SUMMER LAKE — PLAYA, an arts and sciences collaborative community in Southeast Oregon’s high desert, is offering special online events during August and September.

A special PLAYA Presents on Sunday, July 26, at 4:30 p.m. will feature readings by former Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford and writer Ellen Waterston, and music by Hunter Noack. On three weekends in August, online Master Classes that use the landscape of Oregon’s high desert for inspiration will be offered. Stafford, Waterston and artist Sondra Holtzman will guide students in the creativity and expression based in landscape.

Earth Verse for PLAYA

Instructor: Kim Stafford

Aug. 1-2, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. each day

When trouble comes in the human world, there may be a little story from the wild that can offer consolation. From the Gnomic Verses in Old English, to the Tao te Ching, and the writings of Dorothy Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, and Mary Oliver, we have cherished lyric remedies speaking the language of earth for human comfort. In this workshop, we will harvest close observations from the PLAYA landscape and compose an archive of consolations for use as our need comes.

Making Real What is Remote

Instructor: Ellen Waterston

Aug. 8-9, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. each day

Remote access, remote learning, fuggedaboutit! I don’t know about you, but I want to gather with other writers at PLAYA, in the presence of the remote and staggering beauty of Summer Lake. But not so fast. With the Southeastern Oregon desert landscape as our muse, this two-day generative writing intensive will explore the job of writing to render actual what is remote, to transform what we see and feel into a real experience for the reader using imagination, memory, experience, and language. We’ll work in short narrative “prosetry” (forgive me) drawing inspiration from supplementary readings to make the written thing evoke the thing itself.

PLAYA: A Painterly Exploration

Instructor: Sondra Holtzman

Aug. 15-16, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. each day

Using photographs of the playa as our inspiration and guides, we will explore local color, patterns and rhythms, atmosphere, edges and light in this very special place using a variety of materials. Students are encouraged to work as intuitively as they can, as perfection is not a welcome guest. We will create a series of small studies or vignettes, along with a larger painting(s) each afternoon. Class will begin each day with a brief writing exercise that will be the springboard for our painterly endeavors.

The fee for each master class is $250, with a maximum group size of 12. Each class will be taught via the Zoom online forum, with a supply list and Zoom link provided after registration.

To sign up for PLAYA Presents, visit https://forms.gle/eVkCPffK5qVnMCoD8. To sign up for Master Classes, or for more information, go to https://playasummerlake.org/playa-events/. 

PLAYA supports innovative thinking and expressions in the arts and sciences through its programming on the edge of the Great Basin to promote positive change in the environment and the world. To learn more visit www.playasummerlake.org.