Registration for our spring workshops
Poetry in Process and The Spirit of the Work,
has closed!
However, there is still time to register for our spring salons. If you just can’t choose among the offerings (see below) consider selecting the salon package and attend all four events for the price of three! ($75.00)
Purchase a salon package at this link.
Thank you! We’re so glad you are part of this talented and growing community of artists.
SALONS:
April 14
Maker Mentor Muse Salon with T.S. Leonard, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Poetry in Urgent Times
Poetry, like catastrophe, has a way of bending time—on the page, past and possibilities mingle; a better future can be summoned. How do we write responsibly from a place of urgency? To whom are we speaking in our work, and what do we hope to offer them in condolence, or celebration? In what ways can we create spaces of peace or possibility on the page?
April 28
AMCA Reading and MMM Salon and Fundraiser
with Vince Montague, 3:30-5:00pm
Think of Your Poem as a Mug
The abstract nature of working with words and language separates us from the physical world. Think of Your Poem as a Mug is a 90-minute conversation with artist and writer Vince Montague who proposes looking at your writing as an object in the physical world. Consider the line of a poem as a type of physical landscape in an empty desert. Think of the form of your writing as an object that can be held and touched. Build a poetic universe that casts shadows on the cement. This workshop is for those interested in writing, in visual art, and/or the intersection between them.
May 18
Maker, Mentor, Muse Salon with Noelani Piters, 3:30pm-5:00pm
Fictionalizing the Family Archives
What happens when we turn our attention to family, shared history, and that which we do not know? How can we honor the stories we inherit, while also incorporating our own perspectives? How can we use the idiosyncrasies of our relatives to bring fictional characters—and our work in general—to life?
In this generative workshop, we will focus our energies on the art of observation. We will examine fiction, poetry, and visual art that engages family and heritage through innovative and surprising methods. Then, we will use our own family histories as a jumping-off point. With an emphasis on sensory details, we will experiment with literary devices and points of view to create evocative writing that is rooted in the real.
Open to all writers, whether you consider yourself a beginner or a seasoned pro. No prior creative writing experience is necessary to participate. Bring your preferred writing tools and your own family photos—one or two (or many)!
June 9
Maker, Mentor, Muse Salon with Karla Brundage 3:30-5:00pm
Writers Reclaiming Wholeness through Identity & Community
How can writing about identity become a transformational vehicle to build community? This painful, yet affirming process, can break down social barriers and allow for more connection and compassion. Together we will explore common questions that haunt us in this process. What if all one believes is not as was expected? Is this betrayal or enlightenment? In this workshop, we will endeavor to voice our multiple selves through writing about identity as it presents in light of history. We will begin by calling in all the identities in the space evoking images and words. By calling in all identities, voices feel valued and community is built. I am asking that each poet bring an image of an ancestor or ancestral figure for generative writing, and a piece that is hidden or unwritten to be revised and or to share.
Can’t decide which salons to choose? Consider attending all four salons for the price of three.
Questions: Write to [email protected] or
[email protected]
The Spirit of the Work: Making Space
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Poetry in Process
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We commonly think of S/spiritual work taking place in spaces set aside for worship, religious festivals, and rites. But what about the spiritual work and spaces created by writers, artists and musicians, both for themselves and for others? How do creatives make space in this fast-paced, busy culture for these sacred endeavors? What do these spaces look like in practical terms? What do they look like spiritually? How do we locate and prepare the sacred inner space we need to sustain the work we’re called to do?
In this workshop, authors La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson and Mary Volmer lead participants through a series of creative and spiritual exercises designed to help creatives build the inner and outer sacred spaces they need. A simple metaphor will guide us, the metaphor of an idealized place unique to each of us, yet one we all know (or think we do): a home. The Spirit of the Work: Making Space is a workshop for writers, visual artists, and musicians who are seeking to rediscover and to cultivate a satisfying and spiritually-grounded art practice. Every two weeks we will enter and open up another room of our sacred inner homes to the artist within. By the end of our time togethers, participants will establish a practice that enables them to do consistent work over time. The workshop includes a selection of free (and optional) literary salons with award winning artists and writers, and a free one-on-one coaching session. Spring Cohort Calendar Tuesday, April 9th: Spring Maker, Mentor, Muse Cohort welcome. Laying the Foundation 7:00 - 8:30 pm Sunday, April 14th – Maker Mentor Muse Salon with: Salon with T.S. Leonard (Spring 2024 MMM cohort attends for free) Tuesday April 23th – Meeting One: The Entryway and The Kitchen 7:00 - 8:30 pm (pst) Sunday, April 28th – AMCA Reading and MMM Fundraiser: Vince Montague 3:30-5:00 pm (Spring 2024 MMM cohort attends for free) Tuesday, May 7th – Meeting Two: The Dining Room and The Living Room 7:00 - 8:30 pm (pst) Saturday, May 18th – Maker, Mentor Muse Literary Salon with: Noelani Piters, 3:30pm (Spring 2024 MMM cohort attends for free) Tuesday, May 21st – Meeting Three: The Study and the Garden 7:00 - 8:30 pm (pst) Sunday, May 26th – AMCA reading and Maker, Mentor Muse Literary Salon: Poetry for Peace Tuesday, June 4th – Meeting Four: The Bathroom and the Bedroom 7:00 - 8:30 pm (pst) Week of June 9th - Literary Salon: Karla Brundage (TBA) Early Bird $325.00 by April 2nd
(Under $30.00 hour, best value) $350.00 Thereafter Click HERE to reserve your space Questions: Write to [email protected] or [email protected] (REGISTRATION CLOSED) |
How do we make space for our creative work through personal and collective crisis? What can we do to help create space for each other as writers and artists? How might we create a healthy balance of space on our own and together?
