We’ve tried to make our workshop schedule accessible to anyone and everyone. A detailed Workshop Schedule will be included in your welcome packet when you arrive at the event.
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Download the Workshop Schedule as an MS Excel file here. Also, download the PDF guide to using that schedule here.
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Each session is listed chronologically according to it’s “Session Number” and Title below. Clicking on any session title will take you further down the webpage where you find a detailed description of the workshop, the name of the workshop leader, the time of the workshop, and its location.
WORKSHOP LEADER bios can be found here.
LOCATIONS: Workshops located in “Ross” will be in the the Cynthia S. Ross Hall. sometimes referred to as “the Business Building” by those on campus. MEA Registration Booths and the Mobile Vet Center will be located near the entrance to Ross Hall. Also near the entrance to Ross will be tents, including the “MEA Creation Station.” The “Women’s Retreat Room” will be located in Ross 100. Descriptions for “Women Only” offerings will be found on the Women Veterans page. Workshops located in “MCC” will be in the McMahon Centennial Complex. Albert Gray Eagle’s Flute Making Workshops will be located in a tent at the entrance to MCC. Several workshops will be located in the Art Building.
PREREGISTER: Not required to attend workshops. However, In the event that demand for a workshop is higher than the capacity of individuals a particular workshop leader can serve preference will be given to those individuals who have filled out our MEA2 Workshop Preregistration Form.
CANCELLATIONS & ALTERATIONS: No further changes are planned for this page. In the event that a workshop or offering is canceled or changed it will be announced on our Cancellations & Alterations page.
DOWNLOAD: Floor Guide to main workshop locations.
VIEW: Take a Virtual Tour of the conference location.
MEA2 Workshops
(Listed in the order of occurrence)
2.1 | A Foot In Each World: Poetic Structure as a Source of Revelation
2.2 | Including Sub-Plots Within a Tightly Constructed Plot-Line
2.3 | The Do-It-Yourself Comic Book
2.4 | Flute Making ( Part 1)
2.5 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
2.6 | The Art of Pastel
3.1 | Poetry Now: Immediacy and the Art of Poetry
3.2 | Retrieving the Warrior Soul through Symbolic Art
3.3 | What Makes Expressive Arts “therapy”?
3.4 | Flute Making (Part 2)
3.5 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
3.6 | Experimenting with Gouache
4.1 | Veterans Are Natural Writers
4.2 | Publishing Your Poetry, Prose, and More
4.3 | Getting Started: The Writing Process
4.4 | Law for Authors, Artists, Musicians, and Other Creative Wizards (Part 1)
4.5 | The Art of Color Pencil: Painting & Drawing with Oil Pastels
5.1 | Writing the Long Novel
5.2 | Finding Growth in Stories of Trauma
5.3 | Women Veterans Meet & Greet
5.4 | The Art of Colored Pencil
6.1 | Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian
6.2 | Film Making Workshop (Part 1)
6.3 | Dance / Performance Arts
6.4 | Flute Making (Part 1)
7.1 | The Do-It-Yourself Comic Book
7.2 | Film Making Workshop (Part 2)
7.3 | Writing the Long Novel
7.4 | Flute Making (Part 2)
7.5 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
7.6 | Women Veterans’ Writing Workshop (Women Only)
8.1 | A Foot In Each World: Poetic Structure as a Source of Revelation
8.2 | Film Making Workshop (Part 1)
8.3 | Aikido: A Holistic Approach to Trauma Recovery
8.4 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
8.5 | Engage the Light: Photography as a Tool for Communication, Camaraderie, and Healing
8.6 | Experimenting with Gouache
9.1 | Writing the Homefront: What is my story, and why does it matter?
9.2 | Film Making Workshop (Part 2)
9.3 | Including Sub-Plots Within a Tightly Constructed Plot-Line
9.4 | Healing Arts (Part 1)
9.5 | Law for Authors, Artists, Musicians, and Other Creative Wizards (Part 2)
9.6 | Oklahoma Arts Council – Supporting the Arts in Oklahoma
10.1 | ART FROM WAR: Documenting Devastation/Realizing Restoration
10.2 | Finding Growth in Stories of Trauma
10.3 | Publishing Your Poetry, Prose, and More
10.4 | Healing Arts (Part 2)
10.5 | Expressive Charcoal
11.1 | Dance / Performance Arts
11.2 | Self-Publishing: Turning the Craft Into a Business
11.3 | Flute Making (Part 1)
11.4 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
12.1 | Getting Started: The Writing Process
12.2 | Writing Nonfiction – Capturing and Sharing Memories with Words
12.3 | Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian
12.4 | Flute Making (Part 2)
12.5 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
13.1 | Writing Nonfiction – Capturing and Sharing Memories with Words
13.2 | In Service to the Nation: Arts and Crafts and the Military
13.3 | Pen to Page: Writing from Prompts
13.4 | Healing Arts (Part 1)
13.5 | Engage the Light: Photography as a Tool for Communication, Camaraderie, and Healing (Women Only)
14.1 | Humor and Healing
14.2 | Writing the Homefront: What is my story, and why does it matter?
