Visual Storytelling: Art as Communication Creative Workshop with Tessa Hulls and Janelle Washington

Wednesday May 8, 2024, 5-6:30pm PT

Hello friends,

Happy May! A new month, so you know that means… it’s time for another Create+Engage workshop. This month’s workshop is taking place next Wednesday, May 8th. As always, this workshop is a fusion of art, activism, and community… and it’s free to attend.

We know the power of a good story, but how do stories with visuals impact us differently than stories with words?

That’s the driving question behind this month’s Create+Engage session, hosted Wednesday May 8, 5-6:30pm PT. We’ll be joined by two incredible artists, Tessa Hulls and Janelle Washington.

A little bit about the featured artists in this workshop…

Tessa and I met through some PNW bike connections many years ago, and I’ve always been impressed by the work that she does. She just came out out with her graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts.

Like me, Janelle works in papercuts. We’ve never met in person but have been online acquaintances for quite some time. She’s the illustrator behind the Caldecott-honor winning picture book Choosing Brave, a biography of the mother of Emmett Till, and how she channeled grief over her son's death into a call to action for the civil rights movement.

I think Tessa and Janelle’s work pair together well because of the graphic and bold nature of both of their mediums. If you’ve dabbled even a little bit in trying to take a complex story and tell it in a visual way, you know how hard that can be, so I am very excited to learn from these two about their processes for doing that. Hopefully that will help to inform our own creative practices, whether that inspires making some more visual work, or just thinking about visual communication in a new way.

If you’re new to the Create+Engage series, these workshops are essentially a creative antidote to apathy: a way to gather together and use art and creativity as a way to connect with community and take action on the issues that we care about. Every month we’re pulling together guest speakers and artists to deep-dive on specific topics of civic engagement. Read more about how the series came together.

Visual Storytelling: Art as Communication with Tessa Hulls and Janelle Washington, May 8, 5-6:30pm PT. Hosted on Zoom.

A reminder that all of these Create+Engage sessions are free to attend! It’s really important for me to be able to offer programming like this, while still paying the guest artists an honorarium. I’m able to do that thanks to many of you.

This is a community effort. If you want to help support, here are a few ways.

1. BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER TO CREATIVE FUEL

Paid subscribers help make this newsletter and community happen, and as a thank you, you get access to seasonal editions and invites to upcoming virtual studio sessions—the next one is May 23rd. A portion of paid subscriptions will also be donated every month to an organization chosen by the workshop speakers.

2. MAKE A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

You can also support with a financial contribution in any amount. These financial contributions go to paying speaker honorariums, as well as helping us put together our month of creative action later in September.

3. SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

Know someone who might enjoy this series? Want to bring a friend a friend along to the workshop? Pass this along!

I hope to see some of you there next week!

-Anna

Do you enjoy Creative Fuel? You can support this work by becoming a paid subscriber. You can also order something in my shop, attend one of my workshops or retreats, or buy one of my books. Or simply share this newsletter with a friend!