Writing Workshop at Turtle Cove
February 28th, 2018New Harmony loves the blending of writing, art, and nature. We’re passing along a really cool opportunity for those who are interested!
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Would you like to escape for a weekend of guided writing and nature exploration? Would you like to contribute toward a shared work of art that we hope to exhibit for the larger community as a reflection on home, loss, and power of the natural world?
Join a group that is organizing a free overnight writing retreat at SLU’s Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station, a fully-equipped lodge on the water accessible only by boat, tucked into the marshes of Manchac Wildlife Management Area (a 45 minute drive from New Orleans).
Dates of retreat: March 23-24, 2018 | Deadline to apply: midnight, March 8, 2018
Funded by a community arts grant from the Platforms Fund, the writing workshop is being organized by paper boat builder, Chris Staudinger; writer and educator Kate Kokontis; and outdoor educator, Eleanor Warner. Transportation to and from New Orleans, meals, time in nature, and three sessions of guided writing are included in the weekend at no cost to participants. Writing from the weekend will contribute to the ongoing construction of a 16-foot paper canoe.
ABOUT THE BOAT: It’s a paper boat, and layers and layers of stories are glued like heavy duty paper-mache to create the structure for the boat. In 2015, the workshop organizer (Chris) and his dad started building the frame of a 16 foot canoe. They collected over thirty stories from family and friends about Katrina and the years since, and printed and stretched them like heavy duty paper-mache to form the hull of the boat. With enough layers of stories about water and life in South Louisiana, it will be fully-functional on the water, free and available to the community for education, programs, or a paddle in the watery places that surround us. There are photos of it and more details on the workshop website.