14.3 | What Makes Expressive Arts “therapy”?
14.4 | Healing Arts (Part 2)
14.5 | Law for Authors, Artists, Musicians, and Other Creative Wizards (Part 3)
15.1 | Retrieving the Warrior Soul through Symbolic Art
15.2 | A Foot In Each World: Poetic Structure as a Source of Revelation
15.3 | Let’s Work on This Together: Overcoming the barriers between military veterans and mental healthcare workers
16.1 | Aikido: A Holistic Approach to Trauma Recovery
16.2 | Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
16.3 | Expressive Watercolor
17.1 | Pen to Page: Writing from Prompts
17.2 | Publishing Your Poetry, Prose, and More
17.3 | Expressive Watercolor
18.1 | Closing Session in McCasland Ballroom
In addition to accessing the workshops chronologically through the links above, you can also browse workshops in their entirety below. Each is listed alphabetically according to its title.
OPENING SESSION 1.1
May 14, 2015 | 8:00 – 9:30 AM | Cameron Theater
The opening session will include introductory remarks from MEA Staff, Cameron University Officials, and our partners in Cameron’s chapter of Student Veterans of America. Attending this session is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended as it will cover any last minute changes to the program or scheduled workshops, info about resources and events, and an opportunity to meet with your fellow participants. Speakers TBA.
Title: Aikdio: a holistic approach to trauma recovery
Leader: Suzanne Rancourt
Description: Using Hombu style Aikido with trauma recovery awareness, and holistic body movement methods, changes our chemistry. These are ancient concepts still relevant for today’s warriors. Aikido can be done by people of all sizes, shapes, ages, and background. Think of it as yoga in motion.
***For events requiring physical activity a few yoga mats will be available, but not enough for everyone. It is suggested that you bring your own if you feel it will be a necessity.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 8.3
May 15, 1:00 PM, in Ross 228
Session 16.1
May 17, 8:00 AM, in Ross 228
Title: ART FROM WAR: Documenting Devastation/Realizing Restoration
Leader: Tara Tappert
Description: Veterans from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have found the arts as an outlet for making sense of their war experiences. Military hospitals also use the arts as a therapeutic treatment for those wounded in combat. These two distinctly different artistic approaches to the experiences of war trauma – documentation and restoration – have a long and honorable history. Veterans throughout the world have made artwork to convey war experiences, while hospitals, social service agencies, and individuals have used the arts to help the disabled find ways to face the future. Beginning with World War I arts and crafts making was used to rehabilitate wounded soldiers and veterans through occupational therapy and vocational training, and during and after World War II the military encouraged arts-based leisure and recreation activities for the promotion of self-sufficiency and well-being. This presentation briefly documents such creative initiatives as the occupational therapy work of WWI Re-Construction Aides, the WWII era Red Cross Arts & Skills Service, the arts and crafts program launched by the U.S. military after WWII, writing programs for Vietnam veterans, and the healing and well-being arts initiatives, such as the Joe Bonham Project, created to support today’s Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 10.1
May 15, 4:30 PM, in Ross 101
Title: The Art of Color Pencil
Leader: Amanda Coates
Description: This workshop has two parts that take place back to back in the same location. You may attend either or both:
Pastel Workshop:
In this color pencil workshop, you will learn the layering application and various techniques of color pencil. Two of the techniques that will be used with color pencil are layering and burnishing, both of which are for blending colors to create different values. This workshop will give insight on the loose, creative ways an artist can apply color pencil techniques to their work making their own expressive art.
