Cooper Street Workshop: Cross-Pollination: Visual Art as a Writing Catalyst

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

In this workshop, participants will consider visual art as a catalyst for the creative writing process. How does one approach the visual in writing, and what do visual artists have to teach us about the practice of writing? How can writing draw on the abstraction and experimentation of visual art? In this class, we’ll approach artistic creation from a variety of angles, from the hybrid work of writer-artists such Leonora Carrington and Alasdair Gray, to traditional forms of narrative painting, to modern artworks engaging techniques of abstraction, collage and found objects. Using example artworks as a jumping-off point, students will play a series of generative games and exercises designed to encourage experimentation with form and language, before selecting a work with which they want to engage more deeply.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Celia Bell's first novel, The Disenchantment, was published by Pantheon in 2023. Set in the Paris of 1680 during the scandalous Affair of the Poisons, it deals with themes of class, hidden history, and gender transformation. Her short work has appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review, The White Review, Sewanee Review, and many other venues. You can find her work online at celia-bell.com.

This is an in-person workshop held at the Rutgers-Camden Writers House.

Host or Publisher The Writers House at Rutgers University-Camden