The word of the day was “efficiency” as we shook things up at the Workshop by exploring different forms of writing.
The young writers began their day with the Beach Museum’s “Open A.I.R.,” or Artist-In-Residence, Calder Kamin, and her exhibit Kamin’s interactive exhibit focused on prairie animal species, including extinct megafauna, or large mammals. In particular, Kamin invited the young writers to consider how humans and animals interact—or would interact if many of the extinct species were brought back to life through de-extinction.
Imagine a saber-tooth tiger in Aggieville, for example. It might keep the stray cat population at bay, Kamin said.
The writers had opportunities to trace their silhouettes interacting with a projected image of a giant sloth, browse some of Kamin’s research, and color modern versions of mastodons and other prehistoric animals and place them over a satellite view of Manhattan, KS.
Then, the writers practiced writing with utmost efficiency by writing tweets, which can only be 140 characters in length, about the exhibit. The tweets were then posted on the Beach Museum’s Twitter feed.
Other writers from the Beach, including Public Programs Coordinator Adrianne Russell and Associate Curator Theresa Bembnister, talked about different forms of professional writing, including writing for social media and art writing.
–Lacey Brummer, Program Intern
K-State Young Writers' Workshop 