Nature Sketchbook for Poets | Saturday, February 21st and 28th, and March 7th and 14th, 2026
10:00AM-12:00PM Phoenix MST | Digital
What to expect at a glance:
- Techniques for observation in your writing
- Several poem “seeds” to get new projects started
- At least one new finished poem per week
Course Description:
Unlock the frozen rivers of the imagination! Release fresh insights and sparkling metaphors using a proven method for tapping into creative powers through art. In this series of workshops you will learn a wondrous and simple technique for generating new poems as you learn to sketch and draw from life. This course will help you establish a practice of using a sketchbook to focus the mind and observe the natural world.
All skill levels are welcome and no artistic skill or previous art experience is required! The aim is to learn a method for making important, surprising connections. Learning how to keep a nature sketchbook can grow into a lifetime habit that can improve your powers of observation and description, enhance your memory, and give you a deep sense of connection to the natural world. While we will not be focused on making beautiful pictures, it’s possible that you may discover a hidden love of drawing in the course of this workshop. Along with a sketchbook and some things to draw with, bring an open mind, an adventurous spirit, and the desire to write better poems. I will teach you how a sketchbook can help you reconnect with nature and discover an endless source of wonder and deep insight.
About the instructor:
Kelly Houle is an Arizona-based poet and visual artist. Her poems have been published in CALYX, Crab Orchard Review, Kenyon Review, Radar Poetry, Sequestrum, and others. She was a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize, the Arts and Letters ‘Unclassifiable’ contest, and winner of a 2023 Vivian Shipley Award. In 2020 she received an Artist Research and Development Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her paintings and handmade books are in public and private collections around the world, including the British Library, Yad Vashem, The M.C. Escher Foundation, and ASU’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. She is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and holds a diploma in botanical art from the Society of Botanical Artists. Kelly is a nature journaling ambassador for the Wild Wonder Foundation and leads a nature sketchbook club for high school students online.
About our ticket fees:
Your ticket purchase is an investment not only in your voice, but in our literary community. The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is dedicated to helping create a sustainable local and national literary arts community. The general rate for our PWS classes is only $25 per hour of instruction. The pay scale is designed in favor of instructors, ensuring that the majority of all ticket sales goes to them. Any additional profit allows us to offer discounts, scholarship seats, and occasionally free educational programs. To inquire about whether or not you are eligible for a discount code, please send an email to: pipercenter.info@asu.edu
