Week-long workshops in the visual, literary and culinary arts
For thousands of years, the quaint villages, rolling hills and lavender fields of Provence have attracted poets and painters, popes and aristocracy. This summer, let the sensory pleasures of sunny Provence inspire the inner artist in you with our new creative workshops in the literary, visual and culinary arts.
These small, intimate workshops, taught on-site in a Provençal country manor home, are led by professional artists, writers and chefs who are passionate about their work and who love to share their expertise with others. The lessons are presented in English, with plenty of hands-on learning activities and time to assimilate your new skills. Plus, you’ll have unparalleled access to these working professionals in small-group discussions during class time, on the road as we explore the Provençal countryside together, and as we relax and unwind after dinner in the evenings.
Each day of the workshops provides a comfortable mix of sightseeing, classroom instruction and free time. Daily tours are offered at a relaxed pace and can be tailored to the group’s interests and abilities.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to travel, learn and return from your trip invigorated and inspired. Check out our Summer 2012 offerings here:
Literary Arts Workshop
June 2-9, 2012
Destination: Publication--Travel Writing in Provence
Love to travel and write? Want to turn your travels into publishable articles for print and online media? Join Diana Tonnessen, a seasoned magazine editor and travel writer, on a memorable 6-day/7-night learning vacation in Provence, France, where you’ll be immersed in the culture of the endearing French countryside and learn how to turn your experience into a marketable travel article.
In this practical hands-on workshop, Diana will give you the inside scoop on travel writing, helping you build the skills you’ll need to publish a feature-length article about your stay in Provence. You’ll spend mornings touring the picturesque towns, medieval villages, Roman ruins and open-air markets of Provence -- and gathering material for your article. Afternoons will be spent in small group classes with Diana, who will guide you step-by-step through the creative process of writing a feature article. In the evening, you’ll relax on the terrace as we unpack the experiences of the day. By the end of the week-long workshop, you'll have written the lead of your article, along with the crucial one-page query letter you'll need to sell it to an editor. To see the course syllabus and tour schedule for this workshop, click here.
Diana Tonnessen is an award-winning feature writer, book author and magazine editor whose articles have appeared in Health, Glamour, Self, Parents, Plum, and Working Mother, among others. Diana currently works for the New York Times Regional News Media, writing and editing feature articles on food, history, culture, travel and the arts for Gainesville Magazine and the Gainesville Sun. She is a former faculty member and occasional adjunct instructor at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, where she has mentored hundreds of students and helped many of them publish their first newspaper or magazine feature article. For the past two years, Diana co-directed the Anhinga Writers’ Studio Summer Workshops in Gainesville, Florida, where she taught workshops on feature writing, book proposals, query letters and more. To learn more about Diana and see samples of her work, visit www.DianaTonnessen.com
Literary Arts Workshop
June 9-16, 2012
Creative Writing in Provence: Give Your Work a Sense of Place
Join award-winning author Mary Anna Evans in the South of France and let the warmth of Provence pervade your writing. Whether you write essays, fiction, memoir, poetry, or narrative nonfiction, travel can invigorate your work, offering up new experiences and insights that will provide fresh material for years after your return home. In this program, you will learn techniques for bringing the setting of your work to full-bodied life, drawing from the sensory wealth of the world around you. People-watch in a French village and explore ways to incorporate those observations into living, breathing characters in your story. Experience a culture different from your own, then let that new perspective give you a fresh way to portray the world in your writing.
You will spend mornings touring beautiful Provence with tour director Kaydie Vistelle. Afternoons will be spent in small-group classes with Mary Anna, with ample quiet time for incorporating what you’ve learned into your own writing projects. In the evenings, you will have the opportunity to relax with good food and good wine, talking with your fellow students, writing instructor, and tour guide about life in Provence, life as a writer, and life in general. After this six-day course, you’ll return home with memories of the scent of lavender and the taste of Chateau Neuf de Pape, rejuvenated and ready to write your own tales.
Mary Anna Evans is the author of seven Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries, as well as the environmental thriller Wounded Earth. She has also penned nonfiction books on mathematical literacy and on novel-writing, as well as many short stories, articles, and essays. Her work has won the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, and a bronze medal from the Florida Book Awards. She was a 2010 writer-in-residence for The Studios of Key West, and she has served as a board member for the Anhinga Writers' Studio. She is a frequent speaker on topics that include creative writing, mathematical literacy, educational issues, and crime fiction. More information on Mary Anna and her work can be found at www.maryannaevans.com
Visual Arts Workshop
June 16-23, 2012
See, Stretch, Sketch--Using Travel and Yoga to Refresh your Artistic Vision
Some of the earliest recorded forms of artistic expression can be found in the cave paintings in and around Provence in the South of France. Artists have been coming here ever since, captivated by the area’s natural beauty and rich sensory offerings. Join painter Lilliam Pancorbo in this inspiring setting as she leads you through a series of yoga stretches and creative exercises designed to increase your sensory awareness and breathe new life into your artistry.
Our mornings will begin with a yoga program designed to invigorate and focus our strength and vitality, developing flexibility, balance, and body awareness. We will follow with exercises designed to sharpen our senses and expand our awareness, using writing, sketching, collage-making and art-journaling to record our experiences. Participants will be encouraged to explore a variety of techniques of creative expression, thus expanding our knowledge and stretching our potential as artists. We recommend that art supplies be light and unencumbered…no bulky easels or heavy paint cases, but rather lightweight sketchbooks and small brushes and watercolor pencils that allow for spontaneity and ease of movement.
We will tour Provence in the afternoons, then come together as a group in the evenings for an optional hour of relaxing yoga before dinner.
According to Dona Holleman, author of Meditations from the Mat, "Both yoga and art aim at the same thing, that is, to re-establish our personal connection with the world around us according to our own inner creativity.” Come and explore Provence with all of your senses as you develop fresh, new ways to express and record what you see and experience as an artist.
Lilliam Pancorbo is a certified yoga teacher with experience in small group settings in both Connecticut and Florida. As an artist, she works in oils, pastels and watercolor. Her exhibits include the Watermark Gallery in North Stonington, Connecticut, the Courtyard Gallery and Mystic Art Center in Mystic, Connecticut, and Expressiones Cultural Center in New London, Connecticut.