Painting and Drawing with Oil Pastels:
In this oil pastel workshop, you will explore the many techniques of using oil pastel while making expressive art. Oil pastels are wax crayons that are used both as a drawing and painting medium. Oil pastels can be used as a dry form similar to soft pastels. This workshop will give the artist the opportunity to use the oil pastels in the most expressive ways while creating their own unique work of art.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 4.5 (Painting & Drawing with Oil Pastels)
May 14, 2:45-4 PM, in Art Building 107
Session 5.4 (Colored Pencil)
May 14, 4:30-5:45 PM, in Art Building 107
Title: 
The Art of Pastel
Leader: Katherine Liontas-Warren
Description: 10-12 participants. The workshop is open to beginners and/or individuals who are interested in creating drawings using pastels. This workshop will explore the expressionistic qualities of mark making and the blending of colors to achieve abstract or realistic forms. After a 30 minute demonstration, participates will be encouraged to experiment, explore, and create an abstract image or narrative image that tells a story. The instructor will provide a mega dose of enthusiasm and interest as your drawings develop into works of Art. Paper and pastels will be provided for all participants.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 2.6
May 14, 9:30-11:30 AM, in Art Building 107
Title: Dance / Performance Arts
Leader: Exit 12 Dance Co.
Description: Exit12’s workshops and programs are designed to bridge gaps that often exist in our segmented world. Our veteran-civilian movement workshop pairs a veteran with a professional dancer to create movement from experiences, either personal or shared. Our workshops engage groups in movement creation, self-esteem building, empathy enrichment, and teamwork. Workshops can lead to a public performance or individual accomplishment.
***For events requiring physical activity a few yoga mats will be available, but not enough for everyone. It is suggested that you bring your own if you feel it will be a necessity.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(MEA decided to schedule Exit 12’s workshops at 8 AM to get participants moving and ready to face the day)
Session 6.3
May 15, 8:00 AM, in Ross 103
Session 11.1
May 16, 8:00 AM, in Ross 103
Title: The Do-It-Yourself Comic Book
Leaders: Steve Gooch and Marc DiPaolo, Oklahoma City University
Description: You don’t have to be an amazing artist to create a comic book. All you need is a story to tell and the willingness to let yourself be free to write and draw even if you have never written or drawn a comic before. (Stick people are okay!) Whether you want to draw an autobiographical comic, a superhero adventure, or any other kind of story, Steve and Marc will work with the 5 – 40 participants in coming up with the basic tale and turning it into a pencil/pen comic on drawing paper.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 2.3
May 14, 9:45 AM, in Ross 111
Session 7.1
May 15, 9:45 AM, in Ross 222
Title: Engage the Light: Photography as a Tool for Communication, Camaraderie, and Healing
Leader: Tif Holmes
Description: [1-20 participants. Camera and removable memory card encouraged but not required.] This workshop will explore the use of photography as a means to communicate personal ideas, strengthen camaraderie, and promote healing from traumatic experiences. From contemplative photography and photo-haiku to the “found words” concept to organizing your own veterans community photowalks, we will discuss ways in which the camera can help us break up patterns of negativity, fear, and reclusiveness. From the Engage the Light website: Photography is a powerful way to communicate our unique experiences and explore our connections to each other and to the world around us. To create photographs, we must engage a physical source of light. The camera can’t operate in complete darkness any better than humans can. Additionally, we must engage the world around us. Our interactions with one another can be an emotional source of light—a way to take positive action even in the darkest of times. As Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.” The Engage the Light curriculum seeks to engage both literal and figurative light: the light required to make photographs and the light that exposes the darkness and allows interconnection and empathy to develop. Through this process, we not only create compelling images that communicate what words often cannot, but we also create a strong network of individuals who engage one another and the world with compassion and creativity.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 8.5
May 15, 1 PM, in Ross 222
Session 13.5 (Women Only)
May 16, 1 PM, in Ross 100 (Women’s Retreat Room)
Title: Experimenting with Gouache
Leader: Sarah Darling
Description: 10-12 participants. These workshops are revolved around the Art of Gouache. Participants will learn exciting different methods and a variety of ways to work with this type of paint. There will be a short demonstration to guide and encourage participants to engage with their creative side and paint their interpretation of any subject matter. We will paint in an expressionistic way, to get most comfortable with the medium. Materials for these workshops will be provided, so all you need to bring is your enthusiasm! This will be a fun and energetic environment!
