Tag: Writing

Participants are encouraged to attend all 4 classes, beginning on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Please click here to register for this series.

with Stacie Marinelli

October 30, 6:30-8:00pm – Poetry Performance!

Please join us in hearing and supporting the poetry developed throughout this month-long workshop by our fantastic participants. All are welcome. Free to attend.

Having cancer brings up so many new emotions and its trials test our stamina and strength. Writing about what we go through can release some of the trauma and allow us to view our path with new eyes. This is a four-session writing workshop for writers at all levels that will culminate in a reading of our work. Together we will share what we have to say about living with cancer from diagnosis to survivorship and generate new work through spontaneous writing using various prompts. Bring a notebook or laptop to the sessions.

Suggested Donation: $30 (includes all 4 classes)

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Stacie Marinelli

Stacie Marinelli is a local writer, researcher and storyteller who became involved with the Smith Center after her diagnosis of tongue & neck cancer in 2012. Words about the experience tumbled out in journal entries and poems which allowed her to better accept her cancer. She has blogged about her sense of community during cancer treatment and on being a peer mentor for the cancer-support group Imerman Angels. In Boston and DC, she led workshops on writing practice based on the books of Natalie Goldberg, on writing about one’s life as a heroic journey, and on creative memoir. She served as the managing editor of a New England storytelling newsletter for many years and her writing and editing work includes poems and articles published in anthologies and magazines.

with Rick Black, An International prize-winning haiku poet

Slowing down, being attentive and writing haiku can help to affirm our sense of self and renew our awareness of the beauty of the world. Join us for this all-day workshop, which includes a short film and haiku walk. Please bring lunch or snacks and wear comfortable shoes for walking.

This intimate workshop is limited to 8 people. Be sure to RSVP to secure your seat.

Suggested donation: $25

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Rick Black

A poet, book artist and photographer, Rick Black is the founder and owner of Turtle Light Press, a small publishing company that specializes in handcrafted books, fine art prints and note cards. In recent years, Rick has won several awards for his own poetry as well as books that he has published. He has given readings at the Library of Congress and elsewhere around the country. He often takes bike rides in the region and can be spotted taking photographs in and around Arlington, Falls Church, and Washington, D.C.

As he has gotten to know the area, he has begun turning his digital photos into artistic paintings – luminous, colorful and playful. His images have been selected to adorn the rooms of the Hilton Garden Inn in Falls Church. He has exhibited widely in the mid-Atlantic region and his work can be found in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. For close to twenty years, he worked as a journalist, including a three-year stint in the Jerusalem bureau of The New York Times. He also has freelanced for numerous national newspapers and magazines, including The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, and other publications.

To see more of Rick’s books or his artistic photographs, please visit his website:
www.turtlelightpress.com

With Susi Wyss

Led by a therapeutic writing facilitator, this session is designed for people living with or affected by illness. Tap into the healing benefits of writing using prompts and other exercises in a playful and supportive environment. No writing experience necessary, just an open mind.

All materials will be provided, but you are welcome to bring any journals or notebooks that you would like to use.

About Susi Wyss

Susi Wyss was born in Washington, D.C. to Swiss parents. When she turned seven, her family relocated to Abidjan, Ivory Coast for three years—a period that would have a lasting impact on her view of the world.

After graduating from Vassar College, Susi pursued a career in international health, hoping she could make a positive difference in places like the ones she’d seen as a child. She earned a master’s degree in public health from Boston University and joined the Peace Corps, working on a child survival project in the Central African Republic. For the next 16 years, she visited and worked in more than a dozen African countries, eventually living for another three years in Abidjan. It was during this second stint in the Ivory Coast that she began writing fiction, much of it inspired by people she’d met, stories she’d heard, and experiences she’d had in Africa.

Upon her return to the U.S., while continuing her work in international health, Susi earned a master’s degree in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University. She subsequently took a two-year sabbatical to write The Civilized World, a novel-in-stories set in Africa that was published by Henry Holt in April 2011.

Since completing her debut book, Susi has been working on a second novel while also working as an editor at Jhpiego, a Baltimore-based international health organization. Her stories, including several from The Civilized World, have appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Bellevue Literary Review, Bellingham Review, and The Massachusetts Review. She has served as an associate editor for the Potomac Review, and her writing has been recognized by awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, and the Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

Mandalas for Managing Stress and Increasing Wellbeing

Mandalas – circular designs that communicate symbolic meaning – have been used for centuries as a form of contemplative practice in many spiritual traditions.

In this brief but focused workshop, we will use mandala imagery, writing, and meditative practice to bring creativity, healing, and an increased sense of grounding and balance into our lives. Absolutely no previous art experience is needed. The workshop is designed for all ranges of artistic experience–you need not consider yourself an artist to attend.

 

Suggested Materials:

  • Paper to draw on – can be any size or color that you like; we usually work with something between 6 x 6 to 12 x 12
  • Art supplies to draw or paint with – E.G. colored pencils, magic markers, chalk or oil pastels, watercolor paints, and/or acrylics
  • Plate or circular shape – to draw an outline of a circle on the paper
  • For those of you who do creative or art journaling, you are welcome to use your journal to create your mandala.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

Rebecca Wilkinson

Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, is a Registered and Board Certified art therapists with twenty years of experience in mental health and in facilitating training and workshops. She serves as adjunct faculty at George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program and provide continuing education and development through the Potomac Art Therapy Association. She facilitates supportive workshops for those affected by life threatening illness and the professional providers working with them. Co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC, which provides training, consultation, and clinical therapy designed to reduce stress, prevent burnout and increase life satisfaction and wellbeing.