Saturday, February 7; 1pm to 4pm

Instructor: Gretchen Cion

In this creative writing workshop, you will go beyond the description of visual artwork to discern meaning and tap into art as a source of inspiration for your writing.

The workshop will begin with observational questioning to conjure character, setting, and sensory details hidden within the work and uncover threads of ideas. You will discuss the unicorn of inspiration: the rendering of emotional resonance in the piece. After viewing and discussing the works of art, you will spend time generating an early draft in your preferred genre.

You will share your drafts with fellow writers for positive-only feedback. Our goal is to repeat the process of observation and generation of ideas twice during the three-hour block. You will leave with two early drafts as well as a new practice for engaging with art to inspire future writing.

Gretchen Cion is a multi-genre writer, filmmaker, and educator currently teaching through Berkeley City College. She is the creator and teacher of Poetic Playlist, a writing class for girls and gender-expansive youth. She has an M.Ed. from Hunter College, and an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing, both from San Francisco State University. Her essays have appeared in Transfer Magazine, Sky Island Journal, and Brevity. Her first short film, "Full Crow," was a Semifinalist at the Boden International Film Festival. Gretchen is currently working on a debut novel as well as an essay collection, For Shame and Other Fun Feelings! for which she has endless material.

Website: www.gretchencion.com

Fee: MarinMOCA Members: $150; Non-members $175

Materials Fee: None, just bring your preferred method for writing (notebook and pen, laptop, etc).

Where: Marin Museum of Contemporary Art; 1210 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael (at B Street)

Register: www.marinmoca.org/learn