Led by Maw Shein Win, Poetry in Process: Making Space is a course for poets, writers, and collaborators who wish to give their creative practice more room to be and breathe and re-energize their work. Each meeting will provide a different focus, encompassing unusual prompts, generative writing, and multi-disciplinary sources. We’ll engage in experiments designed to open your inventive and intuitive pathways, looking closely at process to gain insight and build new resources as you work. Alternating with the class sessions, our four literary salons (optional) offer in-depth presentations with remarkable poets and writers. Each participant will also have a one-on-one consultation with the instructor. We hope you can join this supportive, generative offering to foster space to build a flourishing writing practice. Poetry & Prose in Process: Making Space will take place on zoom from April through May on the first and third Monday of the month with virtual meetings on 4/8, 4/22, 5/6, 5/20. You will also be invited to multi-genre literary salons featuring special guest speakers and generative write-ins, facilitated by poet and prose writer Dawn Angelicca Barcelona. Spring Cohort Calendar Tuesday, April 9th: Spring Maker, Mentor, Muse Cohort welcome. Sunday, April 14th, 3:30-5pm: Literary Salon featuring T.S. Leonard Monday, April 22nd, 7-8:30pm: Meeting One | On Beginnings + Process Sunday, April 28th, 3:30-5pm: Literary Salon featuring Vince Montague Monday, May 6th, 7-8:30pm: Meeting Two | On Collaboration + Experiments Saturday, May 18th, 3:30-5pm: Literary Salon featuring Noelani Piters Monday, May 20, 7-8:30pm: Meeting Three | On Constraints + Revision Sunday, May 26th – AMCA reading and Maker, Mentor Muse Literary Salon: Poetry for Peace Monday, June 3rd 6-8pm: Meeting Four | On Endings + Performance Sunday, June 9, 3:30-5pm: Literary Salon featuring Karla Brundage Early Bird $325.00 by April 2nd (Under $30.00 hour, best value) $350.00 thereafter Click HERE to reserve your space Reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions! (REGISTRATION CLOSED) |
Your Instructors:
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La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson, author of the novel Unveiled, is a proud native of Oakland, CA. She is a contributor to the award-winning Life’s Spices From Seasoned Sistahs anthology series, Go Tell Michelle: African American Women Write To The New First Lady, All The Women In My Family Sing and is the author of an ebook serial novel Jubilee’s Journey. Unveiled, released in July 2019 and described as a “page turner” is her first full-length novel. La Rhonda is currently working on her next book.
La Rhonda has over 30 years of experience working in the fields of education, health and wellness and organizational development. She has worked "in the trenches" as well as in managerial roles in community-based health organizations and schools. La Rhonda is a much sought after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. She has an easy and welcoming manner, enabling her to create safe and effective learning environments for diverse audiences. Her seemingly natural ability to "shed light into darkened places" compelled her to formalize this gift. In 2009, she received her certification as an integral coach from New Ventures West in San Francisco, CA. Coaching has been the perfect complement to La Rhonda's repertoire giving her one more tool to educate, inspire and empower people to live their greatest potential. |
Mary Volmer is the Mission Fellow for Athletics at Saint Mary’s College (CA). In this interfaith, lay chaplaincy position, she counsels and attends to the spiritual well-being of NCAA D-I athletes and coaches. She specializes in meditation, deep listening, and centering prayer techniques and teaches athletes and coaches to manage and alleviate anxiety, rediscover joy, and develop their gifts in a balanced and healthy way.
In private practice, Mary works with artists, especially writers. She utilizes “talk story” to help artists discover the voice and the underlying emotional (and dramatic) structure of their work. As a former D-I women’s basketball player and a working novelist, Mary possesses unique insights into the emotional and spiritual hardships that hound athletes and artists. She understands the rigors and joys of discipline, the quiet rush of the flow state, the pain of failure, and the courage it takes to try, try again. It is her mission to help artists and athletes of all spiritual and religious traditions to grow gracefully into their many gifts and to share those gifts with the world. |
Maw Shein Win's most recent poetry collection is Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn) which was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for the PEN America Open Book Award, and shortlisted for CALIBA's Golden Poppy Award for Poetry. She is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA. Win's previous books include full-length poetry collection Invisible Gifts and two chapbooks, Ruins of a glittering palace and Score and Bone. Win often collaborates with visual artists, musicians, and other writers and her Process Note Series features poets on their process. She teaches in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco. Along with Dawn Angelicca Barcelona and Mary Volmer, she is a co-founder of Maker, Mentor, Muse, a new literary community. Win’s full-length collection Percussing the Thinking Jar (Omnidawn) is forthcoming in Fall 2024. mawsheinwin.com
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Maker, Mentor, Muse
Maker, Mentor, Muse was founded in 2022 by Mary Volmer, Maw Shein Win, and Dawn Angelicca Barcelona. Hailing from three distinct backgrounds, generations, and spiritual traditions we believe community is essential to building a satisfying and sustainable literary life and that true success requires balancing all three artistic roles: maker, mentor, muse. We are building a place where artists embrace practices that honor process, spiritual growth, connection, and ongoing community with other writers. Join us!
