How do we create a portrait of ourselves that expresses our inner life? How can we connect with an honest image of ourselves while we’re oversaturated with presentations of perfection and soulless AI slop? 

Visual artists and writers often dabble in each other’s practice, but there’s power in bringing the two together. In this one-day workshop, we’ll play with drawing and writing to discover a fuller portrait of who we are. 

In this workshop, expect to:

• Get in touch with yourself in a device-free environment. 

• Express interiority through writing and visual tools and discover the power and limits of each form.

• Tap into your imagination and inner life without the use of digital technology.

Walk away with: 

• A visual and written self portrait or expression of yourself. 

• New connections with local artists and writers.

• A better understanding of how to use writing and images together for more dynamic creative output.

Whether or not you have visual art or writing experience, this workshop is for any level. Join us and have some fun. 

Your facilitators:

Daniel J. Cecil is a writer and teacher in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His work has appeared in The Rumpus, The Heavy Feather Review, The LA Review of Books, Barrelhouse, Miracle Monocle, and The Stranger among other notable publications. His fiction has been nominated for a pushcart, was long listed for the Dzanc Fiction Prize, short-listed for the Yes Yes Books open reading period, and has received the support of several residencies. 

Daniel teaches travel writing and literature for Emerson College at their Limburg campus and is the founder of Honing House, an English-language, community-centered, and empathy-led educational resource that was built for writers all over the world.

Shayna Schapp is a queer Artist Educator based in Amsterdam. She has over 20 years experience working at the crossroads of creativity, pedagogy and social justice. Most notably, she spent 10 years as a core instructor with Interactive/Media/Design (I/M/D) at The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and 6 years as the Community Art Developer for LEAD, an after-school arts program in Amsterdam.



Shayna’s artistic focus is photography and drawing. Her work has been in solo and group exhibitions in the USA, NL, and UK, is part of public and private collections, and has appeared in publications such as Versal Journal, Pigeonhole, and SMART Papers.