Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Live Seminar via Zoom, 9:30AM - 11:30AM Pacific

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Sarah McColl is the author of the memoir JOY ENOUGH. Since January 2021, she has published LOST ART, a monthly newsletter about the creative work of (mostly) dead women and a 2023 finalist for the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant. Her essays have appeared in the Paris Review, McSweeney’s, and StoryQuarterly, and her work has been supported with fellowship awards from Millay Arts, Ucross, Vermont Studio Center, and MacDowell. She lives in small town Northern California.

Learn more about Sarah in our Meet the Teaching Artist series.

Yes, despite one feminist wave after another, we are still trying to figure out how to be parents and artists.

The notion that caretaking and creative practice are antithetical endeavors is a relic of patriarchal, capitalist thought. Parenting, like writing, is a form of creative labor. Within its constraints are the materials for imaginative and sustainable models for an artist’s life and work.

This seminar is a generative, participatory, shared space. Through presentation, group discussion, reading, and writing, we will examine the realities (read: challenges) and possibilities of the writing life for parents, acknowledging feelings of ambivalence, loss, and “unprofessionalism.” We will look to models who have gone before (and brainstorm systems of mutual encouragement and support. We will re-examine our writing obstacles as doorways into new material.

While this session will speak most directly to the experience of parents, and parents of young children in particular, the prompts, exercises, and strategies will be useful to all writers who are trying to negotiate rich artistic practices alongside full, demanding lives—no children required.

I will present a slideshow that will include quotations and excerpts from Anne Helen Peterson, bell hooks, Toni Morrison, Grace Paley, Sarah Cap, Jazmina Barrera and others.

Can't Make It Live?

No problem! The session will be recorded and available to watch after the seminar concludes.

SEMINAR OUTLINE (if applicable):

• Why the problem is not you
• Where I’m calling from
• Models from the past
• The pep talk
• Life as art
• Writing exercise
• Reading
• Freeing yourself from sentences (and other expectations)
• The formal devices of parenthood
• Writing exercises
• Facing finitude brainstorm
• Making do brainstorm
• Writing exercise

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

After this seminar, writers will:

• be inspired and galvanized by generations of artist parents
• identify their chief creative obstacles
• generate ideas for new creative practices that work within their lives now
• connect with a cohort of other writer parents
• reconnect to their creative impulse

TESTIMONIALS:

"Sarah McColl’s workshop was an experience I will neither regret nor forget. Her remote workshop sessions guided us gently through intense and important journeys, and her genuine interest in each and every one of us was clear in both her approach and style. It was the perfect mix of cherishable challenges. I would recommend Sarah McColl’s workshops to anyone and everyone who wants to not only improve their writing and/or write more often, but to learn more about themselves and their part in the process of furthering their art. This experience was the indisputable highlight of my summer. Highly recommended."

"I wanted a space where I could experiment without too much pressure. I liked that we didn't analyze the experience of the writing exercise too much, we just kept moving along. It made it all feel less important somehow, which made it less stressful, which made it more fun, which made for better writing. At least, for me. I also commend you, Sarah, for setting the tone of the workshop as a collaborative and supportive and curious space."

“From the readings to the generative prompts and lively discussions, I came away feeling refreshed and invigorated not only to write and read, but to make writing an important part of my daily routine. I'm grateful to you for helping me to feel alive and curious again."

"I felt like I was in really compassionate orchestrating hands. The experience, wisdom and energy provided at such a high level makes it really easy to just let go and go for the ride and see what you can mine from yourself. Okay....I don't want to get weird and whip out a pan flute but it's a really special blend of pragmatism, craft, inspiration, and magic. There's a feeling of it being spiritual if you want it to be without it having to be group therapy. I felt lucky to be there and definitely don't really know how to explain it's more than a writing workshop to people."

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This seminar will meet via Zoom.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $75 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

• Instructor: Sarah McColl
• This seminar will meet on Thursday, February 13th, 2025
• Live Seminar via Zoom 9:30AM - 11.30AM Pacific
• Tuition is $75 USD

Contact us HERE if you have any questions about this class.