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 3.6
May 14, 1 PM, in Art Building 107
Session 8.6
May 15, 1 PM, in Art Building 107
Title: Expressive Charcoal
Leader: Tiana Buckner
Description: 10-12 participants. This workshop is open to beginners and/or interested in using an expressive form of drawing with charcoal. We will be using compressed charcoal sticks, powdered charcoal, and water (all of which are included). Feel free to bring anything you think would add a nice texture to your work, such as a tooth brush, sponge, old sock, etc. Currently, three kinds of charcoals are used in art: Powered charcoal, compressed charcoal and vine charcoal. Powdered charcoal is used to achieve a desired shading and tone, and charcoal pencils and compressed charcoal sticks produces a fine, sharp line, while vine charcoal provides a smooth, softer line. Charcoal is sometimes viewed as a preliminary medium for sketching or drawing before painting. This workshop is an outlet for our creative sides that will help the participants explore new methods of applying the charcoal medium. This form of using charcoal is a style largely inspired by the artist Jim Dine.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 10.5
May 14, 4:30 PM, in Art Building 107
Title: Expressive Watercolor
Leader: Sheila Niebauer
Description: 10-12 participants. This workshop is open to beginners and/or interested in using an expressive form of painting with watercolor. We will be working on a nonobjective, nonrepresentational, and expressive painting. We will be learning techniques to help develop texture in watercolor. Feel free to bring anything you think would add a nice texture to your work, such as: paper towels, tooth brush, sponges, etc. The primary colors of red, yellow, blue, and neutrals of black and white along with sheets of watercolor paper and paintbrushes will be provided.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 16.3
May 17, 8 AM, in Art Building 107
Session 17.3
May 17, 9:30 AM, in Art Building 107
Title: Filmmaking (I Was There)
Leader: Ben Patton
Description: Everyone has a story worth preserving — the trick is to figure out how to peel away the layers and capture that story in a way that can be cherished by future generations. A documentary filmmaker and author with over 15 years of experience in media, Ben Patton established Patton Productions in 2005, bringing together a talented group of editors, cinematographers and composers to produce high quality biographical, promotional and commercial videos. This series of filmmaking workshops teaches participants how to listen to an individual or family’s story in a way that allows the filmmaker to reveal the magnificence of any life.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(Each filmmaking workshop is comprised of two back-to back sessions)
Sessions 6.2 & 7.2
May 15, 8:00 AM & 9:45 AM, in Academic Commons Building, Mac lab 132
Sessions 8.2 & 9.2
May 15, 1:00 PM & 2:45 PM, in Academic Commons Building, Mac lab 132
Title: Finding Growth in Stories of Trauma
Leaders: Joseph Stanfill and David Chrisinger
Description: In a redemptive story, the narrator transitions from a generally bad or negative state to a generally good or positive state. Such a transition is characterized as:
- sacrifice (enduring the bad to get to the good),
- recovery (attaining a positive state after losing it temporarily)
- growth (bad experiences actually bettering the self), or
- learning (gaining or mastering skills, knowledge, and/or wisdom in the face of the bad).
This workshop explores ways to incorporate your experiences into a redemptive life story, one which allows you to organize memories and more abstract knowledge into a coherent biographical narrative. In other words, turning your disparate experiences into a coherent story helps you to construct, organize, and attribute meaning to your experiences, as well as to form, inform, and re-form your sources of knowledge and your view of reality.
Detailed description of workshop available here.
Please download and complete the form located here and bring it to the workshop.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 5.2
May 14, 4:30 PM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Session 10.2
May 15, 4:30 PM, in Ross 103
Title: Flute Making
Leader: Albert Gray Eagle
Description: 8-10 participants; Albert Gray Eagle is a noted flute artist and performer who is skilled in the craft of making traditional flutes along with regional forms of creative writing. Gray Eagle we lead participants through flute making and playing of the instrument while building on an understanding of history relevant to the Native American. Through his artistic talents and gentle nature for teaching, participants will be guided to develop their creative and artistic selves.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(Each workshop takes place during two back-to-back sessions))
Sessions 2.4 & 3.4
May 14, 9:45 AM & 1:00 PM, Located in a tent at the entrance of the Ross Building
Sessions 6.4 & 7.4
May 15, 8:00 AM & 9:45 PM, Located in a tent at the entrance of the Ross Building
Sessions 11.3 & 12.4
May 16, 8:00 AM & 9:45 PM, Located in a tent at the entrance of the Ross Building
Title: A Foot In Each World: Poetic Structure as a Source of Revelation
Leader: Dwight Gray, US Army (ret.), Texas A&M MS Liberal Studies, Sewanee School of Letters MFA Program
Description: Participants 5-30; By structure we do not mean form. Structured poems may or may not rhyme, may or may not have metrical lines. What structure accomplishes is what poet and veteran Randall Jarrell describes as “start(ing) in one position and ending at a very different one . . . with no break in the unity of the poem.” A poem succeeds not in its adherence to rules but in what it reveals of the speaker and the subject.
“A Foot in Each World” means the dual worlds that veterans and writers occupy, of reliving past experience and dealing with the present. Structures that connect these two worlds can be useful in both understanding and putting image to paper. Samples that share common ground with war poetry have been selected; however, participants should not feel restricted to the realm of war poetry.
