Description
Just like Plein Air painters, we will venture out-of-doors and immerse ourselves in the moment. Wordsworth wrote, “The world is too much with us.” We might say the same today and, like him, seek out refuge, solace, and companionship in nature. Time with trees and water and wind, with both vistas and shadowy paths, encourages us to bring our whole selves to the page, to discover fresh metaphors for as yet unexpressed feelings, and to let the forms of nature provide models for our work. “Come forth into the light, let nature be your teacher,” Wordsworth advised. This will be a profoundly generative workshop in which you’ll write in the moment and find new avenues—leafy, dappled, sand-swept—into your ongoing creative practice.
Skill Level
All
Objective
Skill Development, Creativity Enhancement
Outcome
Creation of Artwork, Inspiration and Creativity
Mary Ann Samyn is the author of seven collections of poetry, including Air, Light, Dust, Shadow, Distance (2018) and The Return from Calvary (forthcoming fall 2025). She teaches in the MFA program at West Virginia University and has also frequently taught workshops in Leelanau County. She writes about her poetry, weaving, cooking, gardening, and all things Michigan on her Substack, Cake & Poetry (
