Announcing a new generative monthly workshop!  We’re pleased to bring you a new monthly session with an award-winning Eastern Shore teaching artist!  Art at Night—Ekphrastic Writing with Jen Pitoniak will help us explore the lives, techniques, and works of famous artists, allowing us to deep dive into ekphrastic writing.  What is ekphrasis?   According to the Poetry Foundation, ekphrasis means: “Description in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.”  Not a poet?  No fuss, ekphrasis can be explored through any genre of writing.

This Month’s Session: Trevor Nickolls was an Australian indigenous artist who is considered one of the foremost voices of Aboriginal art.  He spent much time exploring the connection between the urban landscape and the inner mind.  This month we will investigate his amazing work and consider the art he used to speak for a population that has rarely been given a voice.

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JEN PITONIAK An award-winning educator on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, artist Jen Pitoniak currently teaches both adaptive and traditional art to students of all aptitudes and grade levels in Wicomico County. In previous phases of her life, she has worked in jobs as diverse as children’s minister, intern for The National Clearinghouse on Runaway and Homeless Youth, and as assistant to a private investigator—all of which have added panache to her art. A Regional Representative for the Maryland Art Education Association, Jen also serves on the advisory council for The Water’s Edge Museum in Oxford, Maryland. Although she enjoys working in and exploring all artistic forms, her preferred medium is currently acrylic paint.  Jen is primarily a semi-abstract painter and loves transforming both traditional and non-traditional canvases into something different and whimsical.