Workshop participants will discuss sample poems in terms of structure, using these ideas as a starting point to work on their own poetry.
At the end of workshop participants will have the option of sharing their own writing or thoughts. Examples of structures that will be covered: Past-Future Structure, Emblematic Structure and more.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 2.1
May 14, 9:45 AM, in Ross 222
Session 8.1
May 15, 1:00 PM, in Ross 111
Session 15.2
May 16, 4:30 PM, in Ross 103
Title: Getting Started: The Writing Process
Leader: Michelle Burns
Description: Putting the first word down on paper is often the hardest thing a writer can do. Maintaining momentum without getting lost in runaway ideas is the second most challenging aspect of writing. Knowing and understanding the steps of the writing process can get a new writer from topic to 500 words in record time. This workshop will help new writers get started and keep the momentum going. It will help experienced writers stay on track while running with a fantastic idea. No writing experience required.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 4.3
May 14, 2:45 PM, in Ross 228
Session 12.1
May 16, 9:45 AM, in Ross 222
Title: Healing Arts
Leader: Jeanne Tessier
Description: Participants will be introduced to art and healing information and patterns from various cultural and spiritual traditions that will aid in expressing and healing troubling images and memories. The workshop will also introduce techniques to heal the places in our bodies and our minds where pain is stored. These art forms, which include mandalas, sand paintings, visualizations and other symbolic expressions, will provide participants with simple, accessible tools they can utilize in their everyday lives when troubling experiences or memories arise. This workshop can serve 10-100 participants, provided the availability of table space for 6-8 persons per table, preferably at round tables where a variety of art supplies placed in the center of the table will be available for participants to utilize. Participants will receive materials to take home with them after the workshop.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(This is a special back-to-back two-part session)
Sessions 9.4 & 10.4
May 15, 2:45 PM & 4:30 PM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Sessions 13.4 & 14.4
May 16, 1:00 PM & 2:45 PM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Title: Humor & Healing
Leader: Doug Berky
Description: Doug Berky has been creating and evolving his own brand of physical theater for over thirty years. His original performances are an intricately woven fabric of Commedia Del Arte, physical comedy, mime, mask theatre, clowning, circus arts, and storytelling. Doug is known internationally for his mask construction. He designs and constructs the masks for his own performances as well as creating all of the sets, choreography, scripts and many of the costumes. This workshop, taking place between two live performances, focuses upon the connection between humor and healing, equipping participants with the knowledge needed to employ humor as a healing device in their own lives and the lives of others.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 14.1
May 16, 2:45 PM, in Ross 111
Title: In Service to the Nation: Arts and Crafts and the Military
Leader: Tara Tappert
Description: In the twentieth century, the American military incorporated the use of crafts in two major service areas: beginning with WWI as a tool for rehabilitation treating wounded soldiers and veterans through occupational therapy and vocational training; and since WWII as a leisure and recreation activity promoting a sense of well-being and efficacy. Arts and crafts making and other forms of creative expression have also helped veterans of war and combat following separation from service. This presentation briefly documents this history, highlighting such creative initiatives as the WWII era silversmithing program created for wounded soldiers by Margret Craver for Handy & Harman and Walter Reed General Hospital, the Army and Air Force arts and crafts program, including the Basic 7 initiative, writing and music programs developed by Vietnam veterans, and the myriad forms of arts and crafts making for both healing and wellbeing developed by today’s Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 13.2
May 16, 1:00 PM, in Ross 101
Title: Including Sub-Plots Within a Tightly Constructed Plot-Line
Leader: Michael Hinkle
Description: 5-25 Participants; two, one-hour sessions (not back to back); This workshop is for those interested in writing novels, but may be suitable for any writer looking to develop their skills in fiction. Specifically, this workshop will teach writers how to enhance the power of their works by including sub-plots within a tightly constructed plot-line. We will explore published works in which sub-plots are employed to good effect, create our own plotline collaboratively as a class, and all participants will leave with a better understanding of this skill that is often overlooked in the art of writing.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 2.2
May 14, 9:45 AM, in Ross 223
Session 9.3
May 15, 2:45 PM, in Ross 224
Title: Law for Authors, Artists, Musicians, and Other Creative Wizards
Leader: Joseph Carvalko (intellectual property lawyer with 35 years’ experience)
Description: 1-40 Participants; In this workshop we introduce laws dealing with the protection and promotion of your creative endeavors, such as writing, art, film making, invention, performance and music. The main platforms for discussion will be contracts, patent, trademark, copyright and corporation laws, drawing attention to the concepts about trade secrets, work made for hire, licensing, and help you read various registration forms, entertainment and publishing contracts. The workshop will cover the topics during three (3) scheduled sessions.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(Participants are encouraged to attend all three workshops in the order they are presented.)
