STORY BLOCKS:
Your story. Your art. Your life.

A mixed media workshop combining writing, art, and you.


You’ve felt great loss in your life.

We all have.

For some of us, the loss is still raw. For others, it is still there, but quieter now.

Loss is a creative spark as much as it is a tragedy. It engenders new ways of being in the world, of seeing the world--like a whole new geography has opened up inside us.

It can also block us.

What if you could work through the loss in your life and create art while doing it?

This unique one-day workshop combines the writings, teachings, art, and voices of writer Patti Digh and artist Kim Joris. Using Patti’s prompts and stories and Kim’s art and facilitation of the artistic process, this day is about where you are now and about rediscovering possibilities. It is about creating space to grieve and sharing your stories of loss - and it's about creating space to celebrate life. It is about using what life throws at us to make art.  Our day together will not be all about loss--but also about life, great love, humor, and community.

We will combine writing, personal mementos, and mixed media to create a personal story block about loss in your life, whatever that means to you at this moment in time. You'll write to prompts provided by Patti Digh and then with artist Kim Joris’ guidance, you’ll create 6 small, mixed-media story boards that will combine to make a small story block.

You will gain insight into what blocks you and how to use those blocks to create a new life with a realistic structure, confidence, and clarity, in your own time. No pressure. No push. No hurry. No right way. No wrong way. No need to be a professional artist. The workshop lasts a day. The art created goes on forever, something you can to refer to again and again on your trip through life and loss.

You will:

• Learn a variety of mixed-media art techniques
• Create a finished work of art by the end of the day
• Gain insight into the gifts that loss brings us--and how it can also block and stop us from creating
• Explore all these issues in a safe space
  

Our process

Participants will work on 6 small pieces of wood (4.5x4.5). Each will be different in response to Patti’s provocative writing and story prompts and Kim’s art-filled facilitation. Near the end of the workshop, participants will create combine their blocks to create a segmented, yet connected, story block of life and loss.

Come create with us for a day of learning, growth, and inspiration through art!

Who We Are

Patti Digh: "If the Buddha had two kids, a dog named Blue, a Southern accent, and a huge crush on Johnny Depp, his name would be Patti Digh," wrote one reviewer after Patti's grassroots bestseller, Life Is a Verb, was published. Patti is a Southern-born master storyteller whose stories are full of humor, poignancy, surprise, pain, and knowing. Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally, was one of five finalists for the prestigious Books for a Better Life award and a nominee for a Book of the Year award from the Southern Independent Booksellers Association. She has also written Creative is a Verb: If You're Alive, You're Creative (2010), Four Word Self Help (2010), and What I Wish For You (2011). Her newest book is in process now and is entitled: The Geography of Loss (2013). Website: 37days.com

Kim Joris: Born in SC and raised in GA by parents from New York, Kim grew up confused:  a Southerner without sweet tea and grits, y’all and m’am. The founder of The FolksArt and The Flag Project, the co-founder of The Art Love Initiative, a former police officer and a graduate of a Quaker college, her art reflects her life’s work and passions. She uses her art to tell stories, ask questions, and create dialogue, hosting art events and facilitating workshops about such issues as bullying, patriotism, community and peace and justice. She teaches The Art of ReUse at The John C. Campbell Folk School and Little/Middle Folk School, coordinates community art projects, works as a visiting artist in the schools and provides private classes and workshops. Her art has been featured in Patti Digh’s book, What I Wish For You; on the cover of the John C. Campbell Folk School catalogue; at the Hinton Rural Life Center in NC; the Coca Cola Company in Atlanta, GA;  and the Social Justice Ministries of the Episcopal Church in NYC.

Agenda Overview

Friday,  April 6
4:30 to 6:00
Manuscript reading (from her new unpublished work, The Geography of Loss) and meet the author, Patti Digh, and the founder of The FolkArt, Kim Joris - open to the public

Saturday, April 7
9:00am - 12:00 pm
Introductions and Setting Intentions
Writing prompts 1-3 & Wood Squares 1-3

12:00 - 1:30 pm
Lunch (Bring your own lunch or try one of many local restaurants for lunch!)

1:30 - 5:00
Writing prompts 4-6 & Wood Squares 4-6
Assembly of Wood Squares into Blocks
Sharing of final Story Blocks

Materials List For Each Participant To Bring:

     Personal mementos - old jewelry, photos, writings, buttons, stamps, postcards   
     One item to share and leave behind for the group to use
     Scissors
     Old books to cut up
     Favorite stamps, markers  and paint pens
     small needlenose pliers (if you have them)
     any favorite hand tools - awl, phillips head screwdriver, wire cutters, etc.

We will provide:

     Paint
     e-6000 glue
     Mod Podge
     Tacky Glue
     Sponge brushes
     Wood Squares
     Stamps
     Sharpies
     Hand and power tools
     Additional materials if needed

Location

The FolksArt,  a working artist’s studio and an interactive art space designed for inspiring, creating, teaching, buying and selling art is located in Historic Downtown Milledgeville, Georgia. Connect with Kim Joris via email (kim@thefolksart.com) for information on local lodging options.