into fully equipped art classrooms and studios. 

Here is a peak into more of the classes:

The creative writing instructor, Laura Gerhiser Hensel, is my new friend who suggested I volunteer at the camp. During her class, upper elementary and middle school students focused on the basics of figurative language and incorporating the five senses into various writing exercises. Writing both poetry and prose, students invented new words, played with phrases, and explored synesthesia. 

Laura leads a story telling exercise:

Here is a poem Ari Carroll, a rising seventh grader at Hillcrest Middle, wrote:   

Show Stopper

I remember pancakes and doughnuts

And marathons of Saturday morning cartoons.

I remember wondering if I could ever draw that well.

Syrup, thick and slow, sliding off the counter and perfectly into the bag on the floor.

pages and pages vanquished by sugary goodness. A true killer.

I remember yellow humanoid bunnies and tuxedo-wearing demons and alien cats named Fifi.

Being excited for my first commission.

Waiting all day,

I ran upstairs after dinner.

And drew and redrew every painful frame.

I decided enough was enough, and I pressed into the paper a little too hard.

I remember the explosion, the ink everywhere, and the fun I had, letting the crazy take over.

I remember waking up on the floor too early, only to edit the frames together.

Triumphantly, I released  the animation.

Ari Carroll is an aspiring artist and writer who enjoys writing sci-fi, drawing humanoid cats, and role-playing with friends. 

***********

Upstairs, artist Yoshiko Moon taught her young students Japanese art including print making, origami, and several different ink techniques. 

Downstairs, Candice Bryant led kindergarten through third graders in musical theater. 

And while Katy Cassell, the metals instructor at the Fine Arts Center, led a teen and adult class on Printing Techniques in Enamel,

Katy demonstrates an enameling technique.

A VERY hot enameling kiln.

a few doors down, Ted Mickens showed students how to make a plaster bank, create spin art, sculpt figures from wire, and sculpt foam blocks,

Ted Mickens at work.

and Amanda Griffith taught animal portrait painting.

 



Coordinating 20 teachers, over 200 students, and 16 high school volunteers, is like juggling balls, rings, clubs, and a few fire sticks. To do that takes someone with a passion for arts education and a love for children. It takes a person like Donna Shank-Major.

During the academic year Donna teaches design at the Fine Arts Center. But for over 15 years, she has been the juggler making sure that each Explore the Arts student receives a quality experience.  

Donna is flanked by volunteer Georgia Stickler (left) and
student intern, Bonnie Campbell (right).

In 2007 Donna added classes for high school students and the following year opened them to adults. Now teachers can take a class and receive professional development points/hours toward recertification.  

Donna, along with her staff of highly qualified instructors, created an atmosphere of exploration, engagement, and collaboration which stretches and grows each participant. The result is a week of diverse art instruction which parallels Greenville itself: a city with more art, music, and drama than I have time to appreciate. 

But Explore the Arts was a good beginning.

The Art of Growing Artists- Part II

Last week I showcased some of the young artists I met at the Explore the Arts camp at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC. In this post you're going to meet more artists and also hear about how art inspires writing. The pictures, videos, and poetry are mine. The italicized portions are excerpts from an essay by Donna Baier Stein, "Art for Contemporary Writers" that appeared in the July/August issue of Writer's Digest.

Ekphrasis and....Collage?

The literary term for describing in words what you see in a picture is ekphrasis. The practice can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, through the Renaissance and the works of the Romantic poets, all the way into literature of the 19th century. Typically, the word ekphrastic is applied to poetry. 

Creating collage with Judy Verhoeven

But fiction writers, too, can derive inspiration from physical works of art. Herman Melville uses ekphrasis in Moby-Dick...Taking the practice a step further, visual images can become actual prompts for an entire story or novel.

Ekphrasis and....Dragons?

Eric Benjamin demonstrates the art of dragon drawing

 Whatever medium you choose— from painting to sculpture, pottery to pencil illustrations—art can trigger a story inside of you. Here are some ideas for finding your own ekphrastic story starter: 

*Wander through a museum *Browse an art collection online*Visit a local gallery *Check out a book of art history from the library*View a collection of poster prints online or in a store. 

          (Carol's addition: Visit your local arts camp or school!)

The old aphorism “a picture is worth a thousand words” is most often attributed to Arthur Brisbane, a famous newspaperman. In 1911, Brisbane urged members of the Syracuse Advertising Men’s Club, “Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.” He believed in catching a reader’s attention fast and forcefully. Don’t waste your time fumbling for words, he was saying, when an image can get the job done better. Inadvertently, perhaps, Brisbane was setting up pictures and words as opposing forces. Ekphrastic fiction reunites the two, as a picture can actually produce a thousand words. 

Ekphrasis and...Music?

If Brisbane is correct, how many words do these videos inspire?

Jeff Holland led Drums and Shakers

Drum Set and Snare Drum

with Dr. Gary Robinson

Beginning Guitar with 

Matt Dingledine

Ekphrasis and....Improvisation?

Instructor Mia Hartley Phillips said second and third graders created this dance following a discussion of music evoking emotions. 

Ekphrasis and....Me?

Oh, Dragon!

With tail unfurled

claws paw the air.

Dance, prance

in vestments of turquoise, purple,

red and orange.

Royalty.

You dwelled in a canvas cave

until life breathed in you through

imagination.

Imagination

molds

chunks of clay

into a fierce monster

or a bird sitting on her nest.

Imagination turns paper

scraps into sunflowers,

blue and pink fragments

into hydrangea,

paint droplets

into

masterpieces.

Imagination

swirls swathes of filmy cloth

and suddenly, 

a young girl is a fantastical creature

hatched from an egg

in search of her sister. 

Imagination

unfurled

unfettered

unashamed.

Art begets art.

Ekphrasis.  

Thank you, Donna Baier Stein for introducing me to the concept of ekphrasis. And thank you, Explore the Arts students, for giving me the opportunity to practice it. 

The Art of Growing Artists - Part I

As some of you know, my husband and I recently relocated to Greenville, SC. I am finding an explosion of art and cultural events as well as arts education in the schools--including creative writing! Looking for an opportunity to teach, an acquaintance recommended I first volunteer with the Explore the Arts camp that meets in the Fine Arts Center. Over the next few weeks I'll share some photos and videos. These posts will be heavy on images and light on text as I try to share with you the excitement and energy of these young-artists-in-training. And hopefully, next year I'll be sharing my experiences teaching fiction and journalism!

When I stopped in the Drama and Improv class led by Andrew Bryant, they immediately improvised a jazz pose for me.

These rising kindergarteners and first graders learned about famous artists in Painting and Collage taught by Carol Ann Good, and then dripped, splattered, and painted away!



Jan Woodward taught Ballet and Modern Dance to sixth through eighth graders. The dancers had just learned this routine. 

Each instructor was passionate about communicating his or her love for art to their students.  It was a pleasure to watch kindergartners through adults unabashedly throw themselves into the act of creation. 

Opera star,  Kimilee Bryant, showing her class
her Phantom of the Opera scrapbook

The following pictures are from Katie Jones' class of second and third graders enjoying Clay Exploration.

I tried to take a picture of Dr. Roy Fluhrer, Director of the Fine Arts Center, in front of one of the many sculptures which adorn the school. He declined. Over his shoulder as walked away he said, "It's not about me. It's about the kids."