Session 4.4 (Part 1)
May 14, 2:45 PM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Session 9.5 (Part 2)
May 15, 2:45 PM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Session 14.5 (Part 3)
May 16, 2:45 PM, in Ross 228
Title: Let’s Work on This Together: Overcoming the barriers between military veterans and mental healthcare workers
Leaders: Dr. Thom Balmer, Joseph Stanfill, and Jason Poudrier
Description: During this panel discussion, Dr. Thom Balmer and graduate student, and Director of Veteran’s PTSD project, Joseph Stanfill will present several physical and psychological barriers faced by military veterans when seeking or working with mental health professionals. They will also discuss several complications that mental health professionals face when working with military veterans. The ultimate goal of this panel is to discover ways to eliminate or reduce the discussed barriers and complications by exploring ways that military veterans can more pro-actively heal through establishing and maintaining positive relationships with their mental health providers.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 15.3
May 16, 4:30 PM, in Ross 111
Title: Oklahoma Arts Council – Supporting the Arts in Oklahoma
Leaders: Amber Sharples, Executive Director / Amy Weaver, Deputy Director / Chandra Boyd, Arts Learning in Communities Director
Description: Learn about the Oklahoma Arts Council, the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Oklahoma, and hear how we can be a resource for service-based, non-profit organizations, artists, and schools throughout the state. Staff members from the Oklahoma Arts Council will discuss grants and opportunities that are available to support arts programming. Successful model outreach programs in communities across the state will also be presented. In addition, staff will share recent findings from the Oklahoma Arts and the Military Initiative Community Survey and facilitate a dialogue about ideas for art-based opportunities serving the military community.
Session 9.6
May 15, 2:45 P. M., in Ross 111
Title: Pen to Page: Writing from Prompts
Leader: Elizabeth Heaney. Author & Counselor
Description: “In this workshop we’ll sit down and write from prompts, generating pieces that might stand alone or ones you can develop into longer pieces later. The workshop is perfect for both fiction and non-fiction writers. The prompts are specifically tailored to military writers, and you’ll have time to write, read the work (if you choose) and get structured feedback from fellow writers. The workshop is also appropriate for military spouses, family members and friends. Pen to page . . . let’s write.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 13.3
May 16, 1:00 PM, in Ross 103
Session 17.1
May 17, 9:45 AM, in Ross 222
Title: Poetry Now: Immediacy and the Art of Poetry
Leader: Benjamin Myers, Oklahoma Poet Laureate, 2015/2016
Description: Emily Dickinson famously said, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” How does a poet pack that sort of immediacy into a poem? This workshop will address techniques for bringing poetry to life on the page. Workshop participants will learn how to utilize concision of diction, precision of image, and directness of presentation to connect more urgently and immediately with the reader. Aspects of craft to be considered include: the poetic line, diction, imagery, figurative language, rhythm, sound, and syntax. (5-20 participants)
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 3.1
May 14, 1:00 PM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Title: Publishing Your Poetry, Prose, and More
Leader: Randy Brown (aka “Charlie Sherpa”), Red Bull Rising
Description: 4-40 participants. Journalist, writer, and award-winning military blogger Randy Brown shares tips and techniques for successfully submitting your military-themed writing and visual art to literary, non-fiction, and other markets. Participants will gain insights into how to design and execute publishing strategies based on personal/professional objectives.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 4.2
May 14, 2:45 PM, in Ross 111
Session 10.3
May 15, 4:30 PM, in Ross 111
Session 17.2
May 17, 9:45 AM, in Ross 111
Title: Retrieving the Warrior Soul through Symbolic Art
Leader: David Fisher
Description: In this workshop, participants will be guided on a shamanic soul retrieval journey. In this journey into the unconscious, images, words or “gifts” will be offered by your personal guides. These gifts are symbols of a piece of our soul returned to us. Upon returning from the meditation we will paint the gifts received in the journey using acrylic paints on canvas. This was an instrumental part of my journey to wholeness after serving in Desert Storm as a Marine and in Iraq with the Navy and I am happy to share it with you.
