SELECTED TEACHING & WORKSHOPS
Instructor, co-creator, executive producer, host & facilitator
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
All visual sequential projects, regardless of technique or media, can benefit from a focus on narrative theory and pattern recognition.
Shifting attention toward storytelling and story editing in the creative process is ultimately a shift to systems thinking, which can help refine workflows and make interdisciplinary collaboration more seamless and accessible.
VISUAL RESEARCH COURSE
Visual Research is a second-year core curriculum class in the MFA Visual Narrative program at School of Visual Arts (VNG-6210-A). This class focuses on the application of mapping and data visualization techniques for use in concept development and world-building. Students identify locations connected to their existing story ideas and investigate these locations using documentary media, data collection, and other methods of site-specific research. They compile the materials they gather into visual archive websites and students create analog representations of an aspect of their research as well. Instructors curate and aid in exhibiting student work at an annual open studios event. View past projects on the class website: https://mappped.com/
STORY OF/ WORKSHOP
Story Of/ is an annual hackathon-style workshop for the development of visual narratives across media. Over the course of a Friday evening and weekend, curated teams of interdisciplinary creatives prototype stories in any visual media using consistent storytelling variables and a guiding theme. Co-created and hosted with comic artist and chair of the MFA Visual Narrative program at School of Visual Arts, Nathan Fox, the event typically hosts between 30-40 participants from a wide range of creative backgrounds and with varying levels of experience. Learn more and see more photos from past events at https://www.storyofworkshop.com/. Photos were taken by Lucea Spinelli at the 2019 event.
LIFE OF/
WORKSHOP
Life of/ is an annual visual prototyping challenge at the MFA Visual Narrative program at School of Visual Arts. At the end of the semester, students present visual stories based on randomly selected "defining moments" in the life of a single character. Students tell visual stories demonstrating how those defining moments helped shape or reinforce the character's motivations and core disciplines throughout their life line. The class is tasked to work quickly and efficiently to convey an engaging visual narrative by being resourceful, working non-preciously, and scoping the presentations of the stories to the short amount of time at hand, letting story lead the way. Photos were taken by Anna Eveslage at the 2019 project launch.
Phases of the project include initial summaries, splitting story points into visual beats, storyboards, and then production.
