Our goal is to build community among artists of faith in Vermont (and nearby) and to encourage good and thoughtful art deeply rooted in a Christian view of the world. To support that goal, in addition to our larger conference, we offer smaller, more-intimate stand-alone workshops that explore specific topics in greater depth than is possible in a conference setting.
We host these workshops at various locations around the state. If you’re interested in hosting a workshop or in seeing a workshop on a specific art, let us know. We know various artists who would be willing to present.
Upcoming Stand-Alone Workshops
This year, instead of stand-alone workshops throughout the year, we’re offering intensive day-long workshops the day before the main conference. This year’s full-day workshops are on songwriting, poetry, and memoir writing.
We don’t have other upcoming workshops scheduled now, but we’re happy to receive suggestions about workshops you’d like to see in the future, and happy to consider custom workshops if you have a group tha’ts interested. Email us your ideas.
Past Workshops
The Disciplines & Spiritual Practice of Creativity
Most people think of creativity as something that shows up in our lives at random. We imagine good ideas just appear "out of the blue." But that's not really how creativity works. Research shows that we can cultivate creativity like other skills: through practice. Creativity comes, not out of the blue, but for people who make space in their lives to hear the whispers emanating from the mysterious part of our brain that's constantly seeking solutions for our most persistent problems.
We will explore how to cultivate a spiritual practice of creativity. We'll discuss research-based principles about the practice of creativity, and deepen that conversation by exploring how creative practice can also be a spiritual practice-- a means for becoming more fully the person God intends us to be.
This workshop meets an hour a week for four weeks. This lets us talk about different creative practices, experiment with them during the week, and then come together again.
Location: Virtual; we'll provide a link to those who sign up.
Led by Kevin Fitton, MFA in writing. He has served as pastor and worship leader, and his short stories have appeared in various publications. His first book of short stories is due out this spring.
Crafting Poems Inspired by Psalms
We’ll look at the poetry of the Psalms, consider several poems by contemporary authors inspired by the Psalms, and try our hand at a few psalms of our own. Writing psalms is a rich spiritual practice that will help you inhabit scripture at a deeper level and develop your writing as a form of prayer.
Location: 150 Cherry Street, Burlington
Led by Abigail Carroll, author of Habitation of Wonder and A Gathering of Larks: Letters to Saint Francis from a Modern-Day Pilgrim. Her poems have been anthologized in How to Love the World and Between
Midnight and Dawn: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Lent, Holy Week, and Eastertide. She serves as pastor of arts and spiritual formation at Church at the Well in Burlington, Vermont, and enjoys playing Celtic harp.
The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction
Creative non-fiction tells nonfiction stories with the craft and techniques of fiction. In this small workshop, we'll examine pieces of well-written creative non-fiction and notice elements of writing craft. We'll do a series of writing exercises that explore aspects of the art and technique of creative non-fiction. We'll discuss how our faith intersects with our stories in the deep honesty and hope that pervades even tough stories. We'll do some writing and share that writing with one another. (Even if you're a fiction writer, this workshop's techniques will benefit you.) Here's an example of the type of creative nonfiction we'll look at: A Loss for Words.
Limited to 16 participants so there's time for everyone to discuss and share their work.
Led by Eric Taylor, MFA in writing. His work has appeared in River Teeth, English Journal, Whale Road Review, Plough Quarterly, The Caterpillar, and elsewhere.
Wildflower Photography
Nature photography is an extremely popular pastime, but successful close-up wildflower photography requires special tools and techniques. Explore this unique discipline through classroom instruction, equipment demonstration, field practice photographing Vermont wildflowers, and examination/evaluation of the day’s photos. Bring a bag lunch to eat in the field.
Limited to 8 participants so each participant can receive individual attention.
Location: Waterbury Center, VT. (We'll travel to Stowe for photography.)
Led by Paul Rogers, BFA in Photography as a Fine Art, professional photographer: paulrogersphotography.com