Minimum participants: 1 (each workshop)
Maximum participants: 10 (each workshop)”
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 3.2
May 14, 1:00 PM, in MCC Meeting Room #212
Session 15.1
May 16, 4:30 PM, in MCC Meeting Room #212
Title: Self-Publishing: Turning the Craft Into a Business
Leader: David P. Ervin
Description: 2-25 participants.Today’s technology has changed the face of the publishing business and allowed for independent authors to get their work directly to the marketplace. Of course, departing from the traditional publishing process also means taking on a host of concerns and ancillary activities that would have been completed by a publisher. By going it alone, you’ll be operating a business as well – with your book being the product. This workshop delves into the world of independent authorship; the host of options available in turning your manuscript to a printed or digital book, engaging in marketing and promotion, and the nuts and bolts of sole proprietorship. In self-publishing, writing is half the work. Learn about the other half in this block of instruction from a self-published author.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 11.2
May 16, 8:00 AM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Title: Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian
Leader: Kristin Kelly
Description: 2-25 participants.The title of my workshop is also the title of an excellent anthology of war literature edited by Donald Whitfield for the Great Books Foundation. Military veterans and I use this book in community meetings in northeast Georgia. One of the strengths of this community program is that the anthology provides literary selections from ancient times all the way to the Iraq War so that all of us can see that the human response to combat is quite similar over time. The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Georgia Humanities Council sponsor these regular literature discussion groups for vets as a way to address and analyze the effects of war upon the individual soul and the soul of the community. I am pleased to provide information to those who desire to start up or participate in such a program in their states.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 6.1
May 15, 8:00 AM, in Ross 222
Session 12.3
May 16, 9:45 AM, in Ross 228
Title: Veterans’ Paper Making: Telling Your Story
Leaders: Malachi Muncy, Annie McFarland & Meredith McMackin
Description: 1-30 participants (split between the two workshops), unlimited amount of observers; MEA2’s paper-making offerings include two workshops working in tandem–at the same space and at the same time in the MCC Buddy Green Room.
May 14: On the first day of the symposium, Malachi Muncy will be working solo with those veterans who bring uniforms that they wish to turn into paper, providing them with the full “cutting to pulping paper-making experience.”
May 15 & 16: Pulp created on the first day of the symposium will be put to use on the second and third days. Malachi will continue to focus on the paper-making experience whereas Meredith McMackin and Annie McFarland will be begin the work of turning that paper into art. Workshops on the 15th and 16th will be open to both veterans and their families. Malachi will continue to instruct on the art of paper-making, and Annie and Meredith will combine this practice with their experiences as Arts Therapists, beginning with a documentary film created at Florida State University, continuing with exercises meant to turn handmade paper made from military uniforms into art. Using the paper made from a uniform of their branch of the military, participants will create a symbol representing their military experience on paper. This will be an interactive group experience where participants can share their stories, thoughts about the creative process, and the symbolic meaning of their work.
May 17: Participants will use whatever pulp remains and there will be time for them to complete / pick-up works started on previous days. If possible, the workshop leaders ask that participants assist with cleanup and packing of supplies and materials.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
(Participants are encouraged to attend either or both the paper-making components and/or the art making components in whatever order fits their schedules.)
Sessions 2.5 & 3.5 (Veterans Uniform-to-Paper Workshop Only)
May 14, 9:45 AM & 1:00 PM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Sessions 7.5 & 8.4 (Full Paper-Making & Paper-to-Art Workshops)
May 15, 9:45 AM & 1:00 PM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Sessions 11.4 & 12.5 (Full Paper-Making & Paper-to-Art Workshops)
May 16, 8:00 AM & 9:45 AM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Session 16.2 (Finishing Touches, Retrieve Works, Clean-up)
May 16, 8:00 AM & 9:45 AM, in MCC Buddy Green Room 213
Title: Veterans Are Natural Writers
Leader: Travis L. Martin & Dr. Lisa Day, Military Experience & the Arts
Description: In our years working with veteran authors we’ve noticed something remarkable: the veteran survivor of trauma contains within him or her memories loaded with sensory detail–the very thing expected of “good” writing. When these same survivors write about those experiences, regardless of the level of education, skill, or experience, we’ve found, the preoccupation with those “intrusive thoughts” lends itself to the meticulous process of crafting narratives. In short, and despite the stigmas associated with conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Military Sexual Trauma, veterans are natural writers. This workshop will explain the relationship between trauma and writing, breaking down the insights of Sigmund Freud, Jonathan Shay, Cathy Caruth, and others interested in traumatic experience (check any anti-intellectualism at the door, please) in a practical way by identifying those “symptoms” capable of being sublimated into skills, especially as it pertains to veteran authors of prose and poetry.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 4.1
May 14, 2:45 PM, in Ross 222
Title: What Makes Expressive Arts “therapy”?
