World Building Workshop with Michelle Hagewood
Tuesday Evenings, March 4th to April 8
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Mediums: Drawing & Light Writing
Experience Level/Ages: All levels, ages 18+
Materials: Bring your own sketchbook/pencil/pens
Cost: $250-500 + cost of “Wonderbook” by Jeff Vandermeer
Capacity: 10 students
Description:
This six week workshop invites students to weave new worlds out of everyday observations, emergent imagining, and strategic research. Using a sketchbook as an anchor and drawing as a tool for discovery, the class will work with a combination of visual and text-based ways to approach various elements of cosmos designing.
Most sessions will include 40-60 minutes of instructor and guest conversations exploring case studies and approaches including literature, film, art, and game design. The second half of class will be reserved for working on assignments and workshopping ideas with peers.
Throughout the course, students will work towards designing their own unique “map” of their world, using basic drawing and visualization tools in creative ways. These maps will serve as the foundation or further development for future novels, films, or games.
The series will take particular note of world-builders such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Hayao Miyazaki, Octavia Butler, and artists/authors who leverage unique character worldviews, cultures, and environments to visualize possible futures and reveal present realities.
Facilitator Bio:
Michelle Hagewood (she/her) holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the wordless picture book Whirl, and creator of the short animated film The Path. She has exhibited paintings and installations all over the country and has a background as a museum educator at museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and the Henry Art Gallery. Now in Port Townsend, Hagewood works between modes of illustration, animation, painting, and most recently, supports video game development on the stop-motion project, Feltopia.