Leader: Suzanne Rancourt
Description: “Understanding how and why something works allows us to help each other and ourselves while making art. Whether you write, dance, sing, paint, the process of making art changes us deeply, neurologically through doing, Experiences are powerful as is making art.
(Here’s another variation: Who we are as human beings often defines us as practitioners. Who we are as practitioners often dictates the methods we are inclined to employ. The Neuroscience of Feeling Good – how and why Expressive Arts Therapies work is an opportunity to explore identity of self in relation to our work, methods, and clients.
And more options: The Neuroscience of Feeling Good – how and why Creative Arts Therapies work
In this experiential exploration of the nuts ‘n bolts in Creative Arts Therapies methods across multi modal domains, frequently asked questions will be answered: Why do some methods work better for survivors of trauma than others? Why do I feel better after dancing, painting, writing, singing? There are concrete, evidence based reasons why we feel better. What is neuroplasticity and what does that have to do with PTSD? What is Cortisol? Serotonin? What if my clients have dual diagnoses? (TBI, DD, PTSD, addictions, depression, anxiety.) What about medications? In this workshop detailed information will be provided that answers these questions and more. As practitioners, we will engage in multimodal activities that give us an opportunity to implement methods that can be used with PTSD survivors (combat related and sexual trauma included.) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is more than “warm and fuzzy” feel good activities. Neuroscience demonstrates that different methods access different pathways, and neuro chemical responses; being multi modal is key. Join us in finding how and why and what we can do to become healthier human beings, and more competent professionals.
This workshop is for all people and no matter what workshop I lead at the conference, I employ all of the above methods i.e. strengths based, neuro, etc.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 3.3
May 14, 1:00 PM, in Ross 103
Session 14.3
May 16, 2:45 PM, in Ross 103
Title: Writing Nonfiction – Capturing and Sharing Memories with Words
Leader: Rob Roensch, Assistant Professor of English, Oklahoma City University
Description: 10-30 participants; This workshop will explore creative writing as a way, first, to explore and seek to understand experience and, second, to share that experience with others. In this workshop we will begin with exploratory writing and then move in a discussion of techniques for shaping the raw material of our written narratives and reflections into complete pieces of nonfiction.
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 12.2
May 16, 9:30 PM, in Ross 226
Session 13.1
May 16, 1:00 PM, in Ross 111
Title: Writing the Long Novel
Leader: Michael Lund, Professor Emeritus of English, Longwood University
Description: While most creative writing programs focus exclusively on writing short fiction, I have developed a critical rationale and methodology to encourage the writing of full-length novels. Writers with military experience especially benefit from putting their material in long forms. The workshop involves two meetings: one to explain the need for such a workshop through a review of literary and publishing history; the second involves using participants’ own writing (or samples I provide) in an exercise to demonstrate the validity of this approach.
(Since participants may bring a sample of their own work for this session, interested persons may–but are not required to–contact Michael in advance at installment66@gmail.com)
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 5.1
May 14, 4:30 PM, in Ross 228
Session 7.3
May 15, 9:45 AM, in Ross 228
Title: Writing the Homefront: What is my story, and why does it matter?
Leader: Amber Jensen
Description: “2-25 participants. This writing workshop encourages family of military personnel to recognize the value in their stories and provides a launching point for the telling of these stories through creative writing. This workshop will guide participants to discover their unique story, to see the value of that story for themselves, their loved ones, and our culture, and to begin writing that story.”
Session(s) / Date(s) / Time(s)/ Location(s)
Session 9.1
May 15, 2:45 AM, in Ross 222
Session 14.2
May 16, 2:45 PM, in Ross Laptop Lab 101
Michelle Burns recently retired as an instructor at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee Wisconsin. There she taught every level of writing and composition from pre-college to advanced, Business and Technical Writing, and Literature. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay in English Education. She also holds a Master’s Degree in English and a Graduate Certificate in Creative Nonfiction Writing from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Her Master’s Thesis was the first Memoir Thesis at UWO and can be viewed online. One essay from her thesis described an incident from her military career called Aberdeen. She has also won first prize for a travel poem called Grandpa’s Farm with the literary journal Free Verse. Michelle served in the US Army and Army Reserves from 1992-2000 as Fuel and Electrical Systems Specialist on Heavy Wheeled and Track Vehicles. She also served as a HEMTT Wrecker Driver and Operator. Michelle currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Greg; her three younger children; three dogs, three cats, and four